The Ultimate Family Travel Guide to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica with Children

When is the Best Time to go to Costa Rica with Children?

When is HIGH SEASON (Typically Drier) – Mid-December – April

When is LOW SEASON (Typically Wetter) – May to mid-December

Our advice? Visit Costa Rica during the summer months!

All the travel guides say that the best time to visit Costa Rica is during their high season when it’s drier (mid December to April). While that may line up with winter or spring break, high season also means it’s more expensive and more crowded. For tips on booking affordable flights for international travel and more, check out our In-Depth Guide to Planning Family Travel Abroad.

We’re biased since we visited Costa Rica at the end of August/beginning of September and had a perfect beach holiday. How many amazing tropical beach destinations consider summer their low season? Flight prices are already higher during your kid’s summer vacation, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy a tropical location with off-peak prices and less crowds? Big yes from us!

Worried about rain? Don’t fret, there is a lull in the rainy season in Costa Rica in July-August. We based ourselves on the East coast, Caribbean side of Costa Rica in Puerto Viejo, and we had plenty of sunshine everyday to spend at the beach. 

The caribbean side is more humid than the west coast and if you’ve ever been to SE Asia, you likely already know what the sudden, but short downpours are like. Rain, when it occurred, happened in the late afternoon / evening. As soon as it was over, we hopped on our bikes and went out again 🙂

We took advantage of those rainy afternoons to rest after an action-packed morning. We rested in hammocks, read and played games and enjoyed the sounds of nature from the deck of our airbnb. (Never tried Airbnb before? Click here to receive a discount on your first booking – we receive one too, at no additional cost to you!)

Why do you recommend the East coast, Caribbean side of Costa Rica over the West coast, Pacific side of Costa Rica?

The West coast is more developed and is popular for tourists. It’s more accessible from the international airports, there are more developed beach towns with international chain hotels and fast food restaurants, provides easy access to and a plethora of all sorts of activities and can delight even the fanciest amenities you desire.

Don’t get me wrong, while these are great reasons to go to the west side of Costa Rica, we love lesser known destinations that still have a more natural, local charm to it. Due to our travel experience and preferences, we seek travel experiences that give us an opportunity to learn more about a country’s culture and its people. 

So if you’re anything like us, you’ll want to invest the time to travel to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. What it lacks (for now), e.g big all-inclusive resorts or hotel chains, it more than makes up with beautiful secluded beaches, lush jungle, and an incredible amount of wildlife and culture. 

What does the east coast offer? 

• Crystal clear turquoise waters, great snorkeling areas and palm tree-lined, family friendly beaches
• Great hiking and wildlife sighting opportunities (e.g. Cahuita National Park, Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. We highly recommend private tour guides like Tito and Abel – we share their contact info below).
• Exciting opportunities for outdoor adventures in the lush rainforest (We did a beautiful zipline tour – children 4 and up are able to participate!)
• Cheap and plentiful seafood and delicious local cuisine.
• More laid back, less touristy/less crowded, gives you a true local experience with lovely locals.
• And of course, the Caribbean side is very affordable (and if you want to splurge, you can for reasonable rates!).

Why base yourself in Puerto Viejo?

• Everything you want to see and do is close. You can even visit Bocas del Toro, Panama for a night or two. It’s only a 3-hour shuttle drive (We used Caribe shuttle. They were great. They picked us up at our airbnb and were professional and on time. They even stopped so that our 3 year old could do an emergency pit stop!).
• Fantastic tropical weather  – it’s tropical, hot and humid, but it’s not the unbearable dry heat like the Pacific side.
• Though not a full fledged beach destination with all-inclusive resorts or hotel chains, Puerto Viejo has a great local vibe and you can find anything you need like the local post office (they even allow you to receive packages there!), the bus station, bank/ATM (though anticipate waiting in line with the other locals since generally only one ATM was working while we were there), pharmacies, plenty of dining options, supermarkets, laundromats, car and bike rental companies, tour companies, etc. You also get the opportunity to experience local life (Our kids went crazy over fresh bread we bought from a street vendor during our stay. When we told her we were leaving after 3 weeks, she gave us all hugs!) 
• Easy access to wildlife rescue centers and nature reserves like the Jaguar Rescue Center, the Sloth sanctuary and La Ceiba Private Nature Reserve (see more information below).
• Locals point out sloths and monkeys in trees whenever they see any because they know it’s not an everyday occurrence for you!
• There are tons of beach bars and restaurants with happy hours and weekly specials, live music, and the kids were always welcome! The sun sets pretty early in Puerto Viejo, between 5:30-6pm. While very laid back during the day, a fun nightlife exists in the evenings. We celebrated Victor’s birthday at Koki’s Beach Restaurant & Bar (Great, fun atmosphere, large portions, good, but not stellar food, reasonable to more expensive than the local places we recommend below). 
• We’ve visited many unique places in the world and we’d definitely visit Puerto Viejo and Costa Rica again in a heartbeat (with or without children!).

Must See and Do in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

See incredible wildlife in and around Puerto Viejo

While the east coast doesn’t boast as many national parks as the west coast of Costa Rica, there is an incredible amount of wildlife, and some species are local to only the Caribbean side (e.g. two and three toed sloths <3, white-faced capuchin monkeys, toucans, macaws,etc). You’ll spot many in nature (some suggested parks below) but if you’d like an up-and-close look, consider one of the wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves below. If staying outside town closer to the forest like we did, you’ll likely be woken by howlers (if you don’t know what they are, don’t worry, you’ll likely hear them in the wee hours of the morning!).

• We loved the Jaguar Rescue Center, just past Puerto Viejo town center. You’ll see tons of sloths, including baby sloths, all kinds of monkeys, including the white faced capuchin, macaws flying around free, snakes, etc. They have good public tours twice a day (9:30am and 11:30am). We just showed up about 20 minutes prior and paid the approx $20 for the entry ticket. Our kids were free (under 10 is free). 
  • There are tons of tour groups you can join in advance, but I don’t recommend it unless you’re going for a private tour, or if you’re not staying in Puerto Viejo and you’re paying for a package that includes transportation. Otherwise, you basically get the same tour as the public one at an elevated price. If you’re staying in Puerto Viejo, it’s easy to get to. A taxi for us, just outside of Puerto Viejo, cost us about $5. You can even ride your bike there (we didn’t realize how close it was, and will do this next time).

The Sloth sanctuary in Cahuita. We looked into this, a

nd can be an alternative or supplement to the Jaguar Rescue Center. This is focused on sloths so is great for the sloth lover.

La Ceiba Private Nature Reserve, at Punta Uva. Can tag on visiting this center with snorkeling at Punta Uva! They also offer a night tour, something we will do once the kids are a little older. 

Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue center and Botanical gardens in Cahuita. This is another great option for those who are interested in seeing sloths and other wildlife AND botanical gardens.

Cahuita National park – Really easy to get to, and is a gorgeous easy, flat hike for kids with animals galore. It’s located right along the beach as well so you can choose to also tag on a snorkeling trip (Cahuita is known to have the best coral reefs in the country). We took the bus in Puerto Viejo and got dropped off on the road that leads to the entrance and walked in. We recommend using a private tour guide like Alexander (nicknamed Tito) as many groups of people passed us and didn’t realize there was wildlife all around us without Tito pointing them out. He also has a powerful telescope so you can see the wild animals up close and he takes amazing photos of the animals for you! We saw iguanas, sloths, lizards, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, leaf cutter ants, and more!

• You can reach Tito at cahuitacabinastito@yahoo.com or titocahuita@hotmail.com. 
  • TIP: wear closed toed shoes/socks and stay to the middle of the trail as possible. My husband, Victor, got near the edge of the trail and a papercutter ant bit him! It didn’t hurt at all but he did have to clean up his bloody toe. 
  • TIP: Make sure to have hats, sunscreen and perhaps bring an umbrella for the kids or anyone who doesn’t want to get into the water. There is absolutely ZERO shade on the boats.

• TIP: Though I enjoyed seeing the coral reef, if you’ve had spectacular snorkeling experiences in other areas, I wouldn’t set your expectations high.
  • TIP: Interested in learning how we find and hire great affordable local guides without paying a middleman? Yes, I want a free step by step guide and checklist on how to find and select your own affordable local guides. It includes a list of questions we use to ensure we select the right guide for our family.
• Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge. Really recommend visiting this beautiful park. Old growth trees, lots of wildlife and peaceful rainforest to walk through. We literally only happened on one other couple during the whole hike. We recommend a group or private hike with Abel Bustamente. You can check out all the great TripAdvisor reviews I linked to. Personally, he was fun to be around, super knowledgeable, and is amazing with children and got our 1 and 3 year old excited to learn about the poisonous tree frogs, spiders and monkeys. We didn’t see sloths here. If you want to see sloths, do Cahuita.

• You can contact Abel via email crlocalguide@hotmail.com or via Whatsapp: +50688957394.
  • Rates may have changed but for us were, $35/pp on an open hiking tour that anyone can join (you could be the only people) or $55/pp on a private tour (our kids were free) and you can choose the exact time you want to start the tour. We decided to pay the extra $20/pp (total $40) for the private tour since we were worried we wouldn’t be able to get the kids ready in the morning and catch the bus to arrive in time for the group tour hike. 
  • Abel also offers snorkeling tours – just ask!
• This last one we’re listing is NOT in, nor near Puerto Viejo, but we wanted to share it since you may be interested in seeing turtles. We’ve read mixed reviews about turtle hatcheries in general all over the world, so have not yet visited one, though you can read about the famous Tortuguero park here. Note, since it can take up to 5 hours to get there, most people will visit Tortuguero on the way out of Puerto Viejo (so travel from airport to Puerto Viejo, then visit Tortuguero for a night, then head back to the airport to fly home).

Other easy family friendly activities in and around Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

• Rent bikes in Puerto Viejo and ride around town, to visit beaches, and wildlife centers.

• Most hotels have bikes and will rent you one (you might be lucky enough to be offered a bike to use for free!). Cost is generally $5-$10/day (depending on the condition of the bike and what services are included). Though we didn’t try, we heard that if you’re there long term, it’s cheaper to just buy a bike and then donate it afterwards.
  • Remember to ask if they have emergency road assistance in case of a flat tire or you need a repair.
  • If your hotel doesn’t rent bikes (or they do but don’t have toddler seats), checkout Tuanis, in the center of Puerto Viejo. The kids loved getting on the bikes everyday to get around (It was also great exercise for us!). We recommend you call in advance to make sure they have a toddler seat available for you. The link I’ve provided here is their google info and that’s the number we used when we called.
  • You can bike to the numerous beaches that dot the coastline and everywhere else in between, including the wildlife centers. We biked as far as Punta Uva but don’t have experience biking to Manzanillo. Since we wanted to spend the day in Manzanillo to snorkel and hike, we took the bus from town instead. There’s lots of other locals and tourists biking the road from Puerto Viejo to Cocles all the way to Punta Uva, but there is significantly less traffic from Punta Uva to Manzanillo. As the road is more remote, if you are with young children, we highly recommend the bus (our kids love the bus so it was fun to change it up).
  • Heads up: No one wears a helmet while biking anywhere in town nor along the coast. I normally am very strict about wearing helmets, even when the kids are just riding in our backyard. I didn’t even think about it while there (when in Rome!), but looking back at our pictures, I do wish we had asked around about them. If you’re worried about that, I’d recommend bringing or buying some before you get here.
• Horseback riding on the beach! If you want to enjoy a beautiful beach horseback ride, we recommend http://www.caribehorse.com/. We do lots of research before pre-booking anyone and we reached out to Caribehorse based on all the great reviews on Tripadvisor. Our kids were 1 and 3, too young to ride. You need to be at least 4 so we’ll definitely be doing this when we return. 
• Ziplining (minimum age is 4). We didn’t end up being able to take the kids ziplining (since our oldest daughter had just turned 3 and the minimum age was 4), but the kids did take a fun photo call picture right outside the office 🙂 

• My husband, Victor, watched the kids, and my brother, his girlfriend and I signed up. No one else was there so we got a private zipline tour through the lush rainforest! 

• Other recommended activities, including cultural ones. Check out ATECC, a local tour operator in Puerto Viejo to learn more about other activities you can do in the area (e.g. cultural tours like visiting the Bri Bri village and chocolate tours). We didn’t have time to do more things because we ended up making a last minute decision to go visit Bocas del Toro in Panama. Read below for our tips on a short visit to Panama. 

Family friendly Beaches in and around Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Playa Chiquita

Our favorite beach! It’s great for kids since it has protective reefs with low, gentle waves. Our 1 and 3 year old loved the clear blue water and played with coconuts and sticks they found in the sand (we even saw little fish and snorkled around). It’s a bit challenging to find but well worth it. It’s secluded, and you can even find yourself a little plot of sand just for yourself! We share how to get there below (with exact google coordinates for the trailhead off the main road).

How to get to Playa Chiquita. 

The trail entrance is a bit hidden, we rode past it on bikes a couple times before we found the trailhead. I’ve shared the google location with you here. Once you see the Shawandha Lodge on your right hand side, you should cross the road immediately as just ahead, you’ll see the rundown, wood, chiquita trailhead sign leading to a narrow trail towards the beach. It is about a 5 minute walk down the windy, root covered trail but it’s shady (we rode as far as we could on our bikes then had to walk it the rest of the way to the beach due to all the roots). Once you get to the beach, we recommend heading towards the right until you find a secluded area of beach just for yourself. If you want food, you can walk left, past the trailhead again, and you’ll find a hut serving food if you’re hungry. Or bring your own picnic – just remember to carry out your trash.

Punta Uva

This is a well known snorkeling spot! Supposedly, the best snorkeling area is swimming around the coral reef at the point (we heard people saw octopus but we weren’t so lucky). The water was nice and gentle for the kids.

Playa Cocles

Really large, wide beach and lots of sand to play and run on. Locals pointed out monkeys in the trees. This one is really easy to get to with easy access. The waves were stronger than Playa Chiquita and Punta Uva though. Our kids, who were just 1 and 3, mostly kept to the sand.

Playa Puerto Viejo

This long stretch of beach lines the town of Puerto Viejo. Again, not as picturesque as the other beaches on this list, but we loved going down for a stroll after eating in town. There were a lot of local families out and about swimming. Great for people watching and checking out the local vibe.

Playa Negra

Playa Negra, also known as Black Beach, greets you just as you enter Puerto Viejo (It was the closest beach outside our AirBnb). It’s known for surfing and though it’s not the most picturesque beach, it’s really great for strolling with the kids. We love the old barge with a tree growing on the top of it! We saw locals around here too, climbing up and jumping off of the barge. And for the adventurous, if you stick your feet underwater, you may feel live sand dollars pulsating!

Playa Grande before or after visiting Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge

There’s so many beaches dotting the coastline, why wouldn’t you visit all of them? 🙂 Nice snorkeling or just as a fresh dip after a hike in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. Before you head out ot catch the bus, grab a smoothie on the way out! I can’t remember where we got ours but there are a few places you can choose from while you’re waiting on the bus.

Playa Grande is about 8km from Puerto Viejo. We took the bus to get here but you can definitely bike here – we didn’t realize that we had already biked most of the coast and could have gone a little further to get here. With young kids, you might elect the bus if you want to get an early start for your hike.

Puerto Viejo to Bocas del Toro, Panama

Interested in visiting Bocas del Toro while you’re in Puerto Viejo? Absolutely possible and not complicated with kids, even crossing the border on foot (everyone will direct you where to go).

You won’t really get a sense of the local culture and its people if you go on a short overnight trip like we did, but if you’d like to visit the small town and lounge on its crystal clear beaches, definitely look into it.

We used caribeshuttle. They were easy, professional and on-time. They picked us up and dropped us off right at our airbnb.

When you are dropped off at the boat dock, don’t be afraid to speak to locals on the water taxi transfer, but don’t feel obligated to agree to any tours someone may offer you. We ended up committing to a relatively inexpensive one, about $25/pp, for a tour of several islands, which included fruit (kids were free). However, we ended up only going to one island (I forgot what the guide’s excuse was when we inquired). We thought the beach was nice, but we weren’t exactly ecstatic that we didn’t get what we were promised. This is one of those times I kind of kick myself in the butt for not doing a little more research. That being said, we had decided to go last minute so gotta just suck it up, live and learn!

Since Bocas del Toro is more expensive than Puerto Viejo, I definitely recommend doing some research and book something in advance, or even just wait to find something once you get to town, especially if you’re going to be there more than one night and have time to spare. Note, some of the islands charge a National park entrance fee.

I also recommend booking your Bocas del Toro accommodations in advance since it’s pricier than Puerto Viejo. We had some confusion with the booking.com reservation we made, so we ended up in pricier accomodations than we budgeted for (the guy who sold us the boat tour, encouraged us to go to this higher end hotel – likely because he got a commission for bringing our business there!). It ended up being a very clean and modern hotel right on the waterfront (Tropical Suites). We hadn’t splurged on accommodation anywhere else so it was fine for one night.

We had a wonderful little breakfast there on their deck with a great view in the morning before we left the next day, but it ended up costing about $90/night for each room (To contrast, we paid this price for a 3 bedroom private house in Puerto Viejo). We hadn’t researched Bocas del Toro in advance as it was a last minute decision to go so we didn’t beat ourselves up too much about it.

There were plenty of restaurant options and we just used Tripadvisor and google to help us find different places to dine at. Nothing stood out or was memorable.

Was it worth it? The views and beaches were incredibly beautiful. 

Would I go to Bocas del Toro again? No, BUT I would visit Panama as I’ve been told that Bocas del Toro is not representative of the rest of Panama.

Money: What currency does Puerto Rico use? 

Puerto Rico uses colones or dollars. 

We never travel with cash. We use our credit cards whereever possible and then use our Charles Schwab ATM card (no fees for withdrawing worldwide) to take money out as needed.

You can read more about our general travel tips here. 

Is it safe in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica for families?

Yes, we walked and biked everywhere. There were plenty of other travelers riding their bikes as well and we didn’t hear of any dangerous warnings or robberies, though we had come across a couple warnings on tripadvisor. We have traveled a lot as a couple and as a family and have not been robbed. 

I’m new to traveling abroad and would like to receive a free e-book guidebook with tips for planning my trip and how to protect my family and travel safely.

Best way to get to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica from San Juan international airport (SJO)

The Caribbean coast has somewhat remained under the radar, in part due to the difficulty in getting there. That being said, in recent years, new infrastructure has made it easier to access the Caribbean coast and we had no issue getting there with 2 little toddlers (who had just turned 1 and 3!)

Private van

We were 4 adults, 2 kids. And it cost us $200, one way for a 4 hour drive. This is quite expensive for a transfer compared to some other countries we’ve been to. Though we had previously traveled domestically and internationally with the kids under the age of 1, we weren’t too sure if two toddlers (just turned 1 and 3 and the 3 year old being recently potty trained) would manage OK for 4 hours with no bathroom onboard. We ended up shelling out the money for comfort and convenience this time so we could stop for food and potty breaks as needed. 

This is also a great option if you are traveling outside of public transportation hours. Puerto Satellite was the best resource we found for public transportation. Outside of the airport transfers, we biked and used public transportation everywhere.

We used and highly recommend Costa Rica Drivers if you’d like a private transfer. You can reach them directly at drivercostarica@gmail.com. You can read their impeccable reviews here on Tripadvisor. Christian was extremely responsive, communicative and easy to work with. The driver  even waited over an hour for us since there was some delay and confusion with our luggage. 100% worth the money. I even asked if they had local drivers in Puerto Viejo so we could hire them – unfortunately, they didn’t.

That being said, in the future, we’d consider taking the bus (see below).

Bus

There’s a bus that goes all the way to Puerto Viejo from the airport. My brother and his girlfriend had flown in a few days after us and took the bus. They were dropped off right near our rental. My brother told me they made one bathroom/snack break and that the bus was comfortable and had AC.

For more tips on transportation options when traveling with kids, check out out guide here.

Where to stay in Puerto Viejo

There are lots of options for local accommodations right in town or bordering the coastline ranging from budget options to more luxury ones. As a family, we always prefer to use airbnbs or aparthotels where we can have more space, a kitchen and if we’re lucky, a bathtub for the kids. 

Check out our guide with more tips on how to search and select where to stay as a family.

Staying in and around Puerto Viejo

We recommend searching airbnb and booking.com. You can choose to stay right in the heart of Puerto Viejo town, or stay closer to the beaches on the coast.

Not sure what type of accommodation will work best for you and your family? Check out our blog post guide about how to choose the right accommodation for your family and your travel style.

Casa Caribe

In Puerto Viejo, we stayed at Casa Caribe, a large, private 3 bedroom house, about a 6 minute walk to town, close to Playa Negra. If you’re interested in staying at the same place, you can contact Alex at Casa.caribe.cr@gmail.com. We paid via paypal. He also has several single rooms posted up on airbnb here and here, though I don’t recommend those. My brother rented one and said it was hot and noisy and ended up staying with us in our 3 bedroom house instead. We ended up paying $90/night for the whole house without AC and $110/night with AC, though rates may have changed since then.

Pros:

• Alex was a really great host. He welcomed us with a choice of cold refreshments upon arrival (we chose fresh coconut juice!).

• He attended to all of our questions and needs and got things fixed right away (e.g. if there was a leak or a lightbulb that went out)
• The house was spacious. 3 bedrooms (One master with ensuite bathroom), living room, kitchen, backyard, a big common area upstairs and a deck with benches and two comfortable hammocks overlooking the garden. We also had a private entrance and there was plenty of room to park a car – since we had traveled by private shuttle, bike or taxi, we didn’t need it.

• You are literally in the forest with nature and wildlife all around you. We saw hummingbirds, heard howlers, and though we didn’t see any, we heard sloths are frequent visitors.
• There are mosquito nets over all the windows and air conditioning is also available for an additional fee (we only needed it on certain days and Alex was accommodating to only charge us for those days). 

Cons:

• The house is more rustic than we thought, after all, we are in the tropics! Since we are right next to the ocean (a few minutes walk from Playa Negra), there is some water rusting on the appliances like the washer and dryer, the fridge, etc. if you’ve been anywhere tropical with exposed homes, this may look familiar (this includes the sight of rusty bikes everywhere!).
• We weren’t right in the town. Though a short walk, it wasn’t workable for a 1 and 3 year old multiple times a day. So we ended up renting bikes and doing that trip several times a day on bike. Staying in town is an option, though it appeared that any available accommodation was shared or just single rooms, so you’d give up proximity and convenience for space, privacy and luxury of staying right in the middle of nature at home like Alex’s.

• Though a pro is that you’re surrounded by wildlife, it can also be considered a con. Howlers woke a couple of us up in the wee hours, we found a frog inside the house one evening (a fun surprise for the kids!), and one afternoon, right before it rained, we happened upon a huge line of ants marching outside the house. This is normal behavior for ants right before a downpour and after our outing, we came home to not a single ant. 

Staying in Puerto Viejo – Our recommendation 

If you don’t want to be bothered by any of the above, I would definitely not stay in Alex’s house and find a more posh place to stay. If you want a large private home for yourself and don’t mind that it’s a bit run down, Alex’s home is a great option. 

We recommend staying as close to the beach as possible and traveling into Puerto Viejo for supplies, meals, etc as needed.

In the future, since we knew we loved Playa Chiquita, I would stay somewhere closer like Casa Merlin (you can read their reviews on google, booking or tripadvisor but I’ve linked direct to their website since the rate is cheaper; $70/night for 4 people). Although smaller, it’s still tucked away, is more budget friendly and is walking distance to Playa Chiquita. 

It is also still close enough for us to bike to Puerto Viejo. The prices are reasonable for a 2 bedroom bungalow for a family, and although not completely a private property (they have other units on property), Casa Merlin seems secluded, includes an outdoor kitchenette and seating area, and the deck leads out to the shared property pool. 

Though we try our best to spend time at the beach, we’ve learned over our years of parenting that a pool is a wonderful option to have, to allow everyone to cool down and get some energy out, especially with young children who aren’t yet able to walk as much and are often carried from place to place.

Where and what to eat in and around Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Local Dishes

• Gallo Pinto is a rice and beans dish combining black beans, red bell peppers, cilantro, onion and the special Salsa Lizano. It’s appropriately named Gallo Pinto, or “Spotted Rooster” in Spanish, due to the appearance of the dark beans against the white rice. It’s typically served as a part of a hearty breakfast, with eggs, cheese, plantains, and/or tortillas.
• Casado: a varied dish including rice & beans infused with coconut, salad, plantains and a protein. We preferred chicken, but you often have a choice of beef, pork, fish, shrimp, and depending on the restaurant, sometimes there’s a lobster option!
• Sopa Negra. This soup includes black beans, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro with an egg and spices. Great vegetarian option!
• Patacones/tostones. Fried Plantains. Usually accompanies other dishes but can be eaten as a snack or appetizer.
• Refresco. Cold drink, usually fruit blended drink with a choice of milk or water base. Most places we ordered from were delicious, but a few restaurants served them more watered down and it tasted more like flavored water. Horchata is also widely available.
• Ceviche. Though not special to Costa Rica, especially if you are visiting Puerto Viejo or anywhere along the coast, do try the ceviche!
• Costa Rican Tamale. Similar to a mexican tamale, but wrapped in a banana leaf.

Restaurant recommendations

As we always want to remind people, this is NOT a list of the TOP restaurants in the area. It’s a list of the places we tried and enjoyed while visiting. Everyone has different tastes. Based on our personal preferences (we love healthy, local foods that speak for themselves and not just “dressed up” and served on a giant fancy plate). We try to stick with midrange places that stay within our budget, are clean (for hygienic purposes) and support the local community as much as possible. We do splurge every now and then and will let you know if it’s more upscale/more expensive than places we typically recommend.

• Lidia’s place. Our favorite local spot, open air restaurant, no AC, so if you need that go elsewhere. We ate here almost everyday, sometimes twice a day! Prices for a standard dish were about $5-8. Not the cheapest, but for the friendly service, excellent cuisine, we chose to return here almost everyday.

• Gelateria Deelite Italian – Delicious gelato! We visited this place several times.

• Restaurante El Sol Del Caribe – Lunch, seafood, traditional food. Delicious stop on the way to or back from the beaches. It’s across from Playa Cocles.
• Port Vell – Delicious breakfast! Vegetarian and Vegan friendly.
• Tasty Waves Cantina – Normally, we don’t add things to our list we haven’t tried ourselves but went ahead and added Tasty Waves Cantina. We didn’t get a chance to stop by here while it was open but we LOVED passing by and admiring all the decor. Supposedly the BEST place to get tacos!
• Koki’s Beach Restaurant & Bar. We mentioned it earlier. We celebrated my husband, Victor’s birthday here. It is located across the street from the beach, has a fun vibe, large portions, food was good (but not stellar), reasonable to more expensive than the other local places on this list. Ask to sit on the outdoor patio/terrace for a view.

• Ghetto girl Soda (closed) – family run, friendly, fun and bright decor. Though the casado sauce here was on the sweet side. Now closed.
• Degustibus Bakery – really delicious bakery. It’s close to the edge of town as you exit Puerto Viejo and head towards Playa Cocles. Great place to stop for food on the way heading south.
• Arepas Colombianas – This was a fun place with a good vibe. It was filled with sand and had a big swing the kids enjoyed.

• Dreadnut Coffee – Great little cafe across from the beach. Food is delicious, as are their smoothies! Vegetarian and Vegan friendly.
• Soda Shekina – This is located across from MegaSuper, the market we shopped at while in Puerto Viejo. The staff was friendly, though the casado sauce here was also on the sweet side. While dining here, we witnessed a local parade with kids! And my 1 yr old spotted a gecko hiding inside one of the lamps [photo]
• Tiare italian Cafe (closed)
• Mega Super was the supermarket we frequented to buy breakfast items and other things to stock up on. Great little local market with good prices for all essential things you need.

Restaurants to pass on

• It wasn’t terrible but we didn’t enjoy Soda Mirna and wouldn’t recommend it. It wasn’t as clean as other restaurants we went to and we felt the fruit drinks were more watered down. It also didn’t help that the people weren’t friendly at all. We love trying local places and supporting the locals but this was not one of them.

Best way to travel while in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Bike

If you want to truly enjoy the slow, relaxed, local life of Puerto Viejo. You must rent a bike and visit all the surrounding beaches. Read more above about renting and traveling by bikes with your kids.

Bus

If you’re seeking any public transportation information (e.g bus timetables) in advance of your arrival, Puerto Viejo Satellite was the best resource we found. If you don’t mind waiting until you arrive, the bus station is right in the middle of town and has an easy chalkboard timetable you can snap a picture of. Since our kids were 3 and 1 year old at the time, we always made sure to arrive 20 minutes in advance of whatever scheduled bus we wanted to take in case of any dawdling, or toddler emergency tantrum. That being said, the bus schedule seemed pretty approximate so when in doubt, best to be early.

Taxis

For the few short taxi rides we took, our airbnb called them for us (we arranged private transportation for airport transfers). We never caught any off the street since we biked everywhere else so can’t speak to that experience. Per Puerto Viejo Satellite, there are “official” taxis as well, but they also recommend just asking your hotel or restaurant.

Do I need to know Spanish to visit Puerto Viejo?

No. My husband is Spanish, our kids are bilingual and I can get by with my day to day Spanish, but when we were there, everyone spoke English to us.

Useful terms and phrases to know

• Por Favor – please
• Gracias – thank you
• De nada – you’re welcome
• Agua – Water
• Cerveza – Beer
• Donde esta el aseo? – Where is the bathroom?
• Me puede ayudar? – Can you help me?
• Donde esta [X] – Where is [X]?
• Ticos – native Costa Ricans

Looking for more? Check out our in-depth guide to planning family travel abroad for more information on preparing to travel with kids.

Planning a trip to Costa Rica with kids? What other questions do you have for us? Put them in the comments section below. We’ll answer them as quick as we can!