2.71/5
155 reviews
Photo by Frank Eiffert via Unsplash

Puerto Viejo

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beach

night

experience

wifi

spots

coworking

jungle

cities

del

great

carribean

outdoor

cool

playa

cocles

food

Puerto Viejo is a unique mix of Caribbean and Latin American culture with plenty to do. The town is generally safe, especially when taking basic precautions, and offers great outdoor activities like beach volleyball, hiking in Cahuita National Park, and visiting scenic beaches like Punta Uva and Playa Negra. The food here is one of the highlights, with a strong Jamaican influence that makes it some of the best in Costa Rica.

The nightlife is active, with different themed nights and popular venues hosting events right on the beach. While reliable Wi-Fi used to be a concern, it has improved significantly, with good connectivity in Airbnbs and cafes. A coworking space, Boa Coworking, has also opened recently.

However, Costa Rica in general is more expensive than other nearby countries, and Puerto Viejo is no exception. Access to tech and medical resources is limited due to its distance from major cities, which can be an issue if you need urgent care or specific electronics. Lastly, it’s not the best spot for digital nomads looking for a strong coworking or networking community.

Overall, Puerto Viejo is better suited for a vacation or adventure travel rather than a dedicated nomad destination.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Puerto Viejo has grown in recent years. Before wifi was hard to find. Now with several high speed co working spots like "Boa Coworking and cafe". Office in the jungle but walking distance to all thats necessary!

10 months ago

I don’t know why Costa Rican cities aren’t ranked higher on this list. Puerto Viejo is an amazing fun little town with a lot to do. I took a bus ride here from Bocas Del Toro, Panama after spending time there and I really enjoyed it.

It’s great because it’s like a mix of Carribean and Latin American vibes. There are so many outdoor activities to do here. there‘a Cahuita national park if you want to go hiking and see a lot of cool animals, there’s beach volleyball everyday at playa cocles, the black sand beach at playa negra is beautiful, Punta Uva has some stunning views. It also has the best food in Costa Rica since the food is more Jamaican inspired. Every evening there’s usually something going on somewhere whether it’s salsa night, reggaeton night, carribean music night, or an EDM DJ playing. The most popular places for nightlife have their outdoor area right on the beach is also really cool. I was initially worried about getting reliable Wi-Fi but it actually turned out to work fine at my airbnb and most cafe/lunch spots. There aren’t really coworking spaces though.

The main cons I see is that it’s still Costa Rica so it is pricier than other nearby countries. Also the tech & medical infrastructure is not the best and it’s kind of far from any major cities so if you get sick/injured or need to buy some tech merchandise it will cause some difficulty. Last if you’re looking for a digital nomad community to do some networking you’re not going to find that here.

Overall I give it a 6.5/10 for nomading and an 8/10 for vacation.

11 months ago

In general, Puerto Viejo is a nice place to visit. Safe unless you insist going around with valuables and healthy unless you Purposely look for something else. You can have a great experience if you try to talk to locals and understand local habits. I had a very nice familiar and human experience with some locals who rent a container house in Cocles, in the middle of the jungle, unique experience El Nido del Buho.

1 year ago

✅ Safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Great outdoor activities

✅ Vibrant nightlife

✅ Delicious food

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Pricier than nearby countries

❌ Limited tech & medical infrastructure

❌ Small digital nomad community

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Pretty slow internet

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

Jan

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Oct

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Feels

79 26°
warm

81 27°
warm

82 28°
warm

81 27°
warm

79 26°
warm

Real

79 26°
warm

80 27°
warm

81 27°
warm

82 28°
very warm

81 27°
warm

79 26°
warm

Humidity

nice
44%

nice
43%

nice
46%

nice
47%

nice
46%

nice
47%

nice
46%

nice
45%

nice
44%

nice
46%

Most common

Rain

rainy
208mm

rainy
174mm

rainy
159mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
378mm

rainy
266mm

rainy
519mm

rainy
312mm

rainy
288mm

rainy
283mm

rainy
336mm

rainy
415mm

Cloud

pockets
29%

pockets
27%

pockets
25%

pockets
35%

pockets
36%

pockets
35%

pockets
39%

pockets
36%

pockets
33%

pockets
30%

pockets
28%

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

450 people

543 people

360 people

486 people

425 people

480 people

267 people

300 people

340 people

467 people

429 people

356 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Puerto Viejo's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.71/5 (Rank #213) 155 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍3 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,298 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 8Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 27°C80°F (feels 30°C86°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 77%
👌 Safety	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Low: $985 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Okay
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Good
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Costa Rica
🗓️ Average trip length	14 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	8 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 27°C 80°F + 🥵 Sweaty (77%) = feels 30°C 86°F
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 1,000 CRC in USD	USD 2.00
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	CRC 100,000 = USD 200
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Loop
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	8% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	10,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$11,825 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 68% 👱‍♀️ 32%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Encuentra24
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Nature Air
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Nature Air
🏥 Best hospital	Hone Creek Clinic

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,298 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,888 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,574 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,021 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,492 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,548 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$699 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$117 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$84 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$198 / month
🍛 Dinner	$12
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$4
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3