Mar
1
Bus Fares Going Down 5%
March 1, 2009 | Tags: Transport | Leave a Comment
The regulator of public services (Aresep) has declared a 5.13% rollback in fares affecting some 3,600 routes.
The fare from San Jose to Puerto Viejo will be reduced from 4,535 colones to 4,290 colones (about US$ 7.65 at current exchange rates).
The new rates take effect on Friday.
Source: Diario Extra: Pasajes Bajan Entre ¢10 Y ¢360
Jan
29
Getting a Fair Deal on a Taxi
January 29, 2009 | Tags: Community News, Transport | 1 Comment
A common complaint of tourists in almost any city is taxi drivers who overcharge them. It can be a tourist’s first impression of a place and so it leaves a sour taste in their mouth. Tourists are often vulnerable to this because they don’t know how much something is supposed to cost. But I’ve often run into travelers who thought they were overcharged but when I questioned them it turned out they paid the going rate.
Since the taxis in Puerto Viejo operate without meters this is especially true. There are customary rates that exist between points in the area. The taxi company Transportes Privados Jireh has made their rate sheet publicly available to Puerto Viejo Satellite and others for some time – we have just updated it on the transport page where you can find the latest rate sheet at any time.
This doesn’t necessarily negate the need to negotiate and confirm the price before you start your ride. Knowing the rates will make people feel more comfortable in this process. The owner of Transportes Privados Jireh assures local businesses that if drivers charge you significantly more than is shown on the price sheet, call it into the office and they will be disciplined.
Transportes Privados Jireh can be reached at 2570-2073. They located on the main road in town just in front of the Sunrise backpackers lodge.
The other taxi company has categorically refused to publish a fixed price schedule and has not responded to complaints of customers being over charged. So if you use them, you’re on your own.
In the spirit of making travelers feel more welcome and comfortable with taxi service, local business owners are encouraged to print out the list of taxi rates and also avoid patronizing taxi drivers and companies who are charging exorbitant rates.
Dec
31
Update on Getting to Bocas del Toro
December 31, 2008 | Tags: Transport | 3 Comments
The usual route to Bocas del Toro from Puerto Viejo is to go by car or bus to the border, then shared taxi to Finca 60 near Changuinola then a boat service from Bocas Marine through the banana canals and then onto Bocastown. See the detailed route descriptions here.
Unfortunately, the high water the coast had back at the end of November has messed up the banana canals and they now need dredging so the boat from Finca 60 is not running until further notice. So the alternate route is required which is a shared taxi from the border to the somewhat more distant town of Almirante then a boat or ferry from there to Bocas town.
Please expect to pay a little more for the shared taxi between the border town (Guabito on the Panama side) and Almirante – the distance is further. The standard fare there is typically $10 per person (insted of the $5 per person to Finca 60). The boat ride at $3 each is a little cheaper though. There were various emails circulating that people though they were getting scammed by the taxi drivers in Guabito who wanted to bring them to Almirante only to get a larger fare and telling them Finca 60 was closed. Well it wasn’t a scam, it is unfortunately the truth.
The biggest lost is that it was a very pretty ride through the canals and so we hope this route will be reopened.
Please remember that there is a the option of booking a complete transit including pickup at your hotel in Puerto Viejo all the way to the dock in Bocas town for only $34 per person – this includes the vehicle transport on both sides of the border and the boat ride. You can book that on Gecko Trail Adventure’s shared ride shuttle form (just select Puerto Viejo as your pickup city and Bocas del Toro as your destination):
Nov
26
Temporary Bridge to Puerto Viejo Opened
November 26, 2008 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters, Transport | 1 Comment
| Correction: I had previously published incorrectly that this crossing was suitable for all vehicles but apparently they are asking that large trucks and buses not use the temporary crossing. Regular passenger vehicles, smaller trucks and shuttle vans such as Interbus and Grayline are operating across the temporary span though. |
Construction crews worked all day today and a temporary crossing, suitable for all but buses and large trucks, is now open where the damaged bridge was on Playa Negra.
 Construction crews finishing temporary crossing where the bridge at Playa Negra into Puerto Viejo had washed out. |
Nov
25
Road Open to San Jose
November 25, 2008 | Tags: Transport | 4 Comments
Transportes MEPE is reporting this morning that the buses are running on the normal schedule and normal route and that the road between Limon and San Jose is now clear.
Reports are also that the Margarita Road route between Cocles and Margarita is open so 4WD vehicles which want to get around the broken bridge at Playa Negra in Puerto Viejo to drive into town or to Cocles, Chiquita and Punta Uva can go that way.
(Almost) back to normal here on the Caribbean!
Nov
24
Caribbean Coast Cut Off by Rising Waters
November 24, 2008 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters, Transport | 1 Comment
Continued rain and rising waters have caused more bridges to become impassable and landslides to close roads on the Caribbean Coast.
Cruz Roja rescues resident stranded by rising waters
La Nación is reporting the closure at 1 a.m. this morning of the Braulio Carrillo highway between San Jose and Limon due to 3 landslides on the route. As well the alternate route through Turrialba is also blocked due to landslides between Turrialba and Siquirres. Finally they also say there is a road closure between Siquirres and Limon due to rising waters of the Chirripó River.
Earlier unconfirmed reports also said that the highway between Cahuita and Limon is also blocked due to rising waters of the Rio Estrella. However, we just crossed the bridge and although the water is running fast there is no sign that the bridge was or is about to be overwhelmed by the water. A JAPDEVA employee stated that the full route between Hone Creek and Limon is open. JAPDEVA and ICE crews were out in force on the roads.
Other rumours said that the bridge linking BriBri and Sixaola to Hone Creek and on the rest of the country is also unpassable but this is unconfirmed. If anyone has photos or verification of this either way, please email editor@talamancanews.com.
MEPE´s San Jose office advised at 2pm today that there will be no more buses today but tommorow they advise simply ”vamos a ver” (let´s wait and see).
Besides the road closures, more than 4,000 people have been left temporarily homeless by the rain. The Cruz Roja has more than 50 staff working in the area and is mobilizing auxiliary forces to try and rescue people stranded by the storm.
Photos and further updates will be published as they become available.
Nov
23
Flooding Slams Caribbean Coast; Bridge Out to Puerto Viejo
November 23, 2008 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters, Transport | 16 Comments
Five days of torrential rains (and its started to rain again today) have caused massive flooding and a state of emergency to be declared on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.
Yesterday afternoon one of the bridges into Puerto Viejo washed out and it’s not clear when the heavy equipment needed to fix it would be brought in. The damage is extensive although pedestrians and bikes are making their way across a plank where the bridge came away from the road and then on to the bridge, the remains of which are listing at a 30 degree angle.
Bridge out into Puerto Viejo
By yesterday evening, the ground was so saturated and the rain was continuing to fall that water levels kept rising. At Hotel Banana Azul, where this reporter is located, the water rose about a meter in a matter of hours, cresting just half an inch short of the level of the main floor of the hotel before it started to recede.
Other places were not so lucky. Many houses were flooded and had to be evacuated. At one hotel several trees were reported to have fallen on top of several of the cabinas.
Buses and some transportation continue to run however as the roads to Limon and to San Jose remain open. The MEPE transport bus is running into Puerto Viejo as far as Pulperia Violeta (Jeffrey’s) where people are walking to and from town. Some other forms of transport have been canceled leaving travelers stranded and the bus oversold.
Lining up to leave at the bus stop about 1.5km north of downtown
The communities of Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva and Manzanillo are so far operating fairly normally with no major shortages reported. But getting supplies in will be difficult. Without the bridge on the main road into Puerto Viejo the only other option is Margarita Road, a 4WD only road over the mountains between Playa Cocles and the main highway to Sixaola.
Pedestrians and bikes are still making it across the bridge
Meanwhile La Nacion is reporting more than 2,000 people, mostly in smaller towns, needing shelter with some communities completely unreachable.
Sep
2
Hone Creek – Puerto Viejo Road Dangerous for Your Lungs and Limbs
September 2, 2008 | Tags: Economic Development, Government and Politics, Health, Transport | Leave a Comment
 Kely, David, Nelson & Kenia Chaves travel 3 km each day to school in a cloud of dust . Photo by Mario Rojas, courtesy of La Nación. |
Anyone who has traveled the road between Hone Creek and Puerto Viejo knows what a danger it is: unpaved, huge potholes, full of dust, lacking in signage, shared by bicycles and cars and pedestrians with no separation between them. It has always been a strange exception in that the route between San Jose and Hone Creek is one of the better routes in the country, but those last 5 kilometers to Puerto Viejo remind you you’re still in the developing world.
Locals have been complaining to the municipality for years to get the road paved. The municipality always responded that they didn’t have the money to fix the road. Finally last year, the road was declared a national route by CONAVI, the national roads council.
But so far the Conavi designation hasn’t translated into a road up to standards. The minimum width of a nationally designated road is 20 meters. Darwin Mena, an engineer working with Conavi, said that this road at points is only half that and that the width is encroached upon at several points by buildings owned by the Municipality of Talamanca which need to be removed.
Neighbors complain that the many cars and buses traveling at high speeds are a daily risk to people on bicycles and on foot that are covered by clouds of dust. Not only does the narrow potholed road cause collisions, the clinic in Hone Creek reports that they treat at least 4 people each week who were hit by stones thrown up from the road.
At the Hone Creek clinic doctors have also reported another hazard of the road — increased cases of asthma. The cases have been reported by those who need to commute the road daily by bicycle, children who walk along the road to get to school and those living near the dusty road. The director of the clinic, Wilman Rojas said that 80% of those living on the edge of the road are suffering from respiratory problems.
Eddie Ryan of the Chamber of Tourism says “As inhabitants of this place, we feel completely abandoned. Puerto Viejo is a unique tourist destination and the need for repair of this road is urgent.”
Ryan stated that the road receives maintenance every six months, but weeks later is damaged again. “The grader scrapes the street and spreads the material, but when it rains you lose all the work.”
The engineer Mena said that the repair of the road could be done in two years. Funds are supposed to be budgeted for 2010 to execute the work.
More:
- La Nación:Ruta en Talamanca es peligrosa para viajeros
- La Nación: Polvo afecta salud de los habitantes
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.
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