If you plan to visit Corcovado National Park, the small coastal village of Puerto Jimenez is an excellent destination to visit in the Osa Peninsula.
In this guide, we will share with you information about visiting Puerto Jimenez, including why you should visit, where to stay, what to do, how to get there and more.
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Location of Puerto Jimenez
Puerto Jimenez is on the east coast of the Osa Peninsula, in the Puntarenas province.
It’s located in the South Pacific region of Costa Rica.
How to Get To Puerto Jimenez
You can read our detailed guide on how to get to Puerto Jimenez or read below for a quick recap.
Domestic Flight
Green Airways and Sansa Air both fly to the local Puerto Jimenez airstrip from San Jose.
~1 hour, ~$160 USD one way.
Public Bus
There is a direct public bus from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez at 12 PM everyday. Costs 8415.00 CRC per person without taxes and fees.
You can purchase bus tickets online at https://www.blancotiquete.com/venta/venta.php. Approximately 8 hours.
Shuttle
A private shuttle from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez costs ~$550-600 USD for 1-5 passengers. This is about a 7 hour drive (361 km or 224 miles).
Contact us if you would like to book a private shuttle.
Driving
A 4×4 is not required to drive to Puerto Jimenez but you should have a 4×2 high clearance SUV in the dry season and 4×4 in rainy season if you plan to drive to other places in the Osa Peninsula like Drake Bay, Matapalo or Carate.
From San Jose or San Jose International Airport, the best route is via Route 27, Route 34, Route 2 and Route 245. All fully paved highways.
Get our Costa Rica car rental discount here!
Boat from Golfito
There is a 45 minute public ferry between Golfito’s public dock and Puerto Jimenez’s public dock everyday for ~$6 USD per person.
Monday through Friday: 7 AM, 10 AM, 1130 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM and 5 PM.
Saturday: 730 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM and 5 PM
Sunday: 10 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM
Puerto Jimenez Car Rentals
One option you can do is fly to Puerto Jimenez from San Jose and rent a car in town. This way, you can avoid the long and boring drive.
Contact us if you would like assistance in booking your rental car in Puerto Jimenez.
Why Visit Puerto Jimenez
Situated between the Golfo Dulce and Corcovado National Park, Puerto Jimenez’s dependable infrastructure, convenient location and welcoming Costa Rican vibe has allowed it to grow to be the main tourism hub in the Osa Peninsula.
Puerto Jimenez is a small town but has everything: restaurants, pharmacies, clinics, hotels, hostels, an airstrip, schools, bakeries, stores, laundromats, a dock, banks, supermarket, car rentals and tour operators.
Something we love about Puerto Jimenez is despite its growing populartiy, it still has such a Tico vibe. Super welcoming, down to earth locals, not commercialized at all.
It’s very reminiscent of what San Jose and the Central Valley cities used to be like when Yeison was growing up in the 80s.
Just a small community where everyone knows each other, helps each other out and spends time together.
Things to Do in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica
Whether you’re visiting for a couple days or over a week, there are plenty of fun things to do in Puerto Jimenez, mostly centered around nature.
Corcovado National Park
Most people go to Puerto Jimenez to visit Corcovado National Park to see wildlife and check the national park off their list.
There are five different ranger stations in the national park and you can visit four of them from Puerto Jimenez: Sirena, Los Patos, Leona and El Tigre.
The most popular station to visit is Sirena Station. Visitors can book a day trip to Sirena Station or an overnight Sirena Station trip from Puerto Jimenez.
Then, for those doing the Los Patos – Sirena (20 kms or 12 miles) trek or the Leona – Sirena (16 kms or 9.9 miles) trek, they stay a night before and after in Puerto Jimenez.
The El Tigre ranger station is about a 25 minute drive from Puerto Jimenez.
San Pedrillo station is much closer to Drake Bay than Puerto Jimenez, so tours do not go to that station. If you want to visit San Pedrillo station, you should visit it from the Drake Bay side.
Fishing
The Golfo Dulce’s healthy waters offers plenty of opportunities to catch big fish during inshore and offshore fishing trips from Puerto Jimenez.
Before Puerto Jimenez became a tourism hub for Corcovado National Park, it was a fishing village and locals know everything about fishing in the rich waters.
Golfo Dulce Boat Tour
The Golfo Dulce also offers excellent snorkeling and dolphin and whale watching.
Cruise next to huge pods of dolphins, watch the humpback whales play with their babies and snorkel among turtles and colorful tropical fish.
Some Golfo Dulce boat tours include a little bit of everything: fishing, whale and dolphin watching and birdwatching.
Wildlife Photography Tour
As the Osa Peninsula holds 2.5% of the worlds biodiversity, it is a nature and wildlife photographer paradise.
Take a photo tour to capture beautiful wildlife photos of Scarlet Macaws, Yellow throated toucans, Fiery billed aracari toucans, spider monkeys, white face monkeys, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, Baird’s tapirs, trogons, and much more.
Osa Photography runs week long wildlife photography workshops but you can contact them for private photo trips.
Mangrove Kayaking
Near Puerto Jimenez is the Preciosa Platanares Mixed Wildlife Refuge. Take a mangrove kayaking tour to get up close and personal with one of the most important and threatened ecosystems in the world: the mangroves.
Paddle quietly next to wildlife like monkeys and river birds while learning about the importance of mangroves and the local plants.
Some hotels offer kayaks on the property where you can kayak in the ocean.
Turtle Tours
Love turtles? You can volunteer or take a tour with COPROT Tortugas de Osa.
This community conservation project protects 8 kilometers (5 miles) of beach on the Osa Peninsula where Olive Ridley and Pacific Green turtles nest.
Canopy Tours (Ziplining)
If you are not visiting other places in Costa Rica such as La Fortuna or Monteverde that are more famous for ziplining, then you can do it at Osa Palmas Canopy Tour, 30 minutes from Puerto Jimenez.
Their ziplining tour goes through the heart of the rainforest, with beautiful views.
Suitable for families with a sense of adventure.
Sloth Tour
Just 30 minutes away from Puerto Jimenez is the La Perica Sloth Garden, a local family project.
They turned their farm into a forest and created trails for guests to come and enjoy an easy walk to see sloths.
BioSur Wildlife Tours
If a visit to Corcovado National Park isn’t enough for you, take a guided nature walk or night walk with BioSur Foundation.
The foundation is a Costa Rican tax deductible non-profit dedicated to conservation, research and education of the Osa Peninsula’s rainforests.
Their goal is not only for guests to see animals, but to teach them about the importance of protecting the rainforest.
They offer day walks, night walks, bird watching, butterfly and insect tours and a Golfo Dulce hike.
Puerto Jimenez Hotels
You’ll find a handful of budget, family owned cabins and hostels and then a couple of nicer hotels, including a Hilton.
Botanika Osa Peninsula, Curio Collection by Hilton
This is the most upscale hotel in Puerto Jimenez, the Botanika Osa Peninsula.
As part of the Curio Collection, the Botanika Osa Peninsula offers a luxury local stay with a huge property with a pool, a restaurant, a reading room and is full of gardens, rainforests and wildlife.
The Botanika Osa Peninsula is the perfect home base for luxury travelers looking for a comfortable and easy trip to Puerto Jimenez, especially families.
They have their own marina, insect museum and walking trails.
We stayed here for one night, the day we came back from a one night stay Corcovado National Park. We were VERY happy we did.
Since the accommodations at Sirena Station are extremely basic and we didn’t get a good nights sleep, it was nice to indulge ourselves for a night before we left the next day for a very long drive home.
Iguana Lodge
Located on Playa Preciosa, Iguana Lodge offers a luxury boutique beach front lodge experience with a pool, spa, yoga deck, tennis and pickle ball court, and ceramic studio.
We’ve stayed here before for a couple of nights to explore Matapalo and Puerto Jimenez.
Their food was very good and the beach front location is awesome, since this beach is not crowded. We enjoyed many lonely walks on Playa Preciosa.
Cabinas Refugio Turistico
In the middle of Puerto Jimenez, Cabinas Refugio Turistico is for those who just need a clean place to shower and sleep before and after their Corcovado National Park overnight stay.
Rooms are not huge and beds are basic, but they have air conditioning and hot water. As the location is not right off the main street, it was extremely quiet with gated parking.
If you aren’t looking for luxury and just need one or two nights, this is a good option. We stayed here before our Corcovado National Park overnight stay.
Hotel Hoja de Oro Corcovado
Another good budget option right in town, Hoja de Oro Corcovado, with clean rooms, air conditioning and a convenient location.
They just had street parking however.
Restaurants
Puerto Jimenez has some excellent places to eat, mostly local restaurants.
- Soda Johanna has very good and cheap local food.
- Soda Marbella and Marisquieria Corcovado are along the water and have excellent seafood.
- Panaderia Monar is a good place for local pastries and they open very early at 430 AM.
Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica Weather
Puerto Jimenez follows the typical tropical weather, with two seasons: dry and rainy.
Dry season is from December through April and the rainy season is from May through November.
During the rainy season, Puerto Jimenez can rain a lot. Mornings are generally still dry but it can start pouring down rain before noon. It can even rain all day with short breaks.
The rainiest month is usually October. The driest month is February and March is very hot.
We have visited in June before and it rained three out of the four days we were there. And when it rained, it POURED.
Average day time temperatures are around mid 80s° F (29° C) and average night time temperatures are around low 70s F (21° C). Temperatures do not vary much throughout the year, although if it’s raining, it can get cooler at night.
Humidity is extremely high in Puerto Jimenez, particularly in the rainy season. Expect humidity levels of 70-90%!
Supermarkets and Services in Puerto Jimenez
There is a laundromat called Washery in Puerto Jimenez. Hotels also offer laundry services.
The main supermarket is BM Jimenez. It’s a full size supermarket.
How Many Days Should You Stay in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica?
This really depends.
If you’re planning to stay overnight at Sirena Station, then most people stay the night before and the night they come back. This also goes for those doing the long national park walks.
However, we know some people who stay their entire vacation in Puerto Jimenez, a week and even longer. They stay at either Botanika Osa Peninsula or Iguana Lodge and use that as a home base.
Usually these people are not interested in seeing any other part of Costa Rica. They only want to explore the Osa Peninsula and avoid the more touristy spots.
If you want to see other parts of Costa Rica, I recommend at least four nights minimum in Puerto Jimenez for three full days.
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica.
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
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