Hotel Escape Caribeño

Hotel Escape Caribeño, beside Salsa Brava in Puerto Viejo

Escape Caribeño sits on Ruta 256 next to Salsa Brava beach, about seven minutes from the centre of Puerto Viejo. It is a small, easygoing place made of individual bungalows in flowering gardens, and one of our team's favourites on the Caribbean side.

It suits couples and friends who want the slow rhythm of the Caribbean coast, with the sea across the road and town close enough for dinner on foot.

Why we choose it

• Next door to Salsa Brava. The reef break that brings many surfers to Puerto Viejo is right beside the hotel, and on calm days the same water is gentle enough for a swim.
• Bungalows, not a block of rooms. Each one stands on its own in the gardens with a hammock outside, which keeps it quiet even with town so close.
• Puerto Viejo without a car. Small restaurants, open-air bars and craft shops are a short walk or bike ride away, so most evenings need no driver.

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Rooms and views

The bungalows are spread through tropical gardens edged with tall hibiscus hedges, each with a porch and a hammock for a lazy afternoon with a book. On the garden side you are likely to see colourful birds and tiny poison dart frogs. Across the road, the bungalows closest to the beach sit under tall trees where howler monkeys pass through in the morning. Inside there is a TV and a safe.

On the property

There is a swimming pool in the gardens, a restaurant on site and private parking if you are driving the coast. Breakfast can be the Costa Rican way, gallo pinto with eggs, or fruit and pancakes.

For dinner, Puerto Viejo has a long list of small places serving Caribbean seafood, barbecue and food from around the world, and trying a different one each night is half the fun of staying here.

Location and getting there

Salsa Brava is a powerful reef break, at its best from December to April and sometimes again in June and July, and it is for experienced surfers only. The rest of the year the sea in front is usually quiet enough for swimming and snorkelling. From the hotel we can arrange dolphin trips, waterfall hikes, a canopy tour, a visit with the area's indigenous communities, or a rented bicycle for the coast road toward Cocles. Read more about Puerto Viejo.

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