Apr
21
Le Caméléon Opens – Adding a New Class of Accomodation to Puerto Viejo
April 21, 2009 | Tags: Local Business News, Tourism | 35 Comments
The new Le Caméléon Hotel has opened at Playa Cocles offering something that the laid-back, backpacker-haven of Puerto Viejo has never seen before – 5 star luxury accommodations.
With average $250 a night rates, its also in a price class by itself.
A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World association, they offer a pool, spa, rooms with lighting which can change with your mood, restaurant and bar.
You can make reservations inquiries here.
Pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words, so here are a few:
Reception and Lobby
Room
Pool
Apr
3
Interest in Puerto Viejo Continues to Grow
April 3, 2009 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters, Crime & Punishment, Site news, Tourism | 2 Comments
In these challenging economic times, many local businesses seen a drop in business. But there is some good news too: interest in Puerto Viejo and the South Caribbean coast of Costa Rica remains very high. You can see this by looking at the growth of visitors to Puerto Viejo Satellite. In the quarter just finished, there were over 40,000 unique visitors to the website!
Traffic has grown at a very fast rate ever since the website has launched and the website is bigger and better than ever with:
• More listings than ever
• More features than ever like the recently added restaurant page or the listing detail pages (see this one for example)
• More complete information than ever – additional transport options for example added to the transport page as we find out about them
The area has also benefited from the marketing savvy of the owner one of the newer hotels in town, Banana Azul. Banana Azul was recently even mentioned on the Today show as a affordable vacation spot in these recessionary times. As more people find Banana Azul, they also discover the whole area as they discover the place that is a good fit for them or visit local restaurants and tour providers.
The growing tour company Gecko Trail Adventures has also contributed. Their Costa Rica tour packages have a strong emphasis on the Caribbean coast and so many people discover this area even if they don’t know Manzanillo from Montezuma.
All in all, we see great things ahead!
Apr
2
Hotel Taxes Down, Airline Taxes Up
April 2, 2009 | Tags: Government and Politics, Tourism | Leave a Comment
Costa Rica has eliminated the 3% ICT tax from hotel stays. ICT is the agency charged with promoting tourism in Costa Rica and the tax funded their operations. The tax has been replaced by a $15 tax on airline tickets into Costa Rica.
With this change, the nightly room tax for a room in Costa Rica will now be 13% instead of 16.39% so for most visitors the savings from the hotel tax should offset the $15 additional paid for their tickets.
The government is also hoping that the new airline tax will be easier to collect and less subject to evasion as well.
The airline ticket tax took effect on April 1st. The hotel tax change was effective as of Friday March 27 but many hotels are just now hearing about the change and making it effective. For those hotels which include taxes in their rates, it will be up to them whether to decrease their rates accordingly or just take a little extra profit.
More: La Nación: Aerolíneas advierten que cobro de $15 más en boletos afectará turismo
Update Apr 4: The new tax rate in this article was initially erroneously reported as 13.39%. It should be 13.00%. The old tax was 16.39% since the 13% sales tax was also applied to the 3% ICT tax.
Mar
9
Turtle Nesting Season in Gandoca
March 9, 2009 | Tags: Tourism | 6 Comments
It’s the prime time of year to see turtles come ashore for nesting near Gandoca. There are a few things though to keep in mind if you want to see these incredible wonders of nature, some weighing in at over 600 pounds (the leatherbacks)!
- You will need to go at night and you must be properly equipped – for example flashlights will confuse the turtles and they may abort the nesting.. Only special red lights can be used.
- You must go with a guide. Not only is this the law and is needed for safety given that you are out at night on a remote beach but you are much more likely to see the turtles.
- You should work with a guide who is supporting conservation efforts.
Beyond that, this is an unforgetable experience, not to be missed!
We recommend the tours with Gecko Trail Adventures. They hire the guides through ANAI, the local turtle conservation organization, so you are supporting their conservation work. They also hire reliable local drivers and vehicles who can get you to the Gandoca beach without mishap. Because much of the cost of this tour is the transportation to the remote starting point, the more people who do this tour, the cheaper it is per person!
You can get more information on this tour and make a booking here.
Feb
25
Limon Chosen as Finish Line for Large Sailing Race
February 25, 2009 | Tags: Community Calendar, Sports, Tourism | Leave a Comment
| November 19, 2009 | to | November 20, 2009 |
The Transat Jacques Vabre, the world’s third largest sailing race will finish up in Puerto Limon in November. The race is expected to draw a large amount of international attention and tourism to the region with 50 vessels participating in the race and 350 journalists expected to cover it.
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The race leaves France on Nov 7 and 8 and will arrive in Limon 12 days later after a voyage of some 5,000 km. Costa Rica’s Caribbean development agency JAPDEVA along with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute ICT and the municipality of Limon have plans to build a marina there for the race which will remain afterwards.
This years race theme is the Coffee Route, and Costa Rica was chosen not only because of its status as a producer of coffee but because the country has a good record of producing sustainable coffee and of protecting the environment. The race’s sponsor is a coffee producer.
Read more: La Nación: Puerto Limón será la meta de regata mundial
Feb
15
Money Issues Page Published
February 15, 2009 | Tags: Site news, Tourism | Leave a Comment
If you live in Puerto Viejo or you run a business there, chances are you get the same questions asked over and over again about money issues.
“What’s the currency?” “Are US dollars accepted?” “What kind of money should I bring?” “Is there an ATM?”
Well I’ve gotten many of these questions over the years and have finally compiled them into a Money Matters page on Puerto Viejo Satellite. You can get the full list of questions and answers here or if you’re replying to an email, just send them to www.puertoviejosatellite.com/money.php.
If you’ve got more or better suggestions for people on how to deal with money matters, feel free to comment on the article. Feedback is definitely appreciated.
Costa Rica Colones
Feb
8
Audio Guide Released about Puerto Viejo and Area
February 8, 2009 | Tags: Tourism | Leave a Comment
 Some of the local residents interviewed for the guide |
Part-time Punta Uva resident and media producer Geoff Lucas, has just announced completion and general availability of “Insider’s Limon – the 2009 Audio Guide to the Caribe Sur”.
Interweaving a dozen interviews recorded from Puerto Limon to Manzanillo over the last 18 months with local people – in English – and Geoff’s driving directions and narration, the production is designed primarily for visitors to the area as a “listen-as-you-go” guide to the people, places and culture of the Caribe Sur – all set to a custom music score written and produced locally by Playa Chiquita musician Jim Vick. But many local people may find themselves interested and entertained by some of the stories, topical commentary and regional history that the cross-section of “Insider Guides” describe from place to place, subject to subject, along the route, and future editions, assuming the pilot is well received, will range to other languages and a wider spectrum of people and places.
The Audio Guide is available as an mp3 download or in standard CD Audio format and can be previewed and purchased from www.insiderslimon.com. A portion of all sales will be earmarked for local Caribe Sur social and educational projects as nominated by the interviewees themselves and the production company Moving Arts Communications SA.
Nov
29
Puerto Viejo and Cahuita Featured in USA Today
November 29, 2008 | Tags: Tourism | 2 Comments
The front page of the Travel section is Friday’s USA Today was a story entitled Costa Rica’s Caribbean Vibe and is a feature story all about Puerto Viejo and Cahuita! It’s nice to see us in the news for something not just about the flooding!
The article does a great job of explaining what makes Puerto Viejo special and different from the Pacific Coast and I think will really atract the kind of tourists who will enjoy their experience here.
Getting mentioned in the article are Hotel Banana Azul, Global Creek, Aviaros del Caribe, Jammin’ Juice and Jerk Joint, Cariblue, El Encanto, Loco Natural, Cha Cha Cha, La Pecora Negra, Miss Edith’s and Roberto’s Tours.
And there’s a lovely photo gallery as well.
Aug
27
The Other Side of the News
August 27, 2008 | Tags: Tourism | Leave a Comment
One of the challenges of writing news anywhere is presenting a balanced view of the community when major stories are often negative — accidents, tragedies, crime, etc.
The controversy over the Tico Times article (see Violence Causes Spotlight to Fall on Puerto Viejo) has caused many to wonder out loud whether this is a balanced portrayal of our community.
I’ve spent the last few hours reading blogs written about visitors’ stays in Puerto Viejo that have been written in the last month — I’ve added links to them on the photos and blog page. And I have to say that a huge majority of visitors seem to have really enjoyed their visit to Puerto Viejo.
Some of the comments from bloggers:
I had an awesome weekend in Puerto Viejo de Limon. I completely fell in love with the place.
We spent most of our time in Costa Rica in a small, Caribbean coastal town called Puerto Viejo. This town is full of backpackers going to and from Bocas del Toro, Panama, and surfers attracted to the 8-foot waves and laid back atmosphere.
We decided to head to the Caribbean side (Puerto Viejo) of Costa Rica and let me tell you it is amazing!! The beach is so warm, there are wild horses just chilling by the ocean and everyone is very kind!
The beach was in a beautiful cove on the edge of the rain forest right out in the middle of nowhere and we had the beach nearly to ourselves with just one or two other families coming and going while we body surfed and floated on the waves. It was such a relaxing day and I was so lucky to be there with 3 very chilled, relaxed and easy going girls who were all just ready to go with the flow, accept that the weather was bad but enjoy it anyway!
I’m staying right across the road from the beautiful beach in Playa Cocles I discovered on my jog the first day, which makes me a happy little camper (though, not literally camping…staying in a dorm room…that I have all to myself as of now! What a score!) Spent the afternoon on the beach, soaking in the sun and recovering my tan that was stolen by the chilly weather in Xela, Guatemala. Watched the AWESOME surfers rip it up on the huge waves that kept rolling in.
So why even go? We all know the answer to that: it’s the beach, and the sun, and the forest, and the monkeys, and the air. I could never breath enough of that fresh oxygen and plants and life growing on every tree and gate and wire and road. It’s incredible. Days on the sand, the kids would loose themselves in play and imagination and sticks and rocks. We lived very much in the NOW; the beach is all about the NOW.
Even those bloggers who didn’t have a 100% great time were pragmatic about their criticisms. Like:
Petty theft is a problem at the beach. Keeping a guard up is just wise. There’s a lot of drug use. It comes with the territory. We were robbed once because someone staying in our guest room on the bottom floor didn’t shut the little wooden shutter at night. Though the guests lost cameras, phones, and clothes, thankfully no one was hurt. But common sense goes a long, long way at the beach.
Can I be honest? I’ve spent the past week or so desperately looking forward to going home. Paradise has felt especially un-paradise-like lately. Nothing has really changed or happened to make me feel this way. It’s just the cumulative effect of a lot of factors that have been in place the whole time. I don’t regret that we’re here. But it’s not paradise. It’s hard, fun, interesting, different, expanding, exhausting, educational… And itchy.
In my experience, people feel motivated to write about their experiences either when they’ve had a great experience or a really bad one (not so much when it was just average) so these entries should encourage us that despite the frustrations resident sometimes feel, the average visitor is having a good time and wants to come back for more!
The latest reviews of area hotels on TripAdvisor bear this out too — most are positive about the service they’ve received and their experience in town. In many places I’ve traveled to I’ve used Tripadvisor only to not know where to stay since it seems like the vast majority of reviews were negative.
So before we get too down with the frustrations of life here, let’s remember to give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done for most of the visitors and hope that we can continue and improve even more!
Aug
7
Getting to Puerto Viejo will be more Expensive
August 7, 2008 | Tags: Tourism, Transport | Leave a Comment
The regulator has approved bus rate increases on long distance bus routes effective in one week.
The rates will increase as follows:
| Route | Old Price | New Price | Approx in US$ |
| San Jose – Limon | 2,180 col | 2,460 col | $4.50 |
| San Jose – Cahuita | 3,455 col | 3,900 col | $7.10 |
| San Jose – Puerto Viejo | 4,020 col | 4,535 col | $8.30 |
The schedules will remain the same.
Interbus and Grayline have also announced rate increases effective Dec 1st, 2008. The rate for hotel-to-hotel San Jose to Puerto Viejo area will go from $35 to $39. The rate from Puerto Viejo to La Fortuna/Arenal will increase from $45 to $49. Schedules and the booking form for the shuttles can be found on the transportation page or you can go directly to the booking form here to search routes, schedules and prices nationally.
Finally, prices for private transport between the Caribbean and San Jose will also be going up. The best price we have been able to obtain for our clients between Puerto Viejo and San Jose is going up from $160 to $190 effective November 30th. This is for a 10 passenger van which can accomodate up to 8 people comfortably with luggage. This service is popular with people who want to maximize their vacation on the coast as the driver will meet their flight at the international airport and bring them straight to their Puerto Viejo hotel or vacation rental house so it’s still a bargain considering the option is often losing a day of your vacation waiting in San Jose for the next day’s bus or shuttle. The booking form where you can search rates nationally for this service and make a reservation is here.
May
22
Starting June 1st, Interbus will be offering service to Turrialba from Puerto Viejo, San Jose and Arenal as well as intermediate points.
From Puerto Viejo to Turrialba they depart daily at 6 a.m. and arrive at 10 a.m. From Turrialba to Puerto Viejo the departure is at 8:15 a.m., arriving 11:30 a.m. The cost is $35 for adults and $17.50 for children.
Puerto Viejo Satellite offers booking of any Interbus route (and when we book it, it is easier to make changes or get a refund in case of a cancellation than if you were to book directly on the Interbus site). Click here to search fares and schedules and make a reservation.
Mar
7
MEPE Considering Hourly Bus Service Between Hone Creek and Manzanillo
March 7, 2008 | Tags: Local Business News, Tourism | 2 Comments
Our sources tell us that MEPE, the bus company servicing the Puerto Viejo area, is considering greatly expanding bus service between Hone Creek and Manzanillo and implementing hourly local service. Right now service between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo is limited to 4 buses daily which travel between Limon and Manzanillo (see the schedule on the transport page).
This would be a huge boon for everyone in the Caribe Sur. No only would it make it much easier for visitors to get around, it would provide a vital link for locals to and from get to jobs in Puerto Viejo, Cocles and Punta Uva. Right now hotel and restaurant owners have trouble getting staff because of the lack of affordable housing in Puerto Viejo and the limited transport options to get people to and from Hone Creek and beyond where most locals can afford to live.
Make your opinions known with MEPE that you’d appreciate and support this service. You can find their Puerto Viejo office here.
Mar
4
Health Officials to Monitor Wasterwate on Caribbean Coast
March 4, 2008 | Tags: Environment, Health, Tourism | 6 Comments
 The public restroom at the beach in Puerto Viejo |
The Ministerio de Salud has announced that every establishment catering to tourists and travelers will be asked to open its doors to inspectors who will assess the businesses sewage systems and whether they are contaminating the environment.
The announcement of the inspections comes in the aftermath of the closures of a number of businesses on the Pacific Coast after dangeoursly elevated fecal levels were discovered in the waters of the popular beach resort Tamarindo. Eleven businesses were closed as a result of the ministry of health investigation that followed.
Instances of hotels contaminating everything from rivers to the ocean have been popping up with alarming frequency along the Pacific Coast since this discovery. February saw the closure of Hotel Allegro Papagayo, located on Playa Manzanillo in Guanacaste (not to be confused with our local village Manzanillo just southeast of Puerto Viejo). This hotel was accused of lacking adequate facilities to treat the wastewater produced by the four-star, 600-capacity operation. Instead it was depositing it in nearby streams and in under-equipped treatment plants.
The most recent offense discovered was in Jacó, in a pool known as “Charco Anita.” Blame has fallen on Condominiums Tropical and Paradise, which had not been turning in operational reports to the ministry of health for a year. Owner Randall Van Patten was ordered to block the pipes that carry the wastewater to the site, and has been given 20 days to correct the problems.
The health ministry has promised a national review and the study in the Caribbean is part of that process.
The study in Limón Province only has 30 days for completion, and Inez Muñoz, the departmental environment officer, said that it lacks adequate personnel and transport facilities.
“Each region within the province is helping by making an inventory of hotels and tourist facilities within their area,” said Ms. Muñoz. “We do not yet have these so we do not have an exact idea of how many establishments we will be investigating. Our aim is to make sure everything is in order, and at this point I am quite sure that we will find some things that are not.”
Limón province has not seen a study like this before. In the past, the department of health for Limón dealt with each case of contamination as it occurred.
Since the government had already recognized that the growth in Puerto Viejo had outstripped the capacity of the systems and pledged money to deal with it (see Government Announces Money to Improve Puerto Viejo Water and Sewer, Talamanca News, Sept 21, 2007), it is not clear what action the government will take and whether that could include closures.
Read more: A.M. Costa Rica: Health officials to survey businesses on Caribbean
Feb
14
Marina Meeting Ends in Acrimony
February 14, 2008 | Tags: Local Business News, Tourism | 1 Comment
The meeting Tuesday at the Casa de Cultura on the proposed marina between community members, the developer and the local municipality erupted into high emotion and ended early with the mayor threatening foreigners wouldn’t be allowed into any future such meetings.
 The Casa de la Cultura in Puerto Viejo on a calmer day |
Around 300 people came to hear the debate about the controversial “Marina Ecologica New World” planned for Playa Negra, a beach that extends north from the center of Puerto Viejo. The crowd spilled out onto the streets as Walter Coto, lawyer for the developers Grupo Caribeño Internacional S.A., opened the meeting at 10 a.m.
Community members had sent two letters to Rugelis Morales Rodríguez, mayor of Talamanca, requesting a meeting with municipality members. They hoped that the municipality would be able to answer questions, mainly surrounding concerns that the marina project would have adverse effects on the marine life and coral in two national parks near to the chosen development site.
Coto explained that the company he represents is still in the stage of compiling the pre-project report, and therefore no technical details for the “Marina Ecologica New World” are confirmed. “Mayor Rodríguez and Paola Mora also gave speeches after Coto,” said Jose Guido Bizet, the opposition’s general coordinator. “They were very vague and did not tell us what we wanted to hear.”
After the official speeches, the audience was informed that only three people from the community would be allowed to speak. Chosen to speak were Guido, Mauricio Salazar, a representative of the Alta Talamanca region who works in ecotourism, and Guillermo Quirós, an oceanographer.
“The municipal lawyer replied to our questions, asking how the area could develop without investments like the marina,” said Guido. “She cited the drug problem here, and also said that the community had no right to express concern about
the coral reefs off the shore while the hotels and restaurants are contaminating the waters with their waste and sewage.
“I replied that the prospective 400 extra boats that could dock here would most likely increase the problem of drug trafficking rather than decrease it, and that it is the job of the municipality to organize programs for recycling and cleaning up the town.”
The municipal lawyer, Ms. Mora, then said that the organizers of the meeting were lying to the community by inflating the number of boats proposed for the marina. She said that the number of yachts the project proposes is closer to 100 than 400. But the third speaker, Quirós, referred to pre-project plans secured from the Comision de Marinas y Atracaderos Turisticos, which show that the pre-project plans do indeed state that the marina would hold 398 boats.
“Quirós said that it was actually the municipality that was lying to the people. Then George Brown, the municipal president, started shouting that they would have to close the meeting early,” said Guido. The meeting was brought to an end amid disapproving chants.
“The mayor was escorted out of the Casa by police,” said Alaine Berg, who works for Asociación Talamanqueña de Ecoturismo y Conservación and attended Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t know why. I didn’t see anyone making threats to him. It was very emotional. There were people crying in the streets.”
Guido added that Brown made a demand that in future no foreigners would be allowed into similar meetings. Guido said that the community would fight against this decision, as there are many foreigners who legally own businesses in the area who should be able to have a say in developments.
With reporting from: A.M. Costa Rica: Marina meeting in Puerto Viejo upsets residents
Jan
29
Annual Jungleman Race Cancelled
January 29, 2008 | Tags: Sports, Tourism | Leave a Comment
The annual Jungleman off-road marathon and half-marathon which has taken place in Puerto Viejo the last four years has been cancelled. This year’s race was supposed to take place on February 23rd with a route between Playa Negra and Cahuita National Park.
The organizers, Exploraciones Verde y Azul S.A., said that the events leading to the cancellation of the race were totally out of their control. The e-mail spoke of lack of support from sponsors and the government.
Although the organization’s website has not yet been updated to reflect the cancellation, organizers have disabled the registration page. They are also promising a refund of the registration fee to anyone who already registered.
The loss of this event is a loss for the community as well as the race brought attention and a different type of visitor to the area.
With reporting from A.M. Costa Rica: Organizers cancel jungle marathon planned for Puerto Viejo.
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