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Puerto Jimenez Costa Rica

Puerto Jimenez is a small town on the northeast tip of the Osa Peninsula , south of the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica. It is the gateway to national park “ Corcovado ” and the coastal villages of Cabo Matapalo and Carate. Puerto Jimenez is the perfect place to relax on its beaches protected by the gulf. With rustic elegance, the areas hotels and lodges provide anglers with a great place to stay at night, and then go fishing during the day. For many, this Costa Rican town is the closest they’ve seen to paradise, and thus the real estate market has grown through the years. You can reach Puerto Jimenez by car or bus. The driving distance is roughly 200 miles (322 km) and it can take from 7 to 10 hours depending on the weather conditions, time of the day, type of vehicle and the driver. The more traveled route is along the Inter-American Highway which runs south form San Jose through Cartago and over the mountains of Cerro de La Muerte, going down into San Isidro , and onto the Osa Peninsula. The ride will take approximately 9 hours. Truly? We recommend flying south: spending 10 hours on the road and reaching your destination exhausted and ready to sleep 24 hours straight inside your hotel room is not what most people have in mind when they think of Costa Rican vacations. Flights depart from San Jose 's Juan Santa Maria International Airport to Puerto Jimenez. The flight takes around 55 minutes. There are also flights coming from Tobias Bolanos International Airport in Pavas and it takes around 1 ½ hours depending on whether it stops in Quepos or Golfito.

Despite its small size and relaxed pace, Puerto Jimenez is a bustling little Costa Rican village, where rough jungle gold miners mix with wealthy eco-tourists, budget backpackers, and a surprising number of celebrities seeking a small dose of anonymity and escape. The town itself is just a couple of gravel streets, with a noticeable soccer field, a block of general stores, some inexpensive sodas, a butcher shop, and several bars. Scarlet macaws fly overhead, and mealy parrots provide wake-up calls. If you're worried the nightlife is going to be too sleepy for you, don't forget about all those gold miners in town for fun. As the base station for miners (most of them digging illegally) seeking to strike it rich in the jungles in and around the park, Puerto Jimenez can actually get pretty rowdy at night, especially when miners cash in a find. Besides, the town comes alive on some evenings with the locals and visitors, enjoying the Mango Margaritas and Imperial beers at some of the popular bars of this small town.

To the south of Puerto Jimenez, lies a string of beautiful white-sand beaches, including good surfing at American, Backwater, Pan Dulce, and Carbonera beaches. Beach lovers push from Puerto Jimenez to Cabo Matapalo or Playa Platanares, and many adventurous travelers wind up in Carate. Puerto Jimenez also serves as a central location from which to enjoy the record-class sport fishing that draws anglers from all over the world to Costa Rica’s water. Here you can find one of the newest sport fishing and eco-tour resorts where you have the opportunity to view animals such as the vibrant scarlet macaw, 4 different species of monkeys, friendly crocodiles, colorful parrots and much more. There are also cabins located at the entrance of Puerto Jimenez. These are private tree-house like bungalows that are set on pillars and built with indigenous self-sustaining hardwoods and bamboo. Other than sportfishing you can experience nature at its best in Corcovado National Park, as well as take a kayaking tour, go bird watching, mountain biking, hiking, flower watching and much more.