Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Puerto Viejo sits on the southern Caribbean coast and feels like a different country from the Pacific side: the population is largely Afro-Caribbean, descended from Jamaican workers who came for the railway and the banana plantations, with Bribri communities in the hills behind, and English creole is widely spoken alongside Spanish. Directly off the town is Salsa Brava, a shallow, fast, hollow wave breaking over live coral that is the most serious surf in Costa Rica and injures people regularly. South of it the coast road runs past Cocles, Chiquita and Punta Uva, calmer beaches with palms leaning over pale sand.

What you actually see

• Salsa Brava - the heaviest wave in the country, over shallow reef.
• Punta Uva - the calmest and prettiest beach on the strip.
• The Afro-Caribbean culture - food, language and music unlike the Pacific.
• The coast road - cycled between the beaches south of town.

When to go

The Caribbean has its own pattern: September and October are the driest and calmest, with February to April a second window. The wettest months are November to January and June to July. Salsa Brava works best from December to March.

Honest expectations

Salsa Brava breaks over shallow live coral and is not a wave to try unless you are genuinely experienced; the reef causes serious injuries every season. Petty theft in town and on the beaches is a longstanding problem. The town's nightlife and open drug offers are wearing for some visitors. The road from San José is long and the last stretch slow.

Nearby

Cahuita is twenty minutes north; Manzanillo and Gandoca are twenty minutes south.