Puerto Jimenez Costa Rica - Travel Guide

Puerto Jiménez is a small town located in the south of the Puntarenas Province, in the Osa Peninsula next to the Golfo Dulce and Pacific Ocean. During the 1960s, Puerto Jiménez was a haven for gold mining and logging. Today it is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the Corcovado National Park. In town you can find restaurants and grocery stores to buy what you need for your next adventure. There is a small domestic airport in Puerto Jimenez, making it easier to get to this part of the country.

Things to do in Puerto Jimenez

Bird and Wildlife Watching
Bird and wildlife watching is prolific in and around Puerto Jimenez – particular at nearby Corcovado National Park. Motmots, scarlet macaws and spectacled owls can often be seen without even stepping outside of the hotel. Mammals include tapirs, giant anteaters, olingos, sloths and peccaries. American crocodiles, caimans, boa constrictors, bushmasters, vipers and other venomous snakes are commonly spotted reptiles. Four types of sea turtles can also be seen at certain times of the year: loggerhead, leatherback, Olive Ridley, and green sea turtles.

Horseback Riding
Trail ride along various terrains, including deserted beaches, mangrove estuaries and the woodlands of Cabo Matapalo.

Mangrove Tours
Kayaking along the river, just north of town, provides the perfect opportunities for viewing an impressive array of birds, monkeys, sloths and other wildlife.

Cacao Chocolate Farm Tour
Visit a local cacao farm where you will have the opportunity to participate in the different cocoa processes. This tour continues to support the economy of rural families. In this cacao farm you will also find other fruit trees showing a traditional Costa Rican farm.

Puerto Jimenez tours to other destinations nearby

Corcovado National Park
Corcovado National Park is a reserve on southwest Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula that protects varied tropical ecosystems. Considered one of the world's most biodiverse regions, its wildlife includes scarlet macaws, tapirs, jaguars and squirrel monkeys. Hiking trails follow coastal and inland routes through habitats ranging from Pacific beaches and mangrove swamps to lowland and montane rainforests.

Piedras Blancas National Park
Piedras Blancas National Park is located in the Osa Peninsula Conservation Area. Along with Corcovado National Park and Golfo Dulce Forest Preserve, Piedras Blancas forms an important biological corridor that protects the great diversity of plant and wildlife species inhabiting Golfo Dulce. The park is home to Baird's tapirs, ocelots, pumas, giant anteaters and harpy eagles. Other protected species include: howler, spider, squirrel, and white-faced capuchin monkeys, great tinamou, silky anteater, poison dart frog, glass frog, bushmaster snake, and leatherback, olive ridley, and green turtles.

Golfo Dulce Boat Tour
Spinner and bottlenose are the most observed species in the Golfo Dulce. Whales and whale sharks are also prevalent mainly between December-April and July-October. While kayaking at sunset you will enjoy the phosphorescent algae dancing like fireworks under the sea.

Location and Map

Due to its remote location, most visitors prefer to fly to Puerto Jimenez with one of Costa Rica’s local carriers. Depending on the weather and road conditions, the journey by car or private transportation can take around 6 hours from the San Jose International Airport (374 kms / 233 miles)