Puerto Viejo: Missed Plans, Unexpected Visitors, and Extra Beach Days
Beach days, budget groceries, wildlife crossings, and Caribbean sunsets in Puerto Viejo.
From Manuel Antonio to Puerto Viejo
After a few days exploring Manuel Antonio, it was time to trade Costa Rica’s Pacific coast for the Caribbean.
Originally, I had considered visiting Tortuguero. While I was volunteering with The Leatherback Trust, Katherine had moved from the project in Cabuyal to Tortuguero, so I asked her how I could get there. However, once I started looking into the journey, it seemed like a lot of effort just to reach it—especially while relying entirely on public transportation.
Instead, I decided to visit Puerto Viejo.
Getting there still meant another long day of travelling by local bus. I first had to make my way from Manuel Antonio back to San José before catching another bus across the country to Puerto Viejo. By this point in my Costa Rica trip, I was becoming quite familiar with long travel days, bus terminals, and trying to figure out where I needed to go next.
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca sits along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, not far from the Panamanian border. It is known for its beaches, wildlife, laid-back atmosphere, and Afro-Caribbean culture. After spending the previous part of my trip travelling down the Pacific coast, crossing the country gave me an entirely different side of Costa Rica to explore.
Its location also made me realize that I could have continued travelling overland into Panama. Unfortunately, I had already booked my departure from San José and couldn’t change it. As tempting as it was to keep travelling south, I knew I would eventually have to turn around.
For my first two nights in Puerto Viejo, I booked a private room at Cabinas Mitchaelle’s. After spending so much of the trip in shared accommodation, I wanted some personal space and a break from dorm rooms. If I remember correctly, the private guesthouse was somehow even cheaper than staying in a shared hostel dorm, which made the decision especially easy.
Once I arrived and settled into my room, one of my first priorities was finding a grocery store. Eating out for every meal could quickly destroy my budget, so I bought enough food and drinks to get me through the next couple of days.
My shopping basket was a slightly random but practical collection: roasted chicken, tomatoes, tortilla chips, cheese dip, bread, vodka, and juice. It might not have been the most balanced meal plan in the world, but it was inexpensive, required almost no cooking, and gave me everything I needed for a few quiet meals at the guesthouse.
There was a small table outside my room where I could sit, eat, and enjoy the warm Caribbean air. Because there didn’t seem to be anyone else around, I left my door open while I sat outside.
That decision was perfectly fine—until one of Puerto Viejo’s local residents invited itself into my room.
Well, at least I knew I had officially arrived in Puerto Viejo.
An Unexpected Guest—or Two
While I was sitting outside my room eating, a bird suddenly flew through the open door and straight into my room.
This was definitely not part of the plan.
I immediately had to stop what I was doing and figure out how to convince the bird to fly back outside. Of course, the bird didn’t seem nearly as concerned about the situation as I was. It took some time, patience, and probably a little chaotic directing before I finally managed to guide it toward the open door.
The owner found the entire situation rather amusing. She told me that people travelled to the area specifically to go birdwatching and search for birds like this one. Meanwhile, I hadn’t gone looking for anything. I had simply left my door open, and one had flown directly into my room.
Apparently, I had accidentally created my own private birdwatching experience.
Once the bird was safely outside, I went back to my food and continued sitting at the little table. You would think I might have learned something from the experience and closed my door, but I didn’t. No one else appeared to be around, the weather was warm, and I liked having the fresh air flowing through the room.
About ten minutes later, the bird flew back inside.
At least, I assume it was the same bird. Perhaps it had enjoyed its first visit and decided to take another look around. Either way, I once again found myself trying to persuade a bird to leave my room.
After successfully removing it for the second time, I finally accepted that leaving the door open was probably not the best idea. From then on, the door remained firmly closed. I might have wanted fresh air, but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my stay repeatedly escorting the local wildlife out of my room.
The bird wasn’t my only visitor that evening. While I was eating outside, a small ginger cat also wandered over to investigate. Unlike the bird, the cat stayed outside and was a much calmer dining companion.
It was a quiet and slightly strange introduction to Puerto Viejo. I had travelled across Costa Rica looking for wildlife, yet some of it apparently preferred to come directly to me.
The following day, however, I decided to make more of an effort. Instead of waiting for another animal to appear at my guesthouse, I set out on foot for the Jaguar Rescue Center.
That plan did not go nearly as well.
My two unexpected dinner guests—one invited itself into my room twice, while the other kept a close eye on my groceries.
The Jaguar Rescue Center That I Never Saw
One of the main things I wanted to do in Puerto Viejo was visit the Jaguar Rescue Center. Despite its name, the centre doesn’t only work with jaguars. It cares for injured, orphaned, and displaced wildlife, with the goal of eventually returning as many animals as possible to the wild.
It sounded exactly like the kind of place I would enjoy.
I looked up where it was located and decided that I could walk there. It was a long walk—around an hour—but I had already spent much of my trip walking everywhere, so that didn’t seem completely unreasonable at the time.
I eventually reached the centre, feeling rather pleased that I had made it all the way there on foot. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last very long.
The tours were already sold out for the day.
I also learned that I should have purchased my ticket online ahead of time. After walking for an hour specifically to visit the centre, I couldn’t simply wait around and hope that a space became available. There was no tour for me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
It was another Costa Rican lesson in booking ahead.
By that point, I was a long way from my guesthouse and needed a new plan for the day. I could either remain annoyed about the failed visit or find something else to do nearby.
Naturally, I bought some vodka and went to the beach instead.
It might not have been the educational wildlife experience I had planned, but sitting beside the Caribbean Sea with a drink wasn’t exactly a terrible backup option. After reaching the Jaguar Rescue Center only to be turned away, I was happy to stop walking for a while and simply enjoy the beach.
Eventually, I began making my way back toward Puerto Viejo. Rather than returning along the same road I had followed earlier, I took the much longer and more scenic route along the beach.
It wasn’t the day I had imagined when I left the guesthouse that morning. I didn’t get to see the rescued animals, and my hour-long walk hadn’t led to the experience I expected. Still, the day wasn’t completely wasted. I had found another stretch of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast and turned a disappointing morning into a relaxed afternoon.
Once again, my plans in Costa Rica hadn’t worked out—but the alternative wasn’t so bad.
If I couldn’t see the jaguars, I was going to drink vodka on the beach instead. Not the day I planned, but not a bad backup plan either.
A Sold-Out Bus and an Extended Stay
My original plan was to spend only two nights in Puerto Viejo before returning to San José. I hadn’t been completely sure how long I wanted to stay, so booking two nights at Cabinas Mitchaelle’s had given me some flexibility.
On the morning I was supposed to leave, I packed my belongings, checked out of the guesthouse, and walked to the bus station with all my luggage. I assumed I would be able to buy a ticket to San José and leave that day.
By now, you would think I had learned my lesson about booking things ahead of time.
I had not.
When I reached the station, I discovered that the bus I wanted was already sold out. I needed to return to San José because of my pre-booked departure, but there was no way for me to leave Puerto Viejo that day. I bought the first available ticket I could get, even though it meant staying in town for another two nights.
While local buses made travelling around Costa Rica possible without renting a car, the popular routes could fill up. Waiting until the day of travel to buy a ticket might work—but it might also leave you stranded for a couple of extra days.
Fortunately, Puerto Viejo wasn’t the worst place to be stranded.
Since I had already checked out of Cabinas Mitchaelle’s, I needed to find somewhere else to stay. This time, I booked Oasis, a hostel located directly on the beach. My first guesthouse had given me the personal space I wanted, but it had also been farther away from some of the places I wanted to explore. If I had to remain in Puerto Viejo, I wanted to be within easy walking distance of the beach and town.
It meant returning to shared accommodation after enjoying the privacy of my own room, but the beachfront location made the switch worthwhile. At Oasis, even the communal area was covered in sand, and shoes felt almost unnecessary.
I didn’t have a new list of activities to fill the unexpected days. Instead, I decided to accept the extra time for what it was: two unplanned days beside the Caribbean Sea.
The best part of switching hostels—walking straight from Oasis onto the beach.
Barefoot Days on the Caribbean Coast
My final two days in Puerto Viejo were much slower than the first two.
I didn’t try to replace the Jaguar Rescue Center with another tour or fill every hour with activities. Instead, I spent most of my time relaxing at the hostel, walking along the beach, and wandering around town. After several weeks of travelling through Costa Rica, I was perfectly happy to have a couple of days with very little planned.
The atmosphere at Oasis made it easy to slow down. With sand covering the communal area and the beach only steps away, I spent most of my time walking around barefoot. I could leave the hostel, explore the shoreline, and return whenever I felt like it.
Puerto Viejo had plenty of beach bars and a lively party scene, but I simply wasn’t in the mood for it. Although I was staying in a hostel again, I didn’t socialize much with the other travellers either. There were a few simple conversations here and there, but I mostly kept to myself.
Sometimes hostels led to meeting people, sharing drinks, and making spontaneous plans. Other times, they were simply an affordable place to sleep—and that was fine too. I didn’t feel as though I needed to go out partying simply because the option was there.
Most of my entertainment came from walking along the beach and seeing what I could find. At one point, I spotted monkeys in the trees. I also came across lizards along the way. After missing out on the Jaguar Rescue Center, it felt fitting that I still managed to encounter some of Puerto Viejo’s wildlife on my own.
During some of my downtime, I also began researching what I wanted to do in San José. I would have two days there before my departure, and although I knew I had to return, part of me still wished I could keep travelling south instead.
From Puerto Viejo, I could have taken a bus into Panama and extended the adventure. Had I not already booked my departure from San José, I might have done exactly that. Unfortunately, trying to skip San José would probably have caused me to miss it altogether.
For once, having something booked ahead worked against me.
Still, the sold-out bus had given me two extra days in Puerto Viejo. What began as an inconvenience turned into more time walking along the Caribbean coast, watching for wildlife, and enjoying a destination I had originally expected to visit for only two nights.
Puerto Viejo wasn’t the carefully planned Caribbean adventure I might have imagined. I never made it inside the Jaguar Rescue Center, a bird flew into my room twice, and I ended up staying longer because I failed to reserve my bus ticket.
But that was part of the experience.
On my final day, I packed my belongings and prepared to leave the Caribbean coast behind. Before boarding the bus, I stopped for lunch at a beachfront restaurant. It was a simple way to spend my last few hours in Puerto Viejo—eating beside the water and enjoying one final view of the beach before the long journey back across Costa Rica.
This time, I had a confirmed seat waiting for me. After lunch, I boarded the bus and began making my way toward the capital.
My final stop would take me away from the coast and back to San José for two days of exploring before it was finally time to leave Costa Rica.
Next up: San José.
Vodka on the beach, unexpected wildlife, and a few extra days on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.
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