Watch out for stray bullets...........

Posted By Douger on June 9, 2009, 11:51 AM

Although our vacation to Puerto Vijelo was cut short, we plan to go back to finish it properly. The Bribri Indians live just to the west and are wonderful people. The bridge to Puerto Vijelo was washed out by flooding, but the repair crews established a by pass within one day which allowed us to have one great meal at one of Puerto Vijelos several restaurants. We can't wait to return. The coast boast one of the major surfing areas on the Caribbean.

Posted By Tom B. on June 9, 2009, 12:22 PM

"Keep it to yourself" but feel free to post it on an internet blog. Sheesh. Hypocrites

Posted By Paul D on June 9, 2009, 1:36 PM

Puerto Viejo is indeed beautiful, and there is a bit of Caribbean edginess in the area as well. I loved my brief stay there - but beware. In the summer it is STIFLING HOT on the beaches pretty much any time after 9 a.m.!

Posted By Deano on June 9, 2009, 7:39 PM

The travel guide Explore Costa Rica by Harry S. Pariser has a great section on Puerto Viejo. We ordered ours on http://www.ecocostarica.com ($20 postpaid).

Posted By George on June 10, 2009, 1:39 PM

Zoe -
where would you recommend a family of 4 stay?

Posted By tracy on June 10, 2009, 3:51 PM

We stayed in Puerto Viejo for 10 nights, check out vrbo.com rentals, there are great places out there, open air, the beach, the beauty, it really is a great place. DO NOT BELIEVE the blogs that say the roads are HORRIBLE from San Jose to Puerto Viejo, they are fine, we did 120kph at times...!!! Rock on PV!

Posted By Robert on June 11, 2009, 11:35 AM

I stayed in Puerto Viejo in January 2008 and it was a great stay. I also recommend VRBO.com rentals. We stayed in a great 2 bedroom house for about $500 for 8 nights! We also had the opportunity to go to Bocas del Torro Panama for a few days too... some of the most beautiful beaches there! The people in Puerto Viejo are very nice and friendly... great bars and nice restaraunts. Lots of expatriots live there, and its on the Carribbean coast so most people speak Spanish and English. All of the beaches are really an unspoiled delight. GO!

Posted By Deena on June 11, 2009, 2:21 PM

Tracy, you're asking where I'd recommend for a family of 4 to stay in Puerto Viejo and/or surrounds.
Well Tracy that really depends on a number of factors that you're looking for like:
1. Budget: cheap & cheerful, mid, or luxury?
2. Beach or Jungle?
3. Cabinas, hotel or fully equipped house?
4. In PV close to all the action or quiet like Cocles or Punta Uva?
5. Who's in the family? Babies or small children, teenagers or perhaps Grandma & Grandpa?
I agree with Deena to look on VRBO.com rentals -- they have a big choice to suit all budgets.
Of course I'm biased because I live in Cocles and really enjoy being close enough to PV but in a quiet residential area with amazing rainforest surroundings. But Punta Uva is beautiful and arguably has the most gorgeous beach of all, Manzanillo is fascinating with a marked Caribbean influence, Play Chiquita is eclectic with interesting small shops and businesses and PV is of course the place for action and a lively night life.
So much depends on the factors mentioned above as to where your family of 4 would feel most comfortable. Let me know if I can help any further. And of course have a wonderful holiday!

Posted By Zoe on June 11, 2009, 3:13 PM

Would the last week of December and the first week of January be a good time to visit? Temperature, tourists, higher prices, any celebrations ???

THANKS!!!

Posted By Carol & Wayne on June 11, 2009, 4:06 PM

What airlines fly into Costa Rica and where is the airport in relationship to PV,or Punta Uva?

Posted By Deb Murray on June 11, 2009, 4:53 PM

Can someone travel from Puerto Viejo to Bocas del Toro directly?

Posted By Danette on June 11, 2009, 5:03 PM

This was one our first visits to Costa Rica and absolutely LOVED Puerto Viejo, it is our favorite place in Costa Rica. It's a must if you are visiting Costa Rica. My sister-in-law, Mar Salano, has a beautiful swim suit shop there. Her designs are amazing!!

Posted By Julie Levy on June 11, 2009, 5:20 PM

We were in that area in March. We had planned to stay the whole time in Cahuita but had a little trouble with stuff constantly getting stolen. The beach in Cahuita is the most gorgous I had ever seen with plenty of monkeys and sloths. Most of the hotels were for the backpacking crowd. The towns people were not very friendly. Almost burnt out on the crime. Pueto Viejo felt a little too druggie for me. Though there were great restaurants and such. The community of ex pats were great. Punta Uvo was really, really beautiful. A little more upscale.We ended up staying 4 nights in Manzillo at the end of the beach road. The town was so warm and friendly. The beach and hiking were great.Go to Oh La La french cafe for the best crepes in Central America!! The hotels and restaurants do not appear at first glance to be much,but the people who owned them were the best hosts and made everything very special.

Posted By Eric Hess on June 11, 2009, 7:21 PM

VRBO is a great source. Because the bridge into VJ was washed out, we were put up at Pedros Place, a nice place right on the beach. We have rented through VRBO on Dominca and Tobago, and in Belize and were pleased with all of them.

One of the nice things about renting a house or villa is the money you save by going to the local grocery stores and cooking for yourself. Plus there is no experience quite like the Caribbean markets. They seem to have everything needed and are happy to change money at the going rate.

Another plus is being able to buy seafood from the local fisherman. In Tobago, they blow a conch shell when the fish is ready. I always just yell "Hey mon, may I buy some of your fish please?", and have never been turned down. We had fresh rock lobster and conch brought to our door every morning as the fisherman got a better price from us than from the hotels where they usually sell their catches.

Enjoy!

Posted By Tom B. on June 11, 2009, 7:37 PM

Hello Carol & Wayne,
December temperatures here on the Caribbean coast are lower (around 22 - 25 C)than usual (27C and up to 32!) and December and early Jan often have quite a few rainy days. Having said that it's hard to predict the weather here as there is no 'rainy season' unlike the other side of the coast. But yes, generally speaking November & December are wetter and January is drier.
None of that deters tourists from coming to this area around Christmas! But if you want traditional Christmas celebrations you won't find much of that here -- it's far too 'tranquilo' and alternative to follow the norm. Of course there are plenty of celebration but not your usual 'Christmassy thing'. But hey, that's what people love about it!

Accommodation prices are usually higher around Christmas but with the 'Global Financial Crisis' my guess is that price rises will not be as great this year. For instance my husband Tom and I own Geckoes Lodge(www.geckoeslodge.com)in Cocles , Puerto Viejo and we've slashed our prices for the whole year in response to the global problems. Many other friends (hotel/lodge owners) have done the same so I reckon you can find bargains if you don't leave it until the last minute.
Hope you come, hope you have a great time, and Happy Christmas!

Posted By Zoe on June 11, 2009, 9:53 PM

Hi Danielle,
Yes if you have your passport and airline ticket with you, you can travel directly to Bocas del Torro from Puerto Viejo easily.
There are plenty of travel specialists in PV that have organised trips to Bocas or you can do it yourself with a bit of information.
PV is only about 40 minutes from the border with Panama. Friends of mine have even done it as a day trip but did say that it doesn't leave much time for relaxing in Bocas as the border closes around 4pm.
It makes a great trip for a couple of nights though and the snorkelling is lengendary!
Have fun!

Posted By Zoe on June 11, 2009, 10:01 PM

Hello Deb,
I don't know all the airlines that fly into CR but amongst them are:
Continental, American Airlines, British Airways, Air France, Al Italia, Iberia to name a few.
Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva are a four and half hour drive from Santa Maria International Airport in San Jose.
That sounds long but it's a beautiful and interesting drive if you're not in a hurry. I especially like the drive through the cloud forest of Braulio Carillo -- stunning waterfalls and flora.
All the best and happy travelling.

Posted By Zoe on June 11, 2009, 10:07 PM

I've been to CR 3 times and two of those times, we stayed on the Caribbean side at Puerto Viejo and Cahuita. Both places are not that far from each other. If you are looking for peace and tranquility, PV is the place to go. I never felt unsafe and I didn't have anything stolen. Both PV and Cahuita had a sleepy village feel. If you are looking for more nightlife, these might not be the places for you. But if you want beaches, snorkeling, canopy tours, and hikes, then consider PV. Added bonus, prices for accommodations are lower. I almost rented a 3 bedroom house in Cahuita for $300/week (this was about 3 years ago, price has since doubled, but at $600 for a house, it's still a good deal), alas someone else had reserved it for the week that I was going to be in CR. If you decide to stay around this area, you'll need some sort of transportation since there really isn't a local bus that goes around the area often.

Posted By Claire Anne on June 12, 2009, 11:55 AM

On a family vacation, we left Turrialba, Costa Rica in the mid-morning for what we thought was to be a liesurely drive to a house we had rented in Puerto Viejo.

The rain turned to a downpour and then the flooding began. The roads were lined in places with flood victims waiting for a ride to a shelter. Vehicles were overturned in some places and along the coast the waves were about 40 ft high and full of dirty brown sediment.

After seven hours driving, we found that the the only bridge into Puerto Viejo had been washed out, so we drove back up the coast and spent the night at a nice hotel. Fortunately, the property manager was on the same side of the river as us and was able the next day to make arrangements for us in a different property. We settled into our new digs and enjoyed our first dinner for what was supposed to be a week long stay. The next day we toured the country side to the reservation at Bribri and inspected the work on the bridge, where the government was frantically building a by-pass. We stocked in groceries and by nightfall were able to take the bypass into Pureto Viejo for a very nice dinner.

Then disaster struck. My elderly father-in-law broke his leg at 3:00 am on Thanksgiving day. We followed an ambulance which first took him to the clinic in Bribri where they said we would have to go to the hospital in Limon. We followed the ambulance to the hospital in Limon and quickly went back to get our belongings while they treated him. Upon our return, they said they could not treat him and we would have to go to the hospital in San Jose.

By this time there was a red flag state of emergency for the entire eastern half of Costa Rica with wide spread flooding, mudslides, and many displaced families. We were able to hire a private ambulance and nurse and followed them to San Jose. All of the major highways were closed, so we had to take the back roads with all of rerouted traffic which seemed to include every truck in Central America, all through pouring rain and dense fog. We finally reached the hospital at about 10:00 pm. We spent the rest of our "vacation" traveling from our hotel in San Jose to the hospital.

The good that came from this is that we learned that Costa Rica has some of the best medical facilities in the world with patient, helpful staff, and incredibly efficient doctors. What could have ended tragically left us with a great impression of the country and its people. We plan to go back soon to complete our vacation and see more of their wonderful country. But you can be sure that we will invest in international medical insurance before we leave.

Posted By Tom Buqo on June 12, 2009, 1:15 PM

Zoe,

definitely looking for a house or place where we have a kitchen. Our family consists of my husband and I and our two children, 9 and 11 yrs old. Not looking for night life. Want to swim at beach, snorkel, hike, bike and see monkeys from our porch. Looking to come in a few weeks, any suggestions on a place.

Posted By Tracy on June 12, 2009, 6:17 PM

Hello Tracy,
Okay that narrows it down a bit!
Did you have a look at VRBO.com? Plenty of fully equipped houses on there in beach or jungle locations. Considering the age of your children, do you want beach front or a pool or are neither important?
Monkeys from the porch: well there are no guarantees on that one! But being away from the main road or being beachside makes that more likely.
Apart from our place(!) have a look at the following which may suit your needs:
Fincachica.com
Casa Viva, Punta Uva
Treehouse.com
Aguas Claras (not sure whether they have kitchen)
Korrigan Lodge (also not sure about kitchen)

Good luck and hope you find what you're looking for and have a great holiday!
Zoe.

Posted By Zoe on June 13, 2009, 3:12 PM

My husband and I stayed at El Encante in Cahuita for a week on our second trip to Costa Rica about a year ago. We enjoyed the restaurants, snorkeling at the beach, a canopy tour, horseback riding and seeing the monkeys in the national park. While we enjoyed the typical tourist spots on our first trip, we found Cahuita a great place for a vacation.

Posted By Liz on June 14, 2009, 4:28 PM

if there is too much rain on that side of the country, then visit the drier side in the northwest
and you'll love staying at this place right on the beach at www.villamalibu.com

Posted By laura on June 18, 2009, 1:59 PM

Cahuita is a great little town. The food and beaches are top notch. Also there is a great reggae music scene. Buy organic banannas the synthetic chemicals and fertilizers from non-organics flow from local creeks and rivers and kill the beautiful reef along the Caribbean Coast.

Posted By Daniel Pankau on June 18, 2009, 5:00 PM

I personally prefer near by Cahuita more than Puerto Viejo. It is more quiet and it has it's one beach at the national park entrance. It is no big problem to switch between the to locations by bus. Schedules are on text

Posted By Miguel Santana on June 21, 2009, 6:00 PM

Most backpackers I meet in Bocas del Toro are coming down from PV.

If you do come to Bocas, check out this place: www.bocasbound.com

People tell me there is a $9 bus ride from San Jose down to the Panama Boarder as well.

Posted By Dan Cranney on June 24, 2009, 5:19 PM

Here are a few places in the Puerto Viejo area you can check into. A varying degree of styles and price. Samasati Retreat, Cariblue, Casa Verde Lodge, Que Rico Papito.

Jon

Posted By Jon on June 25, 2009, 2:29 PM