The Caribbean region of Costa Rica is probably one of the most beautiful and least known areas of Costa Rica. With a warm and rainy climate, this is a place where you will find tropical nature with amazing wildlife, fantastic adventures, exciting cultural events, incredible beaches and comfortable and varied accommodations for your enjoyment.
The Caribbean region of Costa Rica is located in the province of Limón, which goes from the southern border with Panama to the San Juan River that divides Costa Rica from Nicaragua. Its three main areas are the north, Puerto Limón and the south that reaches the border of Panama.
North Caribbean: Colorado
The “Barra Del Colorado” is a 92,000-hectare refuge composed of tropical rainforest and wetlands that host a great diversity of flora and fauna. Traditionally Colorado has been very popular among fishermen.
Tortuguero National Park
To the north, a small but impressive labyrinth of canals in the middle of lush rainforest, full of exotic wildlife, Tortuguero is a paradise for nature lovers and a national symbol for its stunning landscapes. It is also well known for giant sea turtles that reach the 22km long coast, especially from July to September to dig their nests in the sand and lay their eggs.
Puerto Limón
This is the main town of the province; it has a port where thousands of cruise ships arrive constantly during the fall and winter months. Thus it is always full of incredible activities that can be enjoyed without enduring large crowds.
Getting there
If you want to go to the Caribbean region by air, you can use the routes available from San José airport. There are three main airports on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Colorado, Tortuguero, and Lemon. To the south, in Costa Rica, you will not find any commercial airport or airfields. In Bocas Del Toro there is an international airport. The distance from San José to Tortuguero is 130km. To get to Tortuguero and Colorado by land, you have to take route 32 or the road through the town of Turrialba.
History
Although Christopher Columbus visited these lands in 1502, Costa Rica was originally colonized only on the Pacific side. The dense exuberance of the rainforests of the Caribbean coast and the harsh conditions of the mountain landscape in addition to the very brave indigenous resistance at that time made it impossible for the Spanish to enter on this site. The fact that our land had very little gold compared to other American lands such as Peru or Mexico also discouraged early colonization.
In the colonial years, there were some attempts to grow cocoa in the region but the continuous invasions of English privateers and pirates who raided the Caribbean coast eventually turned it into an isolated and uninhabited place with what remained of the indigenous populations to live in the mountains.
Climate
The Caribbean side of the country has a hot and humid climate throughout the year; its average temperature is 30 degrees celsius, however on a hot September day it can go all the way up to 40. The sunny season occurs in March-April and then again in September-October, although sometimes it happens that the sun season begins in January or February and only gets rainy if there is a strong cold front coming from the north. And even in the rainiest part of the season, there are long periods of sunny days with sudden storms and downpours.
We encourage you to pack your bathing suit, shorts and sandals, the Caribbean region of our country will be waiting for you with its arms open.
