This muddy, colorful little town is one of the hottest spots on the international budget-travel circuit, and swarms with backpackers, surfers, and New Agers. For better or for worse, though, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca has outgrown its surfer roots and you'll find plenty of more "grown-up" offerings on the road heading southeast and northwest out of town.
At the last count, some 50 nationalities were represented in this tiny community, and most are united in concern for the environment and orderly development of tourism—few want to see the place become just another Costa Rican resort community. Some locals bemoan the loss of their town's innocence, as drugs and other evils have surfaced, but this is still a fun town to visit, with a great variety of hotels, cabinas, and restaurants in every price range. Unlike some other parts of Costa Rica, no one has been priced out of the market here.
Locals shorten the name to just "Puerto Viejo" (British settlers called the area "Old Harbour") but we use the complete name to avoid confusion with the other Puerto Viejo covered in this chapter: Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí in northern Costa Rica. (Note that you may also see this Caribbean town referred to as "Puerto Viejo de Limón.") You have access to the beach right in town, and the Salsa Brava, famed in surfers' circles for its pounding waves, is here off the coast, too. The best strands of Caribbean sand are outside the village: Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita (technically a series of beaches), and Punta Uva, all dark-sand beaches, line the road heading southeast from town. Playa Negra—not to be confused with the Playa Negra near Cahuita—is a black-sand beach northwest of town. Punta Uva, with fewer hotels and the farthest from the village, sees fewer crowds and more tranquility. Playa Negra shares that distinction, too—for now—but developers have eyed the beach as the next area for expansion.
