On the Caribbean side, the Southern Caribbean has pristine turquoise Caribbean water with white sand beaches backed by swaying palm trees, rainforest, and wildlife with an Afro-Caribbean culture. Also on the Caribbean side, skip Tortuguero. People go there for the wildlife and the Amazon-like canals. One of the biggest differences between the two is lodging. There are limited luxury lodging experiences on the Caribbean side and certainly no large resorts.
The Caribbean is rustic, laid-back, an adventure. On the Pacific side, there are simply more choices. You can certainly find rustic lodging on the Pacific — even luxurious eco-lodges.
It really comes down to your preferences. For instance: volcanoes , cloud forests , the central valley , rural mountains, the buzzing cultural capital , and more. For many — upon further research — the question transforms from Pacific vs Caribbean to which destinations am I most interested in?
This might mean you simply need to do your research or have a quick conversation with a Costa Rica Expert for a personalized recommendation. My name is James Kaiser , and I believe travel should be fun, affordable and enlightening—especially in national parks, where there's so much to experience.
View on Amazon. View on Bookshop. Send this to a friend. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Jenn Parker. Reasons to visit the Pacific coast. There are more national parks. The surf is better. Reasons to visit the Caribbean coast. It feels a bit more authentic. Tropical vibes and food. It has the best beach bars and parties. The wildlife is incredible. Give us feedback. Read Next View. Forest Hills Suites. Here are the differences between the Caribbean and Pacific coast of Costa Rica to help you decide.
You can read this post on how to get to Tortuguero. Most people spend nights in Tortuguero. Puerto Viejo is the main tourist town in the South Caribbean, surrounded by gorgeous beaches and plenty of nature. Although the area is touristic, it is not very developed and maintains a raw charm that people love.
You can drive, shuttle or take the bus to Puerto Viejo. Driving is around 5 hours, bus is around 6. Cahuita is another small town popular with expats, famous for its national park and coral reef. When it comes to the vibe and atmosphere, the Caribbean is way more chill and less crowded. Guanacaste is the main province on the Pacific coast and the Nicoya Peninsula is in the Puntarenas province.
This area has a many stunning beaches and is well known for good fishing, snorkeling, surfing and scuba diving. Gulf of Papagayo is 25 minutes drive from Liberia International Airport. Southern Guanacaste goes from the Tamarindo area down to Samara and Nosara. This area has excellent surfing, fishing, surfing and scuba diving.
These are more remote. They are 1. To Puerto Jimenez, the main town in the Osa Peninsula, it is about an 8 hour drive or 1 hour plane ride from San Jose. You will find a lot of all-inclusives in this area. Samara, Nosara, Montezuma and Santa Teresa are less touristic. The Central Pacific towns of Jaco and Manuel Antonio are extremely touristy and developed but the South Pacific is completely opposite. In this map below, you will see the major tourist destinations for the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
I also included the Liberia and San Jose Airports so you can see where they are in relation to the airport. As you can see, the Pacific coast has many more tourist destinations and places of interest than the Caribbean. However, what the Caribbean lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.
This is the charm of the Caribbean: pristine, non-commercial and untouched beaches. The Pacific coast has a range of beaches and not all of them are developed and touristy. In fact, much of the Guanacaste coast is undeveloped since it is so vast. Jaco and Manuel Antonio are arguably the most touristic and developed beach ares on the Pacific coast. As Jaco is a city beach, you will see plenty of high rise condos and beachfront hotels. Manuel Antonio has a ton of luxury hotels.
Down in the Costa Ballena, it changes completely as this area is still quite rural. The beaches become more spread out, all with dark sand and waters. Instead, the Caribbean is much more humid and can rain all year long. The summer month is October and the rainiest months are June and November on the Caribbean coast.
Temperatures stay in the high 80s F 31 Celsius and cools off at night. The Pacific coast does follow the typical rainy and dry tropical season which is from end of April to beginning of December and beginning of May to end of November respectively. The rainiest months are usually September and October and the hottest months are March and April.
The Guanacaste coast has a longer dry season meaning you will get more sunny days on that side, particularly in the Northern area but that means the forest becomes very dry and very yellow, almost like a desert.
Temperatures can soar into the s F 38 C during March and April. The South Pacific coast is a lot more humid which keeps the jungle green all year long like the Caribbean coast.
In Tortuguero, most people only stay nights because it is a very small area. In the Puerto Viejo area, there are more things to do. Birdwatching is amazing in the Caribbean since you can see birds such as Keel-billed toucans, Great Green Macaws and unique hummingbirds. Since the Caribbean stays lush all year round, wildlife watching is also incredible. Surfing and snorkeling are two other popular activities in the South Caribbean but it is not as consistent as the Pacific and have fewer spots.
When it comes to snorkeling, Cahuita National Park has the longest coral reef so when the conditions are right, it is amazing. Beach bumming and soaking up the sun are the best things to do in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica since it has a much more chill and laid back vibe.
The best adventure on the Caribbean side is white water rafting at Rio Pacuare which is one of the top 5 in the world! Puerto Viejo is also a popular party town so you can dance till your feet give out to reggae music, slurp up tasty shots and cocktails and enjoy bonfires at the beach.
The Pacific side has many more national parks and surfing, fishing , scuba diving and snorkeling spots than the Caribbean. The best scuba diving can be done in the Gulf of Papagayo and down by Cano Island , there is excellent fishing in Drake Bay , Flamingo and Playas del Coco and there are a myriad of great surf spots all up and down the coasts such as Tamarindo, Jaco , Guiones, Avellanas, Dominical and Matapalo.
There is also more adventure in the Northern Pacific coast. You can find many horseback riding, ziplining and ATV tours as well as white water tubing and sky diving.
The Pacific coast also has more waterfalls compared to the Caribbean. When it comes to adventure and things to do, the Pacific does have more variety than the Caribbean.
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