Attractions

Take a walk along the Paseo de los Turistas, which feels rather like a Florida beach town out of the 1950s. The hotels across the street range in style from converted old wooden homes with bright gingerbread trim to modern concrete monstrosities to tasteful Art Deco relics that need a new coat of paint.

If you venture into the center of the city, be sure to check out the central plaza around the Catholic church. The large, stone church itself is interesting because it has portholes for windows, reflecting the city's maritime tradition. It's also one of the few churches in the country with a front entry facing east, as most face west. Here you'll also find the city's cultural center, La Casa de la Cultura (tel. 2661-1394), and the Museo Histórico Marino (tel. 2661-5036), a small museum on the city's maritime history, with exhibits in both English and Spanish. Admission is free, and it's open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 4pm. If you're looking for a shady spot to take a break, there are some inviting benches in a little park off the north side of the church.

The biggest attraction in town is the Parque Marino del Pacífico (Pacific Marine Park) (tel. 2661-5272; www.parquemarino.org), a modest collection of saltwater aquariums highlighting the sea life of Costa Rica. There are 22 separate tanks, with the largest dedicated to re-creating the undersea environment of Isla del Coco. Despite only being a few years old, this park already has a rather neglected and run-down feel to it. This place is located 2 blocks east of the main cruise ship terminal and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Admission is $4 (£2) for adults, and $2 (£1) for children 13 and under.

If you want to go swimming, the ocean waters are now said to be perfectly safe (pollution was a problem for many years), although the beach is still not very attractive. Your best bet is to head back down the spit; just a few kilometers out of town, you'll find Playa Doña Aña, a popular beach with picnic tables, restrooms and changing rooms, and a couple of sodas (diners). If you head a little farther south, you will come to Playa Tivives, which is virtually unvisited by tourists but quite popular with Ticos, many of whom have beach houses up and down this long, brown-sand beach. Surfers can check out the beach break here or head to the mouth of the Barranca River, which boasts an amazingly long left break. Still, surfers and swimmers should be careful; there are crocodiles in both the Barranca and Tivives river mouths, and I'd be wary of pollution in the waters emptying out of the rivers here.

Puntarenas isn't known as one of Costa Rica's prime sportfishing ports, but a few charter boats are usually available. Check at your hotel or head to the docks and ask around. Rates (for up to six people) are usually between $400 and $600 (£200-£300) for a half-day and between $800 and $1,600 (£400-£800) for a full day.

You can also take a yacht cruise through the tiny, uninhabited islands of the Guayabo, Negritos, and Pájaros Islands Biological Reserve. These cruises include a lunch buffet and a relaxing stop on beautiful and undeveloped Tortuga Island [ST], where you can swim, snorkel, and sunbathe. The water is clear blue, and the sand is bright white. However, this trip has surged in popularity, and many of the tours here have a cattle-car feel. Several San José-based companies offer these excursions, with round-trip transportation from San José, but if you're already in Puntarenas, you might receive a slight discount by boarding here.

Calypso Tours (tel. 2256-8585; www.calypsotours.com) is the most reputable company that cruises out of Puntarenas. In addition to Tortuga Island trips, Calypso Tours takes folks to its own private nature reserve at Punta Coral and even on a sunset cruise that includes dinner and some guided stargazing. The Tortuga Island cruise costs $99 (£49) per person, and the Punta Coral trip costs $119 (£60). These prices are the same whether you join them in San José or Puntarenas. If you ask around at the docks, you might find some other boats that ply the waters of the Nicoya Gulf. Some of these companies also offer sunset cruises with live music, snacks, and a bar.

A Colorful Festival -- If you're in Puntarenas on the Saturday closest to July 16, you can witness the Fiesta of the Virgin of the Sea. During this festival a regatta of colorfully decorated boats carries a statue of Puntarenas's patron saint. Boats run all along the waterfront, but the Paseo de los Turistas makes for a good place to catch the action.