Puntarenas

About Puntarenas

Puntarenas sits on Costa Rica's Pacific coast and serves ships on Panama Canal and Pacific-coastal itineraries. The town is built on a narrow sand spit into the Gulf of Nicoya, with a pleasant beach promenade near the pier. Most passengers head inland — Manuel Antonio National Park for monkeys and beaches, the Tárcoles River for crocodile-spotting, or the Arenal volcano on longer tours. Expect humidity even at the coast.

• The name 'Puntarenas' is a portmanteau of 'punta' (point) and 'arenas' (sands), meaning 'Sand Point' — the city sits on an extraordinarily narrow sand spit jutting into the Gulf of Nicoya.
• The first European to arrive at Puntarenas was Spanish explorer Gil González Dávila in 1522, but the port wasn't developed for trade until 1840, when highland coffee production reached exportable volumes.
• Coffee was originally transported to the port on oxcarts over mountain trails; by 1859 a railway to the nearby town of Esparza was built, eventually extending to San José by 1910.
• In 1845, Costa Rica's Congress declared Puntarenas a duty-free port, helping establish it as the country's primary Pacific trade gateway for over a century.
• The active commercial port shifted to the nearby Port of Caldera in the 1980s to accommodate larger modern vessels, but Puntarenas still receives cruise ships and is a popular surf and beach destination.