A four to five hour bus ride from San Jose, Cahuita is a small town with all of the flavor of the Caribbean without the big city problems of Puerto Viejo. There are neither large developments here nor fast-food franchises and most businesses are still locally owned. There are white and black sand beaches, palm trees and other tropical flora, a great national park for walks and viewing wildlife, and many good little restaurants and hotels.
People come to swim, snorkel, fish and surf and boat tours are available as well. On land, hiking, biking, walking and horseback riding are popular ways to get closer to the monkeys, sloths and other exotic animals living in the jungle.
Gardens and preserves include Mariposario de Cahuita (a butterfly sanctuary), Cacao Trails, Avarios de Caribe & Buttercup Center (birds and flowers – Buttercup is a sloth living here), a sloth sanctuary and, of course, the national park. Visitors can see three-toed sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys, raccoons and white-nosed coatis. You are more likely to hear than see the howler monkeys – well-named, by the way – but if you are lucky you might spot the black primates in the tree canopy.
There are quite a few bars – some with live music – just a few hundred yards from the beach but if you avoid the hotels nearest to the center, you’re not likely to hear the noise.
The town is small enough to cover on foot or by bicycle and some of the hotels and cabinas provide these for their guests.
Cahuita (click photos to see full size)
More Info:
Cahuita: All you need to know about Cahuita.
Wikipedia on Cahuita
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