Whilst the rains kick-in sometime during the month of October down here in Santa Teresa, it is probably one of the better times of the year to visit the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

We took a week’s vacation and traveled overland to Puerto Viejo at the southern most tip of the east coast. The drive from the Nicoya Peninsula was a long and wet one. We broke up the journey by spending a night in San Jose, which if you have children, is a must. The second day’s drive was much more fun. Once we passed through the rain forest of the Braulilo National Park, and down to the plains on route 32, we hit sunshine, passing Limon with its miles and miles of banana fields and then finally arriving at Puerto Viejo around 2pm. Its a small bay with gentle waves, lots of little shops and some fantastic restaurants too. We stayed at Casa Verde. It was clean, staff were very friendly and helpful,there was a pool for the kids and the it was reasonably priced. Here is its link: http://www.cabinascasaverde.com/

A god way to get around is to rent bicycles and explore. A short drive away is a sloth sanctuary which you must visit and donate if you can too. We ate at Koki beach restaurant and bar and a few local sodas. The food was delicious fresh fish and seafood. There is a fabulous fusion of Costa Rica and the Caribbean here, from the music to the conversations to the colours of the boats in the harbour. It doesn’t get more laid back than this.