The Top 10 Things to Do in Uvita, Costa Rica
Welcome to Uvita in Costa Rica. Uvita is the perfect hub to explore the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. This Ultimate Guide to the Top 10 Things to Do in Uvita will make your stay in Uvita unforgettable.
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Top 10 Things to Do in Uvita
Uvita is located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and offers plenty of things to do in Costa Rica. The following list of the 10 top things to do in Uvita, Costa Rica, will give you a perfect overview of planning your upcoming trip to Uvita, Costa Rica.
1. Visit the Marino Ballena National Park
The main attraction in Uvita is the Marino Ballena National Park. ‘Ballena’ is Spanish and translates to ‘Whale’. This National Park has been established in 1992 to protect the marine life surrounding it, including the humpback whales which can be observed on a whale-watching tour. Read more about it below.
Like a co-incidence, the national park also hosts a natural phenomenon, which is called Él Tómbolo. Él Tómbolo is a sandbank in the shape of a giant whale tail. The whale tail can only be witnessed during low tide, as the receding of water exposes the sandbank. However, it is hard to see the whale’s tail from the ground due to its enormous size.
Within the national park, you can experience some of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. I recommend coming here early in the morning, as you will have the beach and the surrounding nature almost to yourself. From the beach, you can spot different kinds of animals like Iguanas, Monkeys, Sloths, Macaws and many more.
The park is open every day from 7 am until 6 pm. The entrance fee to the park is 6 USD for adults. Children under the age of 11 have free entry to the park. The ticket is valid for the whole day and all 4 different sectors of the park (Uvita, Colonia, Ballena and Piñuela). The tickets can be bought at the entrance to the Uvita sector.
Read More: If you want to see a completely different side of Costa Rica, check out the Perfect Guide of Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica.
2. Watch Humpback Whales in Uvita
One of the best things to do in Uvita is go whale watching. As the name of the Ballena National Park already suggests, it is the perfect location to spot humpback whales off the coast of the Ballena National Park.
The best time to see whales is during the humpback whale season. There are two whale seasons in Uvita. The first whale season is from January to March and the second whale season is from July until October. During these seasons humpback whales migrate from Antarctica and Alaska to Costa Rica to give birth to their calves.
In addition to the humpback whales, you can also see different species of dolphins in the waters around Uvita such as bottlenose dolphins and spotted dolphins, which can be observed all year round.
There are many different tour operators in Uvita that are offering a whale watching tours. Expect to pay around 75 USD for a tour if you book your tour online. To get a cheaper price head into town and ask for a cheaper price directly at one of the offices of the tour operators. I can recommend Bahia Ballena Tour as I did my tour with them.
Top Tip: The tour price includes the ticket for the national park. Make sure to ask for the ticket at the end of the tour to spend the rest of the day at the beautiful beaches of the Ballena National Park.
3. Hike The Nauyaca Waterfall
An incredible day trip from Uvita is the Nauyaca Waterfall. This waterfall seems to come directly out of the Jungle Book. Watching the water dropping down over the multiple cascades in the pool of refreshing water below, generating a mystical fog that is penetrated by the rays of sunlight is simply mesmerizing. Because of this, the Nauyaca Waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Costa Rica.
It takes about 30 minutes to drive to the entrance of the Nauyaca Waterfall from Uvita by car. At the entrance, you can buy your ticket to the waterfall. The entrance fee to the waterfall is 10 USD or 6000 Colónes (Feb. 2022). There is parking available which costs an additional 2300 Colones.
The Nauyaca Waterfall is open every day from 7 am until 5 pm except on Sundays when it is open from 8 am until 4 pm.
Read More: If you want to see another very beautiful waterfall in Costa Rica, check out the Ultimate Guide to La Fortuna in Costa Rica to get to know more about the La Fortuna Waterfall.
From the car park, it is a 4km hike to the waterfall, which takes around 1 – 1,5h. Due to the heat and the steep hill, the hike can be quite intense, so take plenty of water with you. However, when you arrive you will be rewarded with an incredible view of the waterfall.
If you don’t want to walk to the waterfall there are also horseback riding tours and a 4×4 shuttle service available. These have to be booked in advance online.
You will find more information on how to get to the Nauyaca Waterfall in the upcoming Guide to the Nauyaca Waterfall soon.
4. Exercise And Chill at Playa Hermosa
Just a few minutes drive from Uvita you will find Playa Hermosa. This beautiful dark sanded beach with palm trees as a backdrop invites you to a perfect day at the beach. This stunning beach stretches over more than 3km of sand. On the beach, there are surf rentals where you can hire a surfboard for the day or you can come here in the afternoon for a 5k run at the beach. Afterwards, you will be rewarded with an incredible sunset that colours the sky in all different shades of red and pink.
The beach itself is free and there is plenty of free parking available.
Top Tip: Further away from the car park towards Punta Uva, you will have the beach almost to yourself.
5. Discover The El Pavon Waterfall
The El Pavon Waterfall is a little tucked away from the main tourist routes in Costa Rica, which makes it even more special. The huge rock, that is stuck on top of the waterfall, is what makes this waterfall so distinctive. While watching the water rushing past the rock on the left and right-hand sides of the rock, you can’t stop wondering how the rock got there.
Below the waterfall, there are several deep pools with fish, in which you can swim and cool down from the heat.
You can find the waterfall within a 30 minutes drive from Uvita. From where you park your car on the dirt road it is only a 2-minute walk to the waterfall itself. The waterfall is not maintained and therefore it is free. There are not many people around, which is why you will oftentimes experience this wonderful waterfall all by yourself.
6. Visiting Corcovado National Park
One of the must-do things, when you are in the area of Uvita, is to visit the Corcovado National Park. This national park is located in the southwest of Costa Rica on the Osa Peninsula and hosts about 2,5% of the world’s biodiversity. If you want to see the largest land mammal of Costa Rica, the Corcovado National Park is the best place to spot the famous Baird’s Tapir. But it doesn’t stop here. You can spot snakes, birds, all 4 species of monkeys of Costa Rica, crocodiles, two and three-toed sloths, pecaris, bull sharks and many more.
To enter the Corcovado National Park you need to have a guide that leads you through the national park. There are in total 4 ranger stations in the Corcovado National Park which are used as a hub for the trails you can walk inside of the park.
Top Tip: The biggest station and the station with the highest chance of spotting large mammals like the Baird’s Tapir is the Sirena Station.
You can choose between a day trip to the Corcovado National Park or you can stay multiple nights in one of the stations. Most of the tours will depart from Drake Bay. Drake Bay is very remote and hard to reach by car. However, there are some tour operators that will offer the tour from Sierpe which is only an one hour drive away from Uvita.
Tours to the Corcovado National Park can be very expensive and reach from 100 USD for a day trip to 400 USD for a multiday tour. As the amount of visitors per station is limited to 200 people per day you have to book your tour in advance online.
7. Embark On a Mangrove Tour From Sierpe
Mangroves are an incredible ecosystem that hosts many different species of animals like birds, snakes, bull sharks, crocodiles and many more. It serves as a breeding ground for fish from the sea and can protect the land as a natural barrier from the destruction of tsunamis. The mangroves are also very important for our environment as they can store up to 5 times more CO2 than normal trees.
Just an hour’s drive from Uvita in Sierpe you will find a perfect example of this amazing ecosystem. Embark on a tour of the sierpe river and witness the beauty of the flora and fauna of the largest mangrove forest in Costa Rica. There are 7 different types of mangrove trees in Costa Rica and you will find 6 of them in the Sierpe Mangroves. You can even spot some endemic and endangered species such as the Mangrove Hummingbird.
Read More: If you are interested to spot many more birds including the very rare resplendent quetzal think about visiting the Cloudforest of Monteverde as well.
8. Slide Down The Uvita Waterfall
One of the cheap but surprisingly fun things to do in Uvita is the Uvita Waterfall. This waterfall attracts tourists and locals alike that are on the hunt for adrenaline. The most fascinating thing about the waterfall is its natural slide that transitions into a free fall and takes you down about 5 meters into the natural pool at the bottom of the waterfall.
Furthermore, there are multiple platforms and cliffs from which you can jump into the cold water if you dare. If you like it a bit less nerve-wracking you can swim in one of the many pools which are located further downstream.
To get to the waterfall you can walk for about 30 minutes or drive 5 minutes in the car to “Catarata Uvita y Jardin de Mariposas” from Uvita. The waterfall is open every day from 8 am until 5 pm. The entrance fee to the waterfall is 4 USD or 2000 Colones and parking is available for free.
Top Tip: At the waterfall, there is a small butterfly garden which is included in the entrance fee. So don’t miss out on it.
9. Visiting Manuel Antonio National Park
The Manuel Antonio National Park makes for a perfect day trip from Uvita. The smallest of all national parks in Costa Rica and also one of the most famous is located only a 1-hour drive north of Uvita.
The park is open every day except Tuesdays from 7 am until 4 pm. To do a self-guided tour through the Manuel Antonio National Park you have to register and book your tickets online in advance. The entrance fee to the park is 16 USD.
Parking is available directly in front of the national park. But be careful to not be overcharged. Parking for the day should cost you around 4000-5000 Colónes. If you are lucky you can even find places that charge you only 3000 Colónes for the day.
Be aware that you are not allowed to bring any food or single-use plastic into the national park. However, there is a kiosk in the centre of the park where you can buy food and drinks.
Top Tip: Bring your refillable water bottle with you. There are water tabs where you can refill your bottle to stay hydrated.
There are multiple different trails within the park that you can walk. You will be able to spot animals wherever you look. From monkeys, sloths, toucans, iguanas, snakes and many more. To increase your chances of seeing wildlife in the Manuel Antonio National Park you can book a guided tour.
At the end of the main trail, you will find two incredibly beautiful beaches. On the left side, you will see Manuel Antonio Beach. Opposite that beach, you will find Espadilla Sur beach. Both of these beaches are stunning and invite you to relax for the rest of the day after you have hiked the trails of the Manuel Antonio National Park.
10. Driving Over The Crocodile Bridge
When driving to Uvita from the north you are likely driving over the Crocodile Bridge at Rio Tarcoles. The Crocodile Bridge might look like an ordinary bridge. But be not mistaken by the first appearance. If you stop at the side of the bridge and walk a few meters to the middle of the bridge, dare to look down. In the bed of the river, you will be able to spot huge crocodiles. The best of it all is that this is a completely free thing to do as the crocodiles naturally occur in this river.
You can find the Crocodile Bridge here.
Arriving in Uvita
When you arrive in Costa Rica, you will probably arrive at San Jose International Airport (SJO). From there you have multiple different options to get to Uvita. My recommended options are listed below.
Rental Car
Getting a rental car from the San Jose Airport is the easiest way to get to Uvita, Costa Rica. This is my recommended way of getting to Uvita, as it will give you all the freedom to visit the places around Uvita. You won’t need a 4×4 car to drive to Uvita, but if you can afford it, I would still recommend it, especially if you want to visit other parts of Costa Rica as well.
From the San Jose Airport, it will take about 4 h to get to Uvita depending on the traffic. The best option is driving down the coastal road from San Jose. This road is a toll road where you have to pay 230 CRC to use the road.
Top Tip: Don’t forget to stop at the Crocodile Bridge when you get off the toll road towards Jaco.
Private Shuttle
Another option is to get a private shuttle from San Jose Airport to Uvita. By doing so you can relax on the way to Uvita and take in the scenery. If you ask them, they will stop at the Crocodile Bridge as well, where you can see crocodiles sunbathing.
Public Bus
If you travel on a budget and you prefer to take public transportation, you can take the Tracopa Bus from downtown San Jose. The bus runs regularly between 5:30 a.m. and 6:40 p.m. You can check the timetable on the website of Tracopa Bus. The cost of the bus is around 12 USD.
Getting Around Uvita
Many of the above-mentioned activities in Uvita are further remote than you might think and there isn’t a public transportation system that will bring you to the main places around Uvita. Therefore you have to rely on taxis or tour operators that will bring you to those places.
However, my prefered way to get around Uvita and also the whole of Costa Rica is by rental car. This will give you the ultimate freedom to visit all the places around Uvita independently. Although most of the roads around Uvita are paved and a normal car will do the job, I would still recommend you get a 4×4 which can get you even further into the wild and prepares you for your adventures all around Costa Rica.
As it is very likely that you will arrive in Costa Rica at the international airport of San José, the best way to get your rental car is at the airport. Although you might be lucky to get a good deal at the airport on arrival, I would always recommend booking your rental car online in advance.
Best Food in Uvita
Around Uvita, you will find many restaurants, that serve delicious food. Below you will find a list of the best restaurants that I tried in Uvita or that got recommended to me.
- Sabor Español – Spanish food like paella
- Mystic Sushi – Delicious Japanese Sushi
- Gusto Italian – Authentic Italian Cuisine
- El Hornito – Empanadas and Pizzas
Best Season to Visit Uvita
The seasons in Uvita in Costa Rica are divided into the dry season which runs from December to April and the rainy season which runs from May to November.
There are things to do in Uvita all year round, but if you are planning to see whales off the coast of Uvita, you should go during the whale season, which runs from January to March and from July to October.
Your Budget for Uvita
In Uvita, I spent around 60-70 USD per person per day. This included my accommodation in a private hostel room, entrance fees for the parks and tours, as well as for food which I cooked by myself in the hostel kitchen.
If you want to eat out in a restaurant, expect to pay between 10 – 30 USD for a meal.
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