Beaches & Activities Outside the Park
Outside the park the best place for swimming is Playa Negra. The stretch right in front of the Atlantida Lodge is my favorite spot here.
There are plenty of options for organized adventure trips or tours while in Cahuita. I recommend Cahuita Tours and Adventure Center (tel. 2755-0000; www.cahuitatours.com), on the village's main street heading out toward Playa Negra. They offer a wide range of tour and activity options, including glass-bottom-boat and snorkeling trips ($25/£13 per person), jungle tours ($35-$45/£18-£23), white-water rafting trips ($100/£50), and jeep tours to a nearby Bribri Reservation ($80/£40).
Turística Cahuita Information Center (tel./fax 2755-0071), also on the main road heading toward Playa Negra, and Roberto Tours (tel. 2755-0117), 50m (164 ft.) south of the bus stop, offer similar tours at similar prices. Most of the companies offer multiday trips to Tortuguero, as well as to Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Brigitte (tel. 2755-0053; www.brigittecahuita.com) rents horses for $12 (£6) per hour (you must have experience riding) and offers guided horseback tours for $35 to $40 (£18-£20). She also rents mountain bikes for $8 (£4) per day, and even has a few rooms available.
On the main highway, just north of the main entrance to Cahuita, is the Mariposario Cahuita (tel. 2755-0361), a large, informative butterfly-farm attraction that charges $8 (£4) and is open daily from 8:30am to 3:30pm. It's best to come in the early morning on a sunny day, when the butterflies are most active.
Bird-watchers and sloth lovers should head north 9km (5 1/2 miles) to Aviarios del Caribe and the Buttercup Sloth Rescue Center (tel./fax 2750-0775; www.slothrescue.org). The folks here run a sloth rehabilitation project and also offer guided canoe tours through the surrounding estuary and river system. More than 330 species of birds have been spotted here. The 3 1/2-hour canoe tour costs $30 (£15) per person and leaves at 6am and 3pm. There's also a 1 1/4-hour canoe tour combination that includes a visit to the sloth rehabilitation center and a self-guided hike on its trails for $20 (£10) per person. This option is available between 8am and 2:30pm. It's best to make reservations in advance.
