Bribri Waterfall in Puerto Viejo: A Relaxed Family Mini Adventure on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast

We’ve made our way to Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It’s an amazingly beautiful, chilled-out town hugged by the Caribbean Sea. The main road follows the ocean and is lined with bars and restaurants of all sizes and styles, including "Soda's", small, local eateries. Take a slow walk along the beach or the road and you’re sure to find somewhere that suits your taste.

On day two in Puerto Viejo, we set off for the Bribri waterfall. We jumped in the car and set off for the waterfall trail car park, which is about a twenty minute drive from where we’re staying (although a good ten minutes of that is spent navigating the dirt track back to the main road). Drive about 3.5km down Route 36 off the main Route 256 where you'll see a very subtle dirt road cut back on the left, this leads to the car park. You can book a tour for this and similar waterfalls through companies like Mystery Jungle, but on this occation we decided to go it alone. 

(We used Mystery Jungle for a Quad Bike Jungle adventure which we'll write about in another post soon. It was EPIC)

When we arrived, we were greeted by some lovely, energetic older gents who directed us into a parking space. They explained that the area is a conservation site, offered us fresh fruit (which was amazing) and coffee, and told us a little about the waterfall. Parking, they said, was free, but donations of $5 per person were appreciated to help maintain the car park and the trail down to the falls.

Frankly, they were so friendly and helpful we didn’t think twice.

We were ready: brand new hiking boots, hats on, backpack full of water, and the three of us drenched in a cocktail of sunscreen and insect repellent.

“Enjoy!” one of the car park guys pointed to a small gap in the jungle. “Waterfall about seven minute down path.”

I looked at Steph. “Seven minutes?”

“Oh!” she replied. “I thought it was a longer treck.”

Just as we set off, one of the gents shouted a final piece of advice: “Don’t touch animals. If it red, if green, or any colour, don’t touch. Take a picture, and touch the picture.”

On our way down the half man made, half natural trail, we quickly started spotting wildlife. Tiny bright red frogs, lizards, giant butterflies, and oversized, lush green plants everywhere; including a bird of paradise plant just about to bloom.

Pretty much seven minutes later, we arrived at the waterfall. It’s lovely, not breathtaking by any stretch, but well worth the short walk.

The area is split into three or four sections: the main waterfall, a small flat area where you can cross the shallow river, then a lower level with a smaller waterfall, and another one further along below that.

It wasn’t too busy. We started in the middle waterfall area and had it to ourselves for a good half hour. The water is fresh and cool. Not freezing, but definitely not warm either. One thing I would warn about: the little fish took a shine to some of the moles on my back and I got a few nibbles. Not painful, but a slightly disconcerting shock when you’re not expecting it.

All in all, we spent about an hour and a half exploring the different sections, for Archer it was perfect, he would happily have spent the rest of the day swimming, climbing, and building dams. Unfortunately, we were organised in all the wrong ways, so we had to head off in search of lunch.

So far on our trip, we’ve been spending around £60 (~$80) per meal for the three of us. You've probably heard how expensive Costa Rica can be, we’ll go into more detail on that in another blog, but after the waterfall we found a small fried chicken place on the edge of town. 

£15 (~$20) bought us loads of delicious food. It was clearly more of a place for locals, but there was something really reassuring about how welcoming it felt and it was a good reminder that there are plenty of affordable options if you’re willing to look for them. 

All in all, a budget friendly mini adventure!