Cahuita Travel Guide

  Begining of Cahuita Nation Park trail...
by culturedesigns
 
  • Begining of Cahuita Nation Park trail view.
      Begining of Cahuita Nation Park trail...
    by culturedesigns
  • A Cahuita landmark soon to be gone
      A Cahuita landmark soon to be gone
    by Lidrokz
  • The beach in Cahuita: Playa Negro
      The beach in Cahuita: Playa Negro
    by Pieter11
  • Buttercup
      Buttercup
    by Lidrokz
  • Aviarios del Caribe Research Center
      Aviarios del Caribe Research Center
    by Lidrokz
 

Pro

Lidrokz profile photo

 A "calypsonian" paradise!!!! 


Con

easterntrekker profile photo

 poor ....rainy 


In a nutshell

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 Best kept secret in Costa Rica 

 

Explore Cahuita

Things to Do  

Visit Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center

Visit Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center, Cahuita

 1mu Says:  Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center & Botanical Gardens is a piece of paradise in Cahuita. The owners take care of many different (displaced) animals as if they were their own children.All animals have plenty of space, so they created a real cozy park for them to recover.... 

Cruisin' Cahuita National Park

Cruisin' Cahuita National Park, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  This is an easy walk for just about anyone....young or old. The sandy path is flat & there are only a few small roots crossing the path here & there. There is wildlife everywhere! We saw dozens of monkeys...Capuchin (Mono cariblanco) & Howlers (Mono congo) as well as Racoons... 

Restaurants  

Corleones: Pizzaz

Corleones: Pizzaz, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  Nice place, clean, great food. The pizzas are one of our favorite meals here all though we've liked everything we've tried. When we order pizza we each get our own & "if" there's left overs we take it with us for later. The pizza is super thin crust & cooked to perfection.... 

La Fey: Service with a smile

La Fey: Service with a smile, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  Walter, the owner is a super great guy. Most times he would pull up a chair & sit & chat for quite awhile. We ate there a lot. The chicken was good as was pretty much anything we tried. If you order the banana split be warned it's not like you'd get at home....it's a banana... 

Restaurant Relax: Fine Dining on the Caribbean

Restaurant Relax: Fine Dining on the Caribbean, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  The Restaurant Relax used to be right down town Cahuita. The first time we went to their new location I thought "wow, that's a long dark walk for the average tourist on foot". We drove so I can't say exactlty how far it is. The new building though is very impressive, the... 

Miss Edith's: good & bad

Miss Edith's: good & bad, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  While the food can indeed be excellent, the service never has been. We had a relative of Miss Edith's that we know well, recommend we eat there. We did & we sure weren't impressed. We've tried it a couple of times more but honestly I'm not sure I would recommend it, not just... 

Sol y Mar Restaurant: Best Breakfasts in town

Sol y Mar Restaurant: Best Breakfasts in town, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  The Sol y Mar is only open for breakfasts from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. & this is by far our favorite place in town for breaky. The meals are reasonable & the restaurant is clean. Upstairs they have hotel rooms & on the side is their Sol y Mar Gift Shop. All parts of the Sol y Mar... 

Natural Ingrid's: Columbian/ Costa Rican cuisine

Natural Ingrid's: Columbian/ Costa Rican cuisine, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  Ingrid's place is clean & the food is excellent. Ingrid herself is Columbian & her husband is Dutch. We became fast friends with Ingrid & she treats us like family when ever we arrive. We like pretty much everything we tried except the "pulpo" (octopus) cerviche but that's... 

Marisqueria Vista del Mar: Cheap & tastey Chinese

Marisqueria Vista del Mar: Cheap & tastey Chinese, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  This is a great place for Chinese food in Cahuita. Huge portions.....you won't leave hungry.There are other non chinese dishes on the menu as well......all good. The "especial" chowmein is excellent as is pretty much every dish we tried 

RELAX: Moved to another place

RELAX: Moved to another place, Cahuita

 Gitanita Says:  The restaurant RELAX is no longer in front of Coco's Bar, you find it now on the main street to Puerto Viejo, left hand. It's still a delicious restaurant and the owners Serafino and Graciela are very friendly. 

Nightlife  

Cocos Bar: loud & proud

Cocos Bar: loud & proud, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  Good drinks....lots to choose from. Great place to watch the goings on in the park across the street. Lots of locals hang out at the park at night, it seems to be "the" place to be. Some nights they have live music & you can dance near the back of the bar but then you are... 

Cocos Bar: The place to be

Cocos Bar: The place to be, Cahuita

 Pieter11 Says:  If you would ask the people in Cahuita where to go to at night if you want to have a good time, most probably 95% of the people would recommend Cocos Bar. 95% because probably another 5% has their own bar or restaurant. Cocos Bar is the place to be when you are in town.The... 

Transportation  

Bus, what else

Bus, what else, Cahuita

 lotharlerch Says:  Three daily buses leave San José for Sixaola. They stop at Cahuita after a 4 hour ride. Regional buses go to Limón, Puerto Vargas, Puerto Viejo and Bribri. Buses to and from San José can be very crowded on weekends in the "dry" season. 

Caribbean Coast by bus

Caribbean Coast by bus, Cahuita

 Pieter11 Says:  Between Puerto Limón and Sixaola, at the border with Panama, busses operate from the company "Autotransportes Mepe". This company has one line between these two placeswith busses driving every hours to each direction, between sunrise and sunset.Cahuita is right in the middle... 

Local Customs  

Have your passports ready
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3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Lidrokz 49 reviews
Tuba Creek Checkpoint

When heading to or from the southern caribbean all traffic must pass through the Tuba Creek Checkpoint. Generally the officers do not stop traffic heading to Cahuita & Puerto Viejo but when leaving almost everyone will be stopped. Make sure you have your passports ready as they will be asked for. The police at the checkpoint are friendly & if you pass through often they may just wave you on your way. A couple of years ago there was at least one officer killed at the checkpoint by a thief in a stolen vehicle. This has made the officers a little more wary & maybe in some cases not so friendly. If travelling by local bus be prepared for the whole bus & all its passengers to be thoroughly checked out.

Written Mar 22, 2009

Related to:
 Road Trip

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Warnings and Dangers  

Swimming in the waters right off the beach

Swimming in the waters right off the beach, Cahuita

 abalone_girl Says:  It is important to remember that it rains a huge amount at night often times. You do not see this water because in the tropics it runs off via the ground water. When you swim in the waters just off of the jungle, a river or creek may manifest itself 50 offshore and create... 

Don't blind the animals

Don't blind the animals, Cahuita

 easterntrekker Says:  Please turn off you're flash . It is a privlidge to beable to photograph these animlas . They are in their home. Thye monkeys are momemtarily blinded by flashes as they sail through the trees. I noticed how camera shy the monkeys in Manuel Antonio are and I realized they... 

Tourist Traps  

Roberto Tours Cahuita- the most terrible scam !!!
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georgelaskis 1 reviews

I wanted to go see the dolphins and hired a tour at Roberto's tours in Cahuita Costa Rica. The tour included complementary breakfast before departure, 3 hours at boat to see the dolphins and snorkeling afterwards at the coral reef.

First I was charged $150 in advance with a 7% surplus for using my credit card. Then I was made to come at 5:45 am because that was the time dolphins "were close". At the time no one was there. 20 minuts afterwards a guy appeared and told me that there was no breakfast because the made (a 12 year girl) didn't come. Then I walked a mile to get into a old and fragile open fishing boat and with only one safety jaket for every three persons.

After 3 hours there was no sign of dolphins at all and everyone got sea sick because of the cruising speed, the sun and the hunger. The guy confessed that because the whole week it was raining dolphins went to Boca in Panama ... Why the heck then they sold me the tour in first place!?!?!?

Then I tried snorkeling: dirty water (again because of the rain days before) and we had to go to the least attractive spot. Nevertheless that it was a mere 5 feet deep I could not see almost anything. It was the most pittyfull and the least gratifying experience. It was so humiliating: a "gringo" swiming in a dirty soup trying to see a lonely and disgraced fish in dirty dead piece of coral.

When I was back I asked for a refund. After all I didn't get anything I payed for and they knew it beforehand. I got a rotound NO for an answer and when I insisted they (the three guys there) started to scream and swear at me!!! Un f...g believable!!! Obiously I am not coming back EVER! I better spend my next vacations in Baja.

Written Feb 22, 2008

Related to:
 Fishing
 Diving and Snorkeling
 National/State Park

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Off The Beaten Path  

Get gas

Get gas, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  Once you leave Limon & head southish towards Cahuita & Puerto Viejo gas stations are far & few between. The main one is located at Penshurst (or Penshurt) which is about 9 kms before Cahuita. Gas up here as the only other gas station is waay off the beaten path somewhere up... 

Sloths,Sloths.....everywhere!!

Sloths,Sloths.....everywhere!!, Cahuita

 Lidrokz Says:  If you are visiting the caibbean coast then the Sloth Refuge is a must see. For $30.00 US your visit includes breakfast with "Buttercup" & several baby sloths, a canal tour on one of the Rio Estrella's tributaries where you can see tons of birds & wild sloths & tour of the... 

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Map of Cahuita