Puntarenas, Costa Rica: Cruise Ship Port

Puntarenas Cruise Ship Port

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

N 09° 58.505 W 084° 49.890

Short Description: 

The Puntarenas Cruise Ship Port is located on the south shore of Puntarenas at Avenue 4 and Calle 0

Long Description:

In Puntarenas the even numbered streets are east of the pier and the odd numbered streets are to the west. The cruise ship pier is the demarcation point. Puntarenas (Port of Sand) is a long peninsular jutting out into the Gulf of Nicoya on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica. It is becoming popular as a cruise ship port due to its central location, proximity to San Jose, and sand beaches that line the peninsula.

The original pier in this location was installed in 1929. The present reinforced concrete pier with metal railing was constructed in 1998, with donations from the Taiwanese Government, at a cost of $15.000.000. The tourist season runs from May to October when Puntarenas is visited by many thousands of tourists from the cruise ships.

The pier was declared an architectural historic heritage on October 25, 1994. In April 2008, the Costa Rica Tourism Board re-dedicated the pier as a tourism service center under the project “Puntarenas por siempre” (Punatarenas Forever).

The pier is over 200' long. At the end of the pier to the east is the Paseo de los Turistas which has restaurants, as well as many craft and souvenir kiosks set up when ships are in port. Excursion buses meet the ship at the pier.