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Do you want to escape heavy tourism along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast? Then Cahuita is an excellent place to stay for a few days. You won’t find crowds here like in Puerto Viejo and Tortuguero and the atmosphere is incredibly laid-back. The highlight of this small village is Cahuita National Park. A perfect slice of tropical jungle with a great variety of animals to spot!
Costa Rica is well known for protecting its biodiversity. Roughly 28% of the country is either a protected area, a wildlife reserve, or a national park.
One of the smallest national parks is Cahuita National Park. Cahuita National Park was established in 1970 to protect the coral reefs in the Caribbean sea.
Later on, it became the park as it is known today, with coral reefs, beaches, and forests. The waters are teeming with fish and other marine life. The forest consists of tropical rainforests and patches of mangrove swamps.
You can discover the park by walking along an indicated trail and taking a dip in the crystal-clear blue waters.
If you’re coming to Cahuita National Park by car you can park at either of the two entrances. Here are the directions to the park at the Kelly Creek entrance in Cahuita town. These are directions to get to the Puerto Vargas entrance.
If you are coming to Cahuita National Park by public transport, you can catch a local bus from San José several times a day which will cost around $ 6. You can also book shuttle tourist busses here. The local Mepe buses run regularly between Puerto Viejo and Limon. They are rather slow but very cheap ($ 1).
Hitchhiking is also an option, we did it quite a few times while traveling through Costa Rica and were picked up by tourists as well as by locals.
There are two entrances to Cahuita National Park. The first one you can find at the center of Cahuita town is called Kelly Creek. The other entrance is called Puerto Vargas. Which one to choose depends completely on what you want.
We entered the park at Kelly Creek and exited at Puerto Vargas. The trail is more beautiful starting from Kelly Creek so if you want to keep the best for last it is maybe a good idea to do it the opposite way around.
The trail inside the park is not a loop but a one-way trail. It’s approximately eight kilometers (five miles) long and stretches along the coast from Kelly Creek to Puerto Vargas.
You can explore the trail yourself or hire a guide to take you around the park. We didn’t take a guide and were able to see a lot of wildlife in the park. People usually gather at a certain place when an animal is spotted so you can easily join them. If you do take a guide make sure he has been accredited by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
Of course, you can also book a tour online if that makes you feel more comfortable. This guided tour to Cahuita National Park includes a guided hike in the park with wildlife spotting and a trip to a hidden waterfall in Cahuita.
There are two beach areas inside the park called Playa Blanca and Playa Vargas. At some parts of the beaches, it is forbidden to swim because they serve as a protected nesting ground for turtles.
Make sure to look at the map when you enter the park. When you enter the park at Kelly Creek Station you will see a beautiful white sand beach which is probably filled up with tourists sunbathing or lounging in the shades of the almond trees.
Walk a little bit further into the park. The stretches of the beach will become smaller but you will surely find a little slice of tropical beach you will only have to share with a few monkeys.
It is not allowed to snorkel in Cahuita National Park without a certified guide because of the fragile state of the coral reefs. We didn’t snorkel in Cahuita but we heard that Willie’s tours should be a good tourist office to book a snorkel tour.
It will cost you $ 30/per person and a minimum of two people is mandatory. Marine life to be seen are reef sharks, sea cucumbers, lobsters, turtles, stingrays, and many other tropical species of fish.
→ Also read: A Complete Guide to The Best Vegan Resorts in Costa Rica
Aside from the marine life to be spotted on a snorkel tour the on-land animal encounters are priceless. We saw sloths, raccoons, iguanas, chestnut-mandibled toucans, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, the yellow eyelash viper snake, and a variety of birds, crabs, and snails.
This park is a bit underrated when it comes to spotting wildlife. We saw more animals here than in any of the other parks we visited in Costa Rica.
The Kelly Creek entrance opens at 6 AM and closes at 5 PM. You can enter the park for free but it is common to donate. They use the donations to maintain the park. The Puerto Vargas entrance opening hours are 8 AM to 4 PM. This entrance is not free but requires a $ 5 entrance fee.
If you want to stay a few nights close to the park I can recommend the Airbnb we stayed at with Zinja and Alonso at Playa Negra. They are amazing hosts and the location and accommodation is simple but beautiful. Squirrels and toucans can easily be observed from your little terrace in the morning.
They also made fresh lemonade for us and took us on a family visit to a Finca and a restaurant in a rural inland part of the country. This is a real authentic experience.
If you have some more money to spend it is a good idea to stay in the jungle at Shamana Eco Lodge.
ENJOY!
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Hi! I am Annelies and this is Travelers & Dreamers, a blog about conscious travel which means traveling in a more mindful way, with a positive impact on the world and yourself!
On this website, I cover different topics like slow travel, plant-based food guides, responsible travel, sustainable packing, eco-travel, and more!
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Hannah
What a beautiful National Park! I’d love to explore the trail and the beaches, they look incredible! Thanks for the great guide! I hope I get an opportunity to visit!
annelies_degelas
It’s truly a great park and the hike is very easy! 🙂
Josy A
Cahuita looks incredible! I didn’t know that so much of Costa Rica is protected (although I had heard it is an incredible country to see wildlife.) I love the sound of hiking the Cahuita trail and visiting those beeeeautiful beaches!
annelies_degelas
It’s pure bliss, Josy! 🙂
Alex
This looks and sounds like a wonderful beautiful place! I wish to visit Cahuita National Park one day!!
annelies_degelas
It is and you surely should, alex! 🙂
Cris
These are my favorite kinds of travel experiences – the natural places that are less known to tourists and really showcase a country’s beauty. Cahuita National Park just hit my bucket list! Thanks for sharing!
annelies_degelas
Mine too, Cris! Happy you like Cahuita National Park! 🙂