Golfito

Introduction

Golfito is a port town in the Puntarenas Province in Costa Rica, located along the Pacific coast. It's across from the Osa Peninsula on the Golfo Dulce. Golfito has long been known to surfers as the gateway to Pavones, just to the south, and to sport fishermen as the year round sport fishing Mecca. However recently Golfito has become the gateway to Costa Rica's newest attraction, eco-lodges. Eco Lodges are all about being a small hotel or lodge that blends into its environment while offering its visitors an opportunity to view its natural surroundings with the least amount of impact to the environment.

The history of Golfito is an interesting one because the conquest of Costa Rica started here in 1519, when the Spaniards arrived from Panama. During colonial times, it was a small, quiet, fishing town few people cared about. Until 1919, most inhabitants where of Colombian (later Panamanian) origin. The town of Golfito, and surrounding communities, boomed during the banana business years (1935-1985), but it fell victim to its mono-business dependency, when United Brands (formerly United Fruit) closed its banana operations, and concentrated only in African oil palm. A major labor strike prompted United Brands to switch completely to palm, which requires substantially less labor. The city is now slowly recovering partly due to tourism. Five years after United Brands's departure the Costa Rican government opened a duty free shopping center in an effort to bring the city back to life. Today Golfito is a popular destination for Ticos (Costa Ricans) who are looking for a bargain on large appliances and electronics.

Getting There

By Bus

Paso Canoas border with Panama (2 hr, ₡650).

Getting Around

By Car

Taxi Golfito 4X4 provides comfortable and reliable 4x4 taxis with A/C. The posted phone number is (506) 8874-9325 English and Spanish.

Sleep

Eco lodges are Costa Rica’s logical next step in tourism. For many years Costa Ricans have been preserving and honoring its forests, oceans, and environment; and nature tourism or Eco Lodges are the answer. Just to the north in Piedras Blancas National Park there are a handful of eco-lodges popping up. The easiest way to get there is to have the lodge pick you up in Golfito and take you on a beautiful 30-minute boat ride to the lodge where you will be surrounded by nature.

• Saladero Lodge, Golfo Dulce (1/2 hour boat ride north of Golfito), ☎ +506 8721-0425. An environmentally sensitive 200 ha private preserve set in the undeveloped Golfo Dulce and Piedras Blancas National Park. It includes 800 metres of coastline on the Golfo Dulce and 190 ha of primary rain forest. Established in harmony with the natural environment, the goal is to provide to travelers seeking a unique location and experience, the opportunity to observe wildlife and natural wonders in a pristine and sustainable fashion while enjoying the comfortable and spacious accommodations. 3-day minimum cabin rental includes boat transportation from Golfito or Puerto Jimenez, kayaks, snorkeling and fishing equipment. USD75 double and up.

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

It's easy to find internet access, and although you can still can find a lot of internet cafes, wifi is growing fast in the country. The further away you get from San Jose, the slower and more expensive it becomes when you are using an internet cafe. Wifi is generally free of charge at most places though and apart from off the beaten track parks, jungles and mountains, the connection generally is ok. Some internet cafés also offer international calls via either phone or IP using services like Skype.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

• The country calling code to Costa Rica is 506.
• To make an international call from Costa Rica, the code is 00.

There are plenty of phone booths around and you will get the best rate using a pre-paid international card (can often be purchased in internet cafés and other small stores). There is usually a connection fee making short calls extra expensive. International calls are fairly expensive. The cheapest way to make them is over the internet using a service such as Skype at an Internet café. But making short calls using the domestic calling cards (you can make international calls using these but the denominations of the calling cards are quite small so your call will be short!) or the international calling cards available within Costa Rica (all from the government phone monopoly ICE) is the next best deal.

Those travelling with a mobile phone and willing to pay the roaming costs should ensure it supports 1,800 MHz GSM network. Note that the GSM phone systems in the United States and Canada use different frequencies and that travelers from there will need a "world" handset, such as a tri-band or quad-band phone, if you want to use your existing cell phone. If you want to use a local Costa Rica number, you can rent cell phone service, and of course anyone can buy a cell phone. If you have an unlocked cell phone (either one from home or bought in Costa Rica - all cell phones sold in Costa Rica must be unlocked), prepaid (prepago) SIM cards can provide a local number and service can be purchased throughout the country by anyone with a passport from any country. Try using companies like Grupo ICE under the Kölbi brand, TuYo Movil, Movistar and Claro.

Post

Correos de Costa Rica (website in Spanish only) is the national postal services of Costa Rica. You can find post offices (correos) in almost any city and town and they are generally open from 7:30am to 5:30pm or 6:00pm Monday to Friday and 7:30am to noon on Saturdays. There are not that many mailboxes, so it's best to ask your hotel or go directly to the post offices. Services tend to be slow but generally reliable and on the whole cheap regarding letters and postcards. It costs about US$0.20 to the USA and Canada (taking about 1 week to 10 days), US$0.25 to Europe (about 2 weeks) and US$0.30 to Asia and Australia (3 weeks or even more). All in all, if you can try and arrange your mail from the capital San José as it's generally quicker from there. Small packages are also no problem, though take them to the post offices unpacked for inspection first! Otherwise, arrange things through private international courier services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or TNT.

External Links