Location: between Doña Ana and Tivives beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Caldera Beach GPS Coordenates: 9.923993,-84.714117 (9°55’26.37″N, 84°42’50.82″W)
District: Espiritu Santo, canton: Esparza, province: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 60201.
Caldera Beach Costa Rica better known as “Puerto Caldera” (Caldera Port), is a 3.5 km long beach with gray sands, blue waters with strong waves and impressive steep cliffs, located 28km south of Puntarenas, or 26 km west of Orotina.
Caldera is a very attractive recreational area, which surroundings has a dry tropical forest transition to moist. In fact, this unspoiled natural beauty of the region is one of Caldera’s beach main attractions. Its rain forest, which start just inside the coastline and continue up into the mountain ranges, has beautiful rivers, waterfalls, parks and wildlife preserves, as the Tivives Protected zone, an important forest area that protects one of the last remaining tropical dry coastal forest in the Central Pacific Region, that is located 5 km south of the port.
Caldera Beach is ideal for enjoying the sun, sea and beach, taking precautions when bathing as both, the sea and the estuary at low tide, as it have strong currents. Also, the estuary may be toured by boat to observe the vegetation and wildlife of the mangrove swamp. On the other hand, in the vicinity of Caldera beach is the Coyolar Hill, from which visitors can see the beauty of the landscape. In fact, this area is also often used for paragliding from the cliffs overlooking the bay of Caldera, perfect for adventure travelers in search of some action.
Caldera Beach is also home to the largest and more important commercial shipping port complex for both cruise ships and cargo vessels of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Caldera began functioning as a port in 1577, time when foreign maritime commerce was transferred there from Puntarenas City in 1834. The Caldera port that is currently used was created artificially in 1978, beginning operations until 1981, after it was discontinued for the main commercial uses the one in Puntarenas, a small and outdated for deep draft vessels. This brought new industries, more tourists and other development for the nation and also serves as the primary access point from the Pacific Coast to the historic capital San Jose. Currently it is managed by the Port Authority of Caldera, a Colombian company, who has a contract with Costa Rica of indefinite duration for the port administration. Caldera port plays a vital role in trade between Costa Rica and the world.
Getting to Caldera Beach in Puntarenas:
From San José
Drive north towards Puntarenas on highway #27, passing through the three tolls, until you get to Caldera beach. This route requires a total of one hour from San Jose.
From Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR)
Drive to the northeast toward Liberia. Once in Liberia, continue along the same highway towards Puntarenas for about 120 km (75 miles). Once at the entrance to Puntarenas, turn right and continue for about 13 km (8 miles) until you get to Caldera beach. This route requires a total of 2 hours.
BY BUS
You can take a bus from the route San José – Puntarenas (Empresarios Unidos, +506 2222-0064), which takes about 2 hours, making the stop at Caldera beach. It is recommend buying the ticket a day early to ensure your space.
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