Our recommendation….If you are coming from San Jose, we recommend taking the MEPE bus from the Caribe Sur Bu Terminal.  There is a 12:00 noon bus that leaves from San Jose and goes direct to Manzanillo.  You can take this bus directly to C & J’s and avoid having to get off and find additional transportation from Puerto Viejo.

Keep reading for additional transportation information…..At the end of this page are specific directions for finding C & J’s in Playa Chiquita.

MEPE Bus Information:

• Buses for Puerto Viejo leave from the Caribe Sur Bus Terminal located on Calle Central about 8 blocks North of the Parque Central. Caution: there are two towns called Puerto Viejo that you can catch a bus to from this terminal. You want Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (also known as Puerto Viejo de Limon). The bus company that goes there is Transportes Mepe and their ticket office is at the end of the terminal. Ticket prices are currently 4,535 colones (about $8 US) for this approximately 5 hour trip and the bus makes one 20 minute stop in Limon for bathrooms and something to eat. The trip to Cahuita from San Jose is 3,900 colones (about $7 US) and takes 4 1/2 hours. Schedule is below.

  If the express bus schedule does not meet your needs, you can also take one of the very frequent buses to Limon (2 1/2 hours) and then transfer there to a bus heading to Puerto Viejo which will take another 1 1/2 hours or so. Before you head to Limon though, make sure there will be a connecting bus to Puerto Viejo otherwise you’ll be stuck in Limon overnight or taking a taxi. You can also save about $3 going this route. Note that in Limon you will need to transfer from the main bus terminal where the San José buses arrive to the Puerto Viejo terminal which is a few blocks away. If bogged down with luggage it would be best to take a taxi which should cost no more than $1.

Getting to the Puerto Viejo area is pretty easy. There are a number of different options for getting here from San José:

• The bus (MEPE Bus Company) is the most economical option and is very inexpensive. Five daily directo buses leave from San Jose.  Click here for the MEPE bus schedule.

• Shared ride van services have door to door service. They have several daily departures from San Jose and Arenal to Puerto Viejo.  We can help arrange transportation for your arrival.

• You can also get a private transfer that will take you directly from San Jose Airport to Puerto Viejo at your schedule.

• If you book a Rafting Trip they can pick you up in San Jose and leave you in Puerto Viejo at the end of the day (or vice-versa)! Kind of like getting your transportation for free. It also works to Arenal.

• Driving from San José takes about 4 hours (via the faster route) and there are two different routes possible.

• You can fly from San José to Limon and then take a bus or taxi to Puerto Viejo.

There are a number of options for getting around in the Puerto Viejo area:

• The area between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo is quite compact and mostly flat so a bicycle rental is an excellent option.

• Buses run frequently between Limon and Puerto Viejo and on to inland destinations such as Hone Creek, Bri Bri and Sixaola.

• Somewhat less frequently is the bus service between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo.

• Driving is easy enough although the roads aren’t paved between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo and there’s lots of pedestrian and bicycle traffic so take it slowly. A four-wheel-drive is not required though unless you take the back road to Sixaola.

• Taxis are available.

• Car Rentals are now available in the Puerto Viejo area.

Puerto Viejo Satellite has additional information and links about transportation, schedules, and route information.

How to find C & J Cabinas once you get to Playa Chiquita:
Playa Chiquita is a small community so we are very easy to find!  We are located on the main road 100 meters after Jungle Love Cafe across from El Nido Resort.  If you arrive at the intersection of Playa Chiquita Lodge and Hotel Shawandha, you’ve gone too far…just turn around and come back 100 meters.  Come into C & J MarketPlace and Juice Joint at the front and we will show you to your room.  We have a parking space for one car.

Our rescued snake count is up to 46….including three boas, one coral snake, one hog-nose viper and one vine snake.  It’s always better to be safe and call for a snake relocation even if the snake is non-venomous.  Our calls usually come from our surrounding neighbors and neighborhood.  The boa pictured was relocated to our own rancho, but has since wandered away.

Earlier this month, Chris was called up to the jungle to relocate another boa…this one over two meters in length and weighing over 6 kilos.  Since people do make their homes in the jungle environment, sometimes they don’t want these large snakes near their homes.  Chris retrieved it but noticed that it was suffering some injuries.  He took it the local herpetologist and veterniarians at the Jaguar Research Center located in Cocles.

Also, a juvenile  Oropel (golden skin eyelash viper) was removed from a neighbor’s house.   This was found hanging out on a branch just a short distance from the house.

Most commonly, Chris is called for boas and eyelash vipers.  This photo is of a boa that  we found  next to our house a few days ago.  We keep the boas on our property because they eat rats and mice (notice that this one had recently dined)!  During the past couple of months, Chris has relocated 16 snakes, mostly boas and eyelash vipers, from homes in the Playa Chiquita area, but also from Puerto Viejo and Hone Creek.

This tanager decided that it could better reach the bananas upside down.

Listen and watch as a Cacique calls and feasts on ripening bananas.

Passerine’s Tanagers can often be found in our garden, feeding on bananas, calling and chasing each other.

Blue-gray Tanagers are common visitors to the garden and are often seen feeding on or around our banana plants.  Right now there are many bananas fruiting!  A great opportunity for close-up backyard birding.