Park guides, catamarans, sportfishing, ziplines, rafting, and more. Every listing checked against live sources.
Puerto Viejo's 20 verified tours are led by 4 sportfishing charters and 3 turtle-watching organizations, plus Cacao Huasi, the zone's featured chocolate tour, reflecting the South Caribbean's cacao heritage and sea turtle conservation programs.
Featured
Puerto Viejo
Chocolate experience operator in Puerto Viejo offering hands-on bean-to-bar classes, a cacao farm tour, and pairing sessions with wine, rum, or mezcal. It also runs a small restaurant serving Caribbean food and handmade chocolate. Bookings are handled by WhatsApp and an online system.
Cahuita
Cahuita Experience is a Cahuita-based tour operator known mainly for surf lessons that also runs an early-morning fishing trip with a local fisherman, departing around 5am to troll and bottom fish near Cahuita National Park. The 3 to 4 hour tour includes all gear and guests keep their catch, or release it on request.
Puerto Viejo
Caribe Fishing Tours is run by Captain Alan, a Puerto Viejo local who leads offshore and inshore fishing charters departing from Punta Uva beach. The operation also runs river fishing trips up the Sixaola River and can combine a fishing day with snorkeling or dolphin watching on request.
Puerto Viejo
Caribe Sur Tours is a Puerto Viejo based agency running a wide slate of South Caribbean tours, including a night wildlife walk led by a biologist specialized in frogs and snakes on a private conservation farm near Playa Cocles, plus Gandoca-Manzanillo dolphin and mangrove boat tours, clear kayak trips in Punta Uva, and Bribri cultural canoe experiences in Yorkin. The company is based at Playa Negra and operates via online booking with phone and email contact.
Puerto Viejo
Family-run micro cacao farm and chocolate factory in Playa Cocles, operating since 2007. The tour walks you through a forest hike, cacao tasting, the bean-to-bar process at the on-site factory, and a guided chocolate tasting. There is also a coffee shop serving fresh-roasted local Arabica, smoothies, and light meals.
Manzanillo
A grassroots nonprofit founded by sea turtle biologist Dr. Christine Figgener that runs nightly research patrols and beach protection on Gandoca and nearby South Caribbean nesting beaches. COASTS accepts visitors and volunteers to join patrols during leatherback (March-July) and green/hawksbill nesting, pairing conservation work with turtle encounters. Contact the organization directly to arrange a visit or volunteer stay.
Puerto Viejo
Finca La Isla is a working permaculture farm at Playa Negra founded in 1987, growing organic black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and ginger alongside ornamental plants and fruit trees. Visitors can take a self-guided or guided two-hour tour to see frogs and birds, tap a rubber tree, and taste farm-grown chocolate and fruit, open Monday to Friday.
Manzanillo
A community-run guided night walk on Playa Gandoca inside the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, departing nightly from the Gandoca operations center between February and July. Park rangers patrol ahead and radio guides to active nests, mainly leatherback (peak April-May) with green and hawksbill also possible; cameras and white light are prohibited to protect the turtles.
Puerto Viejo
Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center in Playa Chiquita caring for ill, injured, and orphaned animals, with a focus on monkeys, sloths, reptiles, and birds. Public tours run daily at 9:30am and 11:30am, led by trained guides, and private afternoon tours are available. Proceeds fund veterinary care and the La Ceiba release station.
Manzanillo
The Costa Rica chapter of WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network), coordinated through Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST) and led by Didiher Chacon, has run sea turtle conservation and volunteer patrol programs on Gandoca beach since the 1990s. Volunteers and visitors join night patrols during leatherback nesting season (March-July) to monitor nests and protect hatchlings on the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge coastline.
Puerto Viejo
Surf school in Puerto Viejo founded by professional surfer and certified lifeguard Dexter Lewis, with local born-and-raised instructors. Private, semi-private, and group lessons cover beginner through advanced levels, with equipment and transport included. The school also offers a sunrise stand-up paddle experience around Piripli Island.
Puerto Viejo
Life & Culture Travel is a woman-led ethnotourism agency working directly with Bribri communities near Puerto Viejo, offering shaman ceremonies, chocolate and medicinal plant tours, a Bribri dialect class, indigenous cooking classes, and a full-day trip to the Yorkin community. The company supports indigenous women's groups and local employment, and takes bookings by phone and online reservation.
Cahuita
Marco's Tours is a family-run tour operator based in Cahuita, running since 2018, offering guided snorkeling in Cahuita National Park's protected reefs plus combination snorkel-and-hike tours, waterfall trips, and boat tours to Punta Mona and Isla Uvita. Tours include bilingual local guides, transportation, and equipment, and the company also runs the Restaurante El Cangrejo Loco in Cahuita.
Manzanillo
PADI dive center on Punta Uva beach offering scuba courses from Discover Scuba through Advanced Open Water, plus fun dives, night dives, and snorkeling on the Caribbean reef. The center also runs sea and river kayak tours and stand-up paddle outings. A beachfront lounge is available for guests between dives.
Puerto Viejo
Robalero Fishing Tours is run by Jimmy, a local fisherman who leads small, personalized fishing trips from shore, kayak, and boat along the South Caribbean coast, rivers, and lagoons. Trips are limited to one or two anglers and are adapted to the season, sea conditions, and the client's experience level.
Puerto Viejo
Rainforest wellness retreat in the hills above Puerto Viejo offering yoga, meditation, sound bathing, forest bathing, and spa treatments. Guests book a room and add food, yoga, hikes, and massages a la carte, or join customized programs. The property sits about a 20-minute drive from Puerto Viejo town.
Cahuita
A 320-acre nature preserve and rescue center near Cahuita, operating since 1992 as the first sloth-focused facility in Costa Rica. Educational tours run hourly in the morning and can be combined with a canoe excursion through the rainforest. Advance booking is required and the sanctuary is open Tuesday through Sunday.
Puerto Viejo
Surf school in Puerto Viejo run by local instructors offering lessons for all levels, multi-day surf camps, and jungle tours. Camps combine surf lessons with yoga and rainforest adventures over several days. The school also arranges snorkeling, kayak, and chocolate tours through local guides.
Manzanillo
Tarponville is a fishing lodge near Manzanillo and the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge that specializes in fly fishing and light-tackle fishing for large tarpon, along with day-trip charters for trolling and bottom fishing. Full-day charters depart from Manzanillo village and take up to three anglers per boat.
Cahuita
Local tour operator running guided snorkeling and nature tours inside Cahuita National Park and its coral reef. The Cahuita reef tour includes boat transport, a licensed guide, equipment, and beach time, lasting around 2.5 hours. Willie's also offers other regional day tours along the southern Caribbean.
Yes, Cacao Huasi is the zone's featured chocolate tour, one of 2 verified chocolate tours here, alongside Caribeans Coffee & Chocolate.
Yes, 3 verified turtle-watching organizations serve the zone, including COASTS in Manzanillo.
Yes, 4 verified charters serve the zone, including Caribe Fishing Tours and Cahuita Experience Fishing Tour.
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