The small city of Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica on the Osa Peninsula may just be your “golden nugget” in the sun and the surf.

Puerto Jimenez was known primarily as a gold mining and logging town during the 1960s. Recently, it has been transformed into a major gateway to the beautiful Corcovado National Park. The national park is one facet of interests for visitors to this exceptional location in the south of Costa Rica. There are also a few immaculate beaches to choose from, and a number of tours in the area, as well.

Sport fishing in the plentiful waters of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica is a grand experience in and of itself. Hiking and trekking through the Cordova National Park (Parque Nacional Corcovado) will give you more than enough natural splendor to take in. Discovering the history and culture of the local area will fill your proverbial cup to overflowing, and you will want to come back again and again.

The flora and fauna of the national park will be something that you’ll want to preserve in photos, and you should therefore pack a quality camera, a swimsuit, hiking boots and trekking gear, sun screen and maybe some bug repellant. The park is fertile ground for many different species. On the land can be found monkeys, sloths, tapirs, jaguars, pumas and more. In the sea and rivers there are sharks, caimans, alligators and the area is also a breeding for Humpback Whales among other well-known ocean residents.

Both Nature Air and Sansa Air perform hour long trips from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica. Reaching Puerto Jimenez by land is bit a longer trip at four hours and twenty minutes from San Jose, and five hours and eight minutes from Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia is a short flight at a little over an hour, but to drive it would take around seven and a half hours.

Some accommodations in Puerto Jimenez consist of Casa Manglar, Osa Beachouse, Aparthotel Herrera and Cabinas El Perezoso. The lodgings in Puerto Jimenez are suitable for all budgets. A few of the locations are apartments and condos which travelers rent for extended stays in the area.

Location: Puerto Jimenez Beach
Items to bring: camera, swimsuit, hiking boots, trekking gear, sun screen, bug repellant
Distance from San Jose: 4 hrs 18 mins
Distance from Liberia: 7 hrs 8 mins
Hotels nearby: Casa Manglar, Osa Beachouse, Aparthotel Herrera, Cabinas El Perezoso
Ways to get here: plane, bus, private shuttle, rental car, taxi