Golfo Dulce

Golfo Dulce is one of only a handful of tropical fjords anywhere, a deep basin more than two hundred metres down with a shallow sill at its mouth, which means the water inside is calm, warm and unusually low in oxygen at depth. That combination makes it a nursery: humpback whales from both the northern and southern hemispheres come here to calve, at different times of year, and bottlenose and spotted dolphins are resident. Mangroves line the head of the gulf and rainforest runs to the shore on both sides. Golfito on the eastern side was a United Fruit banana port and has the architecture to show for it.

What you actually see

• Humpback calving - both hemispheres' populations, in separate seasons.
• Resident dolphins - bottlenose and spotted, present year-round.
• The mangroves at the head - dense forest around the shallow end.
• Golfito - the old banana company town on the eastern shore.

When to go

December to April is the driest. Southern hemisphere humpbacks are here from roughly July to October and northern ones from December to March, so whales are possible in much of the year. Mornings are calmest on the water.

Honest expectations

Golfito is a working port town that has struggled since the banana company left and is not attractive; most visitors stay across the gulf or up the coast. Roads on the eastern side are poor. Whale watching is unregulated in places and some operators crowd animals. Rainfall here is among the highest in the country.

Nearby

Puerto Jiménez is across the gulf; Pavones and the southern beaches are further south.