Puerto Viejo, a summary

Puerto Viejo reminds me of Venice beach. It’s colorful and touristy, with bicycles everywhere, vendors and street art all along the main road. You can feel the Caribbean and Rasta influences in the laid-back, chill vibe.

Costa Rica is a very environmentally conscientious country as a whole, but Puerto Viejo’s eco-friendly nature is everywhere in the form of signs, upcycled decor and wares, and abundance of organic, artisanal (and even gluten-free) options. They have lots of variety in types of food too, from Caribbean, to Thai, to Italian, and more.

In evenings, locals often sit and chat in front of restaurants, houses, and shops. They were very friendly, striking up conversation with passing friends (we saw plenty of drivers stick their heads out the window of their moving vehicles to yell a greeting to someone they know), or even to say hello to familiar tourists (our waiter from a previous night, asked us how our day went).

Puerto Viejo’s also a party city but it’s best later in the week, and later in the evening. Monday and Tuesday we found it pretty slow, with some restaurants closed those days and live music and festivities usually don’t start before 10pm. Saturday night we caught Plan B, a reggae, latin, rock band at Café Hot Rocks.

The best part, of course, is that it’s home to many beautiful beaches.

Playa Negra:

 

Puerto Viejo:

 

Surfing Salsa Brava

 

Playa Cocles: