Puerto Viejo Forum: Beach Reviews

Hi,

I totally agree with the above poster. PV and cahuita are some of my favorite areas and for a group trip they are so fun. The beaches, especially, in Cahuita and going south from PV to Manzanillo are gorgeous, calm and usually have few people.

The town of PV has tons of little restaurants and bars and is just fun!

Definitely reconsider.

Marina K. Villatoro

http://travelexperta.com

It is amazing how all people see different things. Yes, there are sometimes garbage on the beaches in between cleanings.

It is funny how one poster sees the buzzards as a bad thing. When I first came here 7 years ago, I was amazed by the site of a buzzard. I had never seen one. I still have the photos. I watched them for over an hour. I was kind of fascinated by them.

As for the dogs... Most are not strays... unlike developed countries, dogs are allowed to run loose here. Mine just love going up and down the beach. The only time they are on a leash is when they have to got to the vet.

This is a developing country. We have one garbage truck and when it is broken down there is no one to pick up the garbage and the dogs and horses sometimes get in it. Overall, for developing countries I have been too, I am impressed at how clean beaches are (am it has really improved over the years I have been here).

Many people also forget if they are from the US, they are from the largest polluting country and consumer of raw resources in the world. They are just very good at hiding it so everything looks nice.

But keep in mind, this area and this type of travel is not for everyone. There are many travelers (especially from North America) that can not just deal with conditions the way they expect them. The Disney set just does not fair out well here. My happiest guests are almost always adventurous people from big cities. Big city people seem to just be able to handle less predictable environments and different types of people.

Puerto Viejo is a small town in the poorest region of Costa Rica. Samara and Manuel Antonio on the Pacific compared to Puerto Viejo are highly developed. Most of the people that live there are foreigners from North America. I am not suggesting that is bad, it is just they have more (and have had) resources to put into their community then us. Puerto Viejo just got electricity in 1985. Even garbage is a new concept as they never bought anything, so there was very little waste.

If you read the the overwhelming reviews, people like their visit here. But... It is not for everyone... and that is why I choose to live here.

I am frankly amazed at this review of Puerto Viejo.

Rotten Fish? Packs of wild dogs having turf

wars? The only properties were shanties? Tell

that to the owners of numerous beautiful

tropical houses and hotels from Puerto Viejo

South. I guess Punta Uva didn't make the grade

for these folks either, although it has been rated as one of the worlds top ten beaches.

I have been there (10) times, and have never

encountered "disgusting beaches". In fact the

reason we love it so much there is due to the

pristine quality of the beaches.

We have had many friends vacation there and

to a person they love the area. As Colin stated,

this area is thankfully not for everyone (If it

were it would probably look like Tamarindo, or worse..Jaco)This makes me wonder wether the people who posted these comments have actually ever really physically been there.

My God...the Drama Queens went to Puerto Viejo...incredible some people has nothing good to said about anything...I have been around the world...and I had seen dirty beaches or great beaches...Puerto Viejo is not the worst or the best...it is just a nice beach...with dogs...I LOVE DOGS..and a bunch of nice people...

Please go to Puerto Viejo , Cocles, Punta Uva, Manzanillo...then you can tell us how TERRIBLE is there...

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in PARADISE!

Funny - I have never been to Coast Rica...am currently researching my 1st trip for later this month...but...

I can't agree more with the previous posters....having been to Belize, Jamaica, Italy and Aruba....all of which have dogs that roam free...and knowing that most of the destinations outside the states are in countries where everyday life is just different (almost never seen on a Cruise Ship) I would disregard this review.

Remember, all reviews here are through the eyes of people that may not see things the way you do. As you use this site (and I LOVE TA) keep that in mind...

Looking forward to heading to the Cahuita/PV/PU area (as long as we have the time) with my wife in a few weeks...

Punta Uva, Cahuita Point, and Manzanillo beaches are as beautiful as it gets, take it from a Cubano who has seen some of the world best. Samara is nice but no comparison to PV beaches.

Was last in PV last July...

Overall liked Carib Side but brown black beaches

The beach at PV was not great

full of flotsam jetsam animals eating garbage

rough only one small area roped off for swimming

the town has a rustic dodgy feel

more of a backpacker place...

www.pachamamacaribe.com Punta Uva best beach

on Carib side for me...

for a group with good budget places like

www.reservaconchal.com better beaches for me...

So it very much depends on what you like

and your budget of course...have fun,

I'm not going to respond to the previous poster tho I do wonder how someone who doesn't seem remember much about or to care for an area became a "expert" on that same area.

If someone wants to see the beaches (which range from Black to almost white) I'd suggest the google or search feature on any computer and include "cahuita beach photos". "puerto viejo beach photos", "punta uva beach photos" "cocles beach photos", "manzanillo beach photos", etc., as search parameters.

Nuff said,,,,, there's plenty of very good pictures

joe

Oh here we go again with the stupid dodgy word. It must be a joke for him. If you click on his profile and his contributions, just count how many times he uses that stupid word. Sheeze.

I just returned from PV Tuesday night; it was my first trip to CR and I spent 13 days there.

I usually spend both my summers and holiday season in Jamaica but wanted to try something else.

The beach at PV is a surfer's and fisherman's beach.

There are small pockets of calm water for a quick dip if you are in PV.

I met a Jamaican man named Sylvester who told me he takes pride in raking the beach each day and the only trash I saw was in the trash receptacles around town. Another man, a waiter at Nima's says he gets up at dawn every day and rakes the beach in front of that portion of coast. I was actually surprised at the lack of messy trash.

The dogs - many folks own dogs - many are pure breeds and all are cared for. In my travel blog WITH PHOTOS you can see for yourself, I wrote about how even the dogs are happy. And I also noticed that there were no dog fights, they all seem to get along. Even the stray animals get fed, unlike other developing countries I have been to. It was also a common sight to see dogs running behind their bike riding owners as they head down the coast towards Manzanillo.

My travel blog: www.travelpod.com/members/yamangurl

Due to volcanic activity, there is some black sand on the part of the beach/coast by the infamous old barge with the tree growing from it. There is also some gold colored sand flecks that I thought was very pretty.

If you go further south, the beaches do get more pretty. I really liked Punta Uva and Playa Chiquita, and Manzanillo was stunning.

The dive center at Arricef had a gorgeous, turquoise cove as does Manzanillo.

If you are comparing the Caribbean side of CR to what you are used to in other Caribbean destinations - it is different. It is worth checking out though.

The country is lush and green; the humidity is the same as other Caribbean places. And the flowers and fauna are like nowhere else I have ever been.

And 99% of the food and meals I had were really good with lots of flavor. And the coffee.....delish!

The food I had in San Jose was bland.

So I don't know who wrote those two beach reviews....frankly I think it was someone who is trying to keep the tourist dollar on the over developed touristy Pacific side, IMO.