Costa Rica

Cahuita Activities

Bicycling 

Many hotels and tour companies rent sturdy beach combers with baskets for as little as $5-$10 per day. Bikes are a great way to explore downtown Cahuita’s nooks and crannies. Travelers may also bike from Cahuita to Puerto Viejo, just nine miles south, to experience the town’s beautiful beaches.

Bird & Wildlife Watching 

Visitors to the Cahuita area will likely be treated to sightings of howler and white-faced monkeys, sloths, iguanas, toucans, butterflies, frogs and other wildlife. Walks through Cahuita National Park or the nearby Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge provide wonderful opportunities to spot tropical flora and fauna – guides are highly recommended to maximize wildlife viewing. In Puerto Viejo, Finca La Isla Botanical Garden is ideal for birding and poison dart frog spotting.

Canopy Tours 

Most Cahuita tour operators offer trips to the southern Caribbean’s two canopy tours. Canopy tours are an ideal way to see the area’s scenery while enjoying high-adrenaline fun. The newest canopy tour is located in secondary forest about 45 minutes north of Cahuita – poison dart frogs, playful monkeys and other wildlife often accompany canopy tourists on this eight-cable, ten-platform adventure. 

Chocolate Tours

Those with a sweet tooth will love the educational chocolate tours offered at local cocoa farms. For a look into the area’s indigenous culture, visit the Chocolate House on the road to Bribri, rumored to produce the best organic chocolate. Those interested in getting a firsthand look at chocolate production will enjoy the Cacao Trails chocolate tour, which allows visitors to literally get their hands dirty while making delicious, fresh chocolate bars.

Cultural Tours

The southern Caribbean is particularly rich in indigenous cultures. The Bribri, Kekoldi and Cabecar tribes make up the region’s largest remaining indigenous groups, and several tours offer insight into their way of life: chocolate tours educate on the history and importance of the cocoa bean; medicinal plant tours reveal age-old secrets of preventative, herbal medicine; culture tours offer a glimpse of modern indigenous life, which has remained relatively separate from the Costa Rican lifestyle.

Dolphin Tours

Three species of dolphin live off Cahuita's coasts: Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and tucuxi dolphins. Costa Rica's southern Caribbean coast is the only place in the world where bottlenose and tucuxi dolphins practice inter-species mating, and dolphin watching tours depart daily to seek out this rare social behavior. Most tours depart from Puerto Viejo, 11 miles south of Cahuita, and some culminate in a six-hour hike from Punta Mona back to town. 

Fishing

Local trips with artisan fishermen can be arranged through several hotels and tour agencies. This traditional style of fishing uses a small dugout canoe or wooden boat and a hand-reel and line. Mackerel, jack, grouper and red snapper are common catches, and tarpon can be boated on sport fishing trips off Manzanillo and Punta Mona.

Hiking 

Cahuita National Park and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge are both excellent options for light hikes. Cahuita National Park, located just a minute or two from downtown, offers miles of sandy trails and several sections of raised, recycled-plastic decking trails through the park’s swampy areas. Most Cahuita tour operators offer guided tours to both national parks, in addition to several private reserves in the area. Serious hikers can also opt to trek across the Continental Divide; the 45-mile hike traverses the Talamanca Mountain Range with the help of a local Cabecar indigenous guide.

Horseback Riding

Local tour operators and hotels offer guided horseback trips along forested trails through private reserves and indigenous communities. Cahuita’s own horseback tour takes riders along Playa Negra, or Black Beach, for day tours, sunset and moonlight tours and other special event tours.

Kayaking

Kayaks may be rented from local hotels for excursions through the canals of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. For those adventurers who prefer to have a guide, several tour companies offer kayaking excursions to the refuge.

Rafting &Tubing

A high-adrenaline whitewater rafting trip down the Pacuare River can be arranged through several tour companies in town. Packages include a day on class III and IV rapids, transportation, a guide and meals. In addition, Bocuare Jungle Adventures offers half-day tubing adventures in the nearby Estrella Valley – one- and two-person inner tubes rush down the Estrella River, passing through the Cabecar Indigenous Reserve on class II and class III rapids.

Snorkeling & Scuba Diving

The southern Caribbean Coast is home to Costa Rica’s only two living reefs, which host more than 35 species of coral – including black, sheet, and lettuce. An impressive 400 varieties of fish are native to the area, like parrotfish, triggerfish, angelfish and grouper. Consistently warm waters and very little surge make underwater exploration at Cahuita a pleasure – some of the most tranquil and vivid dive sites can be found at Punta Uva, just south of Puerto Viejo; and Punta Mona, an island near the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. When the waters are calm, divers can enjoy more than twelve other sites between Cahuita and Manzanillo. The best time to scuba dive the southern Caribbean is March-May and September-October. Snorkeling equipment can be rented from dive shops, hotels and beachfront kiosks.

Surfing 

Playa Negra is one of Cahuita’s hidden secrets – uncrowded beaches and a strong beach break make for ideal surfing conditions. Nine miles south, Salsa Brava is Puerto Viejo’s famous surf break, and is often referred to as the country’s best wave. Playa Cocles, just south of Puerto Viejo, also offers steady surf. Boards can be rented at almost every beachfront shop in both Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, and many individuals and surf schools offer surfing lessons.

Swimming

Cahuita's Playa Negra is a quiet beach with big waves perfect for body boarding, though conditions always vary. Be sure to heed signs, and don’t hesitate to ask if the water is safe for swimming.

Turtle Nesting Tours (March-July)

Just 17 miles south of Cahuita, Manzanillo is an important nesting site for leatherback turtles, the largest sea turtles in the world. In addition, Manzanillo beaches shelter smaller populations of nesting green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles. A guide is required to visit the beaches in order to protect and preserve the nesting turtles and their eggs. For those interested in an extended, hands-on turtle experience, volunteer programs work to relocate turtle eggs, patrol the beaches and record important information on the nesting turtles; there is a minimum commitment of seven days. Turtle nesting season peaks in April and May, with some activity during March, June and July.

Cahuita Travel Guide