Top 15 things to do and attractions in Puntarenas

Easy to cross. Food and drinks on the ship

Small marine park with sharks, crocodiles, sea turtles 🐢 and saltwater aquariums. Kids playground and picnic areas.

This is a cute little place for a day visit. We really loved the splash pad and small pool with slide the kids spent the whole afternoon playing! The grounds are really nice with lots of trees and benches. There is a cool display of sting rays and turtles. Entrance fees are reasonable and lots of parking.

I was having fun at this aquarium until I went to the food area to get a burger. The guy who works here was a total jerk!! He kept on walking back and forth staring at me with dirty looks then had the nerve to charge me more then double the amount that it was supposed to be. Was completely disgusted and will not be coming back here again ever!

Won’t be coming back to this aquarium again! Not after the experience I’ve had with the nasty guy who works at the food area. He threw my food plate down at me and didn’t even say sorry and gave me dirty looks the entire time. I’m surprised my plate didn’t break SMH!! I highly recommend not coming to this place due to how nasty this guy was! Better things to do elsewhere.

I visited the park 1 week ago. The entry price is cheap, and you can watch the fishes very closely. The cool thing about this park is that they pick up injured animals and release them when they are healthy again. There are also great activities for children. the staff is very polite, and very informative.

Nice place, very nice tanks and variety, they lack a little bit in quantity, being quite a small place, but the price is low and it helps keep not only the park open but the projects too, so it seems totally worth it for a trip of an hour or two. If you have kids, there is plenty for them to play too!

This Goat Pizza I got today for my first lunch of 2022, was spectacularly delightful and definitely a true gift for the senses. I can say this is one the best pizzas I've had in my whole life. A 100% recommended!

This is the final location for the annual Ava Maria walk from El Roble. The decor inside is plain but it is the central gathering location for Puntarenas residents and visitors. Nice square ground outside with interesting statues.

Nice cathedral. Outside in front of the cathedral are benches and a park where you can relax.

Beautiful olf church in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of Puntarenas. Lovely grounds - serene and pecadul.

Park with free wifi. Church was closed when we visit but very beautiful from the outside

One of the most beautiful churches in the country & one of the few churches oriented to the west.

It's a very nice stone and cement arquitecture!

Nice sunset but dirty beach.

Quiet place, but not the best to swim

Good

Good service

(Translated by Google) Excellent place, pleasant, good view and very quiet to share (Original) Excelente lugar ameno buena vista y muy tranquilo para compartir

(Translated by Google) Very good food, facing the sea in El Cocal de Puntarenas, accompanied by a beautiful sunset and the departure of the cruises!!! (Original) Muy buena comida, frente al mar en El Cocal de Puntarenas, se matiza un hermoso atardecer y la partida de los cruceros!!!

(Translated by Google) A beautiful place to enjoy with the family With a beautiful ocean view (Original) Un hermoso lugar para disfrutar en familia Con hermosa vista al mar

Art gallery downstairs. Bring$10000! You will want a piece. Fantastic location. Great interior. No doorbell. Perfect.

Amazing place. Old mansion that is on the water and has everything. Great place to stop when traveling back and forth to La Paz or going out on a day tour on the next door cruise company in the photos. Lovely dinner and breakfast catered by very attentive hosts. Extremely nice collection of beautiful art and nautical objects. Did our laundry and sat in their spa. Would stay again without question.

Booked via AirBnB. Would do it again anytime. Pura Vida!

(Translated by Google) The house reflects the old colonial era. A loving and wonderfully restored colonial house from the old days awaits you. Beautiful details complete the overall picture. If you get a chance, stay there for a few nights and you'll be amazed at the interior design as well as the outside ambience. Two globetrotters await you who will tell you a lot of stories. They are extremely friendly and love sharing their life experiences with you. We had three wonderful days here and you can say that we stayed in the most beautiful house in Puntaarena. The view of the harbor shows you how the ebb and flow work. The colonial house is very centrally located and you can reach everything within walking distance to do your shopping or go to the beach. You should definitely visit this on the weekend because all the locals from the area can be found there. (Original) Das Haus spiegelt die alte Zeit der Kolonialzeit wieder. Dich erwartet ein liebevolles und wunderbar restauriertes Kolonialhaus der alten Zeit. Wunderschöne Einzelheiten runden das Gesamtbild ab. Wenn du Gelegenheit hast, übernachte dort einige Nächte und du kannst über die Inneneinrichtung ebenso staunen, wie über das äußere Ambiente. Dich erwarten zwei Weltenbummler, die dir sehr viele Geschichten erzählen werden. Sie sind ausgesprochen freundlich und lieben es, ihre Lebenserfahrung mit dir zu teilen. Wir hatten hier drei wundervolle Tage und man kann sagen, dass man in dem schönsten Haus Puntaarenas genächtigt hat. Der Blick auf den Hafen zeigt dir ebenso schön wieanschaulich wie Ebbe & Flut funktionieren. Das Kolonialhaus ist sehr zentral gelegen und du kannst fußläufig alles erreichen, um deine Einkäufe zu tätigen, oder den Strand aufzusuchen. Diesen solltest du unbedingt am Wochenende aufsuchen, denn alle einheimischen aus der Umgebung sind dann dort anzutreffen.

(Translated by Google) A restored colonial house for travelers who are not looking for the everyday. Exciting, exciting... with two older globetrotters who have a lot to say. Booked via AirBnB. (Original) Ein restauriertes Kolonialhaus für Reisende, die nicht das alltägliche suchen. Spannend, spannend... mit zwei älteren Weltenbummlern, die einiges zu erzählen wissen. Gebucht via AirBnB.

(Translated by Google) Nice house...there is no better building in Puntarenas (Original) Bonita casa....no hay ningun edificio mejor en Puntarenas

(Translated by Google) This place in Puntarenas inspires me with the class of those wealthy people from those beautiful times in Costa Rica (Original) Este lugar en Puntarenas me inspira clase de aquellos adinerados de esas épocas hermosas en Costa Rica

(Translated by Google) Very varied and good place for fishing topics (Original) Muy variado y buen lugar para temas de pesca

(Translated by Google) Hello, the place is open today. (Original) Buenas hoy esta abierto el lugar

(Translated by Google) they know their business (Original) conocen su negocio

Small island taken over by various tourist vendors with chairs everywhere. There’s barely any space left on the sand to relax, as it’s all occupied by chairs, and the sea is full of rocks that hurt your feet. There’s no fresh water available to rinse off the salt, and the restrooms are in very poor condition. But yes — it looks like paradise.

Had a blast snorkeling.!! Next time we plan to dive the other side of the island.!! Staff was very nice and the day was very enjoyable.! Had a great time coming back drunk and signing songs and dancing with everyone.!! 😜😁😜😁😜😁

Loved the day trip! The crew was amazing! Super personal and they were so kind. The wife and kids had a blast! This trip is great for adults or families. The crew made it a point to learn your name and made sure you were taken care of! If you’re looking for a one day get away this is definitely a trip that you should do! My 9 and 11 year old had a blast! I’d recommend this to anyone.

We took the Costa Cat tour. We had a great time, staff are very attentive. The snorkeling was ok, water too rough for me. But a lot of fish to see. Lunch was great! Really enjoyed the grilled chicken and rice. You get what you pay for on this tour.

I give it a 4 and half stars rating. Would have been 5 if it was a little less crowded. Picturesque beach, beautiful white sand, great vibe. There're few bars on the island to purchase drinks. You can chill under the sun, swim in the beautiful, pristine water, and paddle board out to the other nearby island. There are plenty of things to do. To get here, you have to either charter a boat or book a snorkeling tour. We booked a snorkeling tour, $85 per person, including door to door service and a (castado) lunch.

Very cool place that is unspoiled. Everything must me taken(food and drinks) by the tour operator and then removed off the island when heading back. The boat ride is long as the boat goes really slow. I did the Island hike and the snorkeling. I highly recommend this tour.

FANTASTIC! I highly recommend this trip. The catamaran ride is about 45 minutes, and we saw whales along the way. The setup on the island is terrific, and the staff is exceptional. The lunch served was excellent and the provided free drinks are okay. You can opt to purchase beer and other beverages from the bar. We enjoyed the snorkeling and the fish along the reef. There is also banana boat riding available if you choose to participate. Remember to bring water shoes!

Two of us, old friends, a nurse and a doctor, spent a week as veterinary interns at Natuwa, we both felt it was an incredible experience. As human health care providers the parallels were many, the learning curve steep - it was completely fascinating. Andrés, the vet, is an excellent teacher and the entire facility is extremely well run. We helped with two surgeries and two necropsies, we helped give all the monkeys their routine antiparasitic medicine and worked with both monkeys and tapirs on operant conditioning. Living onsite made the whole experience richer as we could visit our patients after dark when needed! Natuwa seems to attract copacetic people so we also enjoyed the humans we met, both staff and volunteers.We will definitely be back!

We found 11/12 sloths, jaguars, coati, and a sleeping tapir. Our guide was friendly, informative, entertaining and patient with our 4 kids. Would definitely recommend a visit to natuwa.

I couldn’t say better things about my time as a veterinary volunteer here! I got to experience so much and was so hands on during my entire stay. The vet was so good about explaining his thoughts and allowing me to learn so much. If you are pre vet or a vet tech/asst and get the opportunity to volunteer here do NOT turn it down! I ended up doing 2 weeks and it was well worth it. The living arrangements work well, and the food is incredible. I became good friends with the people I was with while I was there and it was such a great time. I definitely will be back!

We did a private tour of this beautiful sanctuary. Our guide was very nice, and was helpful and patient with our limited Spanish. (She spoke English very well!) She allowed us to go slowly and enjoy all of flora and fauna. Very informative, and lots of beautiful animals to enjoy. Definitely a highlight of our time in Costa Rica.

A wonderful place to go see Costa Rica's wildlife up close! You can go on a tour with a Spanish and English speaking local guide to learn about all of the animals, birds, and plant species that they have here. While many of the animals here cannot be released back into the wild due to human imprinting or other issues, there is also an in-house rehabilitation program for the animals that can be released to get them back into nature where they belong. Natuwa also takes very good care of the animals. They have a dedicated wildlife veterinary program in house that regularly checks up on them to make sure none are ill or injured. They also have a team of wildlife biologists that work every day to prepare diets specifically designed for each individual species so that they are all getting proper nutrition. On-site, they have a gift shop, bathrooms, and a series of walking trails where you can take a guided tour to go and see all of the sanctuary residents.

If you are going to the Puntarenas/Punta Morales area, you MUST stop here. It was very expensive, I will not try to hide that fact, but it was a very well organized animal refuge/sanctuary that showcases a lot of animals.

Wildlife sanctuary with lots of Macaws as well as sloth, monkeys, parrots, tapirs, 2 jaguars, tortoise, emu, and white cockatoos. Tour guides were local university students learning to care for the animals and practicing their English. They explained that the animals could not be released due to exposure to humans as some were kept as pets. It was sad to see the animals in cages but glad there is a place to take them after being rescued from bad situations. It would be nicer for them if they could provide more space and enclosures that allow the animals to hide if they don't want to be gawked at. The jag enclosure seemed way too small. Provided fresh fruit at admission and has a nice little gift shop.

Our third trip to Caru so we knew it was rustic. We had a great time in the cabins because you are right there for animal encounters. A few ideas for them would be new fans, bedding, a broom to sweep the floors, one hour per day dedicated to picking up plastic from the beach and a bilingual host. It’s not a zoo but the animals are there. Keep your food protected and leave nothing but footprints.

Absolutely shat ourselves crossing the bridges. Didn’t know wooden bridges could move so much or feel so fragile and not collapse! The trail map is a little hard to find - we should have taken a photo of it, and gave up as we had no idea how far round we’d gotten. The wildlife and beach are fantastic. We loved seeing the crabs in the forest and the monkeys. Would go again, but would love to see some of the broad walks given a little care and maintenance.

It's bad. Thankfully there are a couple of trails that are closed. As bad as the open ones are I can't imagine what the others look like. Handrails are typically rotten if they still exist, but most of them are just gone. Despite instructions to stay on the trail the trail is impassable from flowering water and mud at many points where you have to walk over the broken handrails to walk through the forest. The bridges are all bad, but the first wooden one cracked as I walked it and I made my wife walk separately for safety. Signs are non-existent or confusing with several forks lacking any guidance. When we finally found out way to the main road we skipped everything else so that we wouldn't get lost again. Perhaps because I took photos of how bad the trail is they did refund our money. The ticket person was very nice but others who ran one of the tour businesses were not. Maybe he didn't appreciate being told that $24 per person for a guided walk was too much. We were lucky that we anchored our own boat in the bay, but I would feel terrible if you took an expensive ferry to ensure this so called attraction.

Plenty of animals and plants to see: Monkeys, macaos, dears, wild porcs, coatis, ignanas, basilics. A beautiful beach and some senderos (not in great shape though…) to walk

Great experience! This national park is a less touristy place, which means you can see many animals. We rented a „cabina“ through the national park’s website to stay overnight. The cabina is very simple, with a dining area and two sleeping rooms. Unfortunately, we were the only guests staying overnight, even though there were six cabinas in total. There is also a dining area, so we booked lunch and dinner. The salad and burger were okay, but the nachos and breakfast menu were great! Even near the main paths and next to the reception, we saw white-faced monkeys, raccoons, and coatis. In the forest, we encountered howler monkeys (a crazy experience!), an animal similar to a capybara, many deer, and a variety of birds. The park offers extra tours, including guided walks, snorkeling, and a bioluminescence night snorkeling tour. We chose the bioluminescence tour, and it was an amazing experience! We had no idea such a thing existed. Tiny plankton in the water light up when disturbed, creating small glowing effects when you move your hands or any part of your body in the water. We were seven people on the tour, and we all jumped in. The guide and captain were very kind and helpful (even holding you in the water from behind so you can put on your snorkeling gear if you haven’t done it before jumping in :D). In the morning, we took the longest trail, Quesera, leading to the beach. To go there, you need to get a (free) ticket from the reception. It’s best to do this the evening before, as the reception only opens at 8 AM. At first, we were a bit nervous about walking alone, but we quickly got used to the different sounds and enjoyed spotting animals along the way. All in all, we are more than happy that we stayed overnight! The cabina is very simple, but it is located directly on the beach, so you have your own private access for swimming and watching the sunrise

Great wildlife, but hard to navigate and a lot of the paths were closed but very unclearly signed so it was easy to get lost. The horse riding tour took more like 3.5hrs rather than 3 as advertised, but still very worthwhile!

Very nice park. Stayed one night in cabina #1. Private beach, very quite. In the morning we did the mirador en 2 hikes. Many animals to see. Dinner and breakfast good. Many option for tours (but which we didn't do). Friendly personal.

Amazing trails !

Beautiful nature but few restaurants around

Amazing

(Translated by Google) One of the most beautiful places in Costa Rica. The Altamira Station has 3 trails, Gigantes del Bosque (1.5 km away), Valley of Silence (13 km away), and water intake (3 km away). In them you can see a large number of species of birds (including the Rosy Thrush-Tanager and Ruddy Foliage-gleanner with relative ease) and mammals. The climate is warm, although at night the temperature drops a lot. In the station hostel there are rooms to stay, or you can go to the camping area. It must be taken into account that it can only be reached by 4x4, since the last stretch of the road is not in very good condition. La Amistad International Park has an area of ​​199,147 hectares. It is a World Heritage Site and a RAMSAR site of importance. (Original) De los lugares más hermosos de Costa Rica. La Estación Altamira cuenta con 3 senderos, Gigantes del Bosque (de 1.5 km de distancia), Valle del silencio (de 13 km de distancia), toma se agua (3 km de distancia). En ellos se puede observar gran cantidad de especies de aves (entre ellas la Rosy Thrush-Tanager y Ruddy Foliage-gleanner con relativa facilidad) mamíferos. El clima es cálido, aunque por las noches baja mucha la temperatura. En el albergue de la estación hay habitaciones para quedarse, o sino se puede ir al área de camping. Hay que tomar en cuenta que Solo se puede llegar en 4x4, ya que el último tramo del camino no esta en muy buen estado El Parque Internacional la Amistad tiene una extensión de 199147 hectáreas. Es Patrimonio Mundial de la Humanidad y un sitio de importancia RAMSAR.

(Translated by Google) A beautiful place to enjoy nature, ideal for hiking and bird watching. They recently improved the street that leads to the park and it is easier to get there. (Original) Un lugar hermoso para disfrutar de la naturaleza, ideal para hacer hiking y observación de aves. Recientemente mejoraron la calle que lleva al parque y es más sencillo llegar.

(Translated by Google) It is one of the entry points to the La Amistad International Park. A park with a forest area of ​​almost 200 thousand hectares. (Original) Es uno de los puestos de entrada al Parque Internacional de La Amistad. Un parque con una extensión de bosque de casi 200 mil hectáreas.

(Translated by Google) Very pretty, lots of birds, very cool weather, but there are a lot of redpolls, it's better to be well prepared. (Original) Muy lindo, muchas aves, clima muy fresco, pero hay mucha coloradilla, mejor ir bien preparado.

We had a great time here talking to 2 of the owners. Learned about the monthly tutorials they have for a small charge. Informative, beautiful art in many different aspects. We both found beautiful selections of artwork we would have loved to carry home.

Beautiful variety of local pieces. Could have spent hours browsing. Nate, one of the artists took time to explain and share the history of many of the pieces. Must see when visiting Uvita.

Beautiful space with many talented artists!

This gallery highlights artist from many walks of life, and their experiences reflect in their art. There is something for everyone to enjoy here.