A quick but complete guide to visiting the stunning Manzanillo Beach in Limón Province on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast where an interesting shipwreck is run aground.
If you’re in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, then Manzanillo Beach (Playa Manzanillo) is a must-visit destination.
One of my favourite beaches in Costa Rica, the stunning white sands are lined with palm trees creating peaceful scenes and the warm Caribbean water invites you for a dip.
But the idyllic atmosphere isn’t all. Run aground at the shoreline is a shipwreck that’s been turned into a work of art. The colourful, graffiti-covered hulk blends in with its beautiful surroundings and makes you wonder how it got there.
In this guide I’ll explain why you should visit Manzanillo Beach in Limón, Costa Rica. I’ll cover how to get here, what you can do in the area and the story behind the shipwreck.
Where is Manzanillo Beach?
Manzanillo Beach sits on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast at the southern end of Limón Province, a few hours from the border with Panama. From the capital city, San José, it’s roughly a 5 h drive.
But you don’t have to come that far to get to this great destination. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a groovy and popular beach town, lies just 13 km away. With plenty of accommodation options, it’s the ideal base for visiting Manzanillo Beach.
In fact, Puerto Viejo is one of the best-known tourist destinations in Costa Rica and its blend of Afro-Caribbean and Latin American culture creates a unique vibe. Calypso music, similar to reggae, is always playing and rice and beans, a local favourite coconut-based dish, is delicious.
How to get to Manzanillo Beach
You can walk, bike, bus or drive to Manzanillo beach. No matter what option you choose, you simply follow the Ruta Nacional 256 highway which mirrors the coastline. It’s one winding road the whole way from Puerto Viejo to the beach with no turnoffs…nice and simple.
Biking
I recommend hiring a bike and cycling. You follow the highway between fields of tall coconut trees and the palm-lined coast for around 45 min.
There are a few uphill and downhill sections along the way including a fast and fun descent to a narrow bridge. Coming back is a little more tiring as you climb up from sea level, but it’s nothing too difficult.
Puerto Viejo is full of bike rental shops, all charging pretty much the same prices. The place I rented from doesn’t appear in Google Maps, but I’ve marked it on the following map. They charged me around $12 US to rent a bike for 2 days. While the bike was a bit old and stiff, dealing with these guys was hassle-free, so I recommend them.
To rent a bike, you’ll need to leave an ID card as a form of guarantee. If you’ve got a less valuable form of ID than a passport, then I recommend using that. Other bike rentals in the town include:
- Puerto Viejo Bike Rentals
- Tuanis Rent a Bike
- Manú Bikes
Buses between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo Beach
If you don’t fancy the exercise, the MEPE bus service runs along the Caribbean coast between the port city of Limón and Manzanillo town, stopping at the main bus station in Puerto Viejo on the way.
It’s fairly infrequent and leaves from Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo roughly every 2 h. The journey takes around 30 min and costs 500 CRC ($1 US) – here’s the MEPE bus schedule.
The story behind the Manzanillo shipwreck
What makes Manzanillo Beach really interesting is the colourful shipwreck lodged in the sand right at the shoreline. Now a creative piece of art covered in graffiti, you can get up close and personal with the hulk.
You can go inside the wreck, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The entire thing is rusting and some of the steps up to the bridge have already disappeared. I climbed the remaining steps and looked inside to see if I wanted to enter, but I wasn’t confident about the floor not falling through.
The Manzanillo shipwreck hasn’t been there long. In fact, it was intentionally run aground by its captain on December 8 2017. Called ‘Yicel’, the boat belonged to the Atlantic Shipping Company and was heading to the port of Limón carrying 1,600 gallons of petrol when it ran into problems.
A pump failure allowed too much water to enter through cracks in the hull. With no way of extracting the water, the captain chose to run the ship aground to avoid sinking.
Costa Rican environmental authorities managed to extract the petrol from Yicel and the official line is that no fuel or oil leaked into the sea. However, this old article from American Expatriate Costa Rica reported otherwise.
According to the article, a few days after Yicel was ditched, Manzanillo locals reported an “intense smell of contamination” and that nearby vegetation was “stained”.
Since then, tides have buried the Yicel’s hull deep in the sand, hiding its true size. Here’s an old photo of the ship; you can see how much bigger it actually is.
Other things to do near Manzanillo Beach, Puerto Viejo
There’s more to do in the Manzanillo area than just seeing the Yicel shipwreck. If you want to explore further, then check out these next suggestions.
Eat in the town
Manzanillo is also the name of the village behind the beach. At one point a large manzanillo tree stood in the middle of the village, giving it its name. As a fishing village, there’s plenty of seafood on offer here and you’ll find a few sodas (small, family-run restaurants) for a bite to eat.
Manzanillo Viewpoint
At the far eastern point of Manzanillo Beach is Manzanillo Viewpoint (Mirador Manzanillo). It’s a 20 min walk from the village to the viewpoint from where you can see Manzanillo Beach to the left and down the coast toward Paulo Mena Beach to the right.
Explore Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
The area stretching from Manzanillo Beach to the border with Panama is the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.
This is a protected zone helping ecosystems flourish. Within the refuge is a large coral reef and the best way to see this is to dive under the waves with a snorkelling mask. If snorkelling you might want to hire a guide – I’ve read it’s easy to get lost.
Both the Manzanillo and Gandoca sections of the wildlife refuge are open 8:00 – 16:00 every day and entry is free.
Check out nearby beaches
There are a few other nice beaches between Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo. These include Cocles Beach (Playa Cocles), Small Beach (Playa Chiquita) and Punta Uva Beach (Playa Punta Uva).
I recommend heading to manzanillo Beach early so that you have time to stop at these other beaches on your way back to Puerto Viejo while the sun is still out.
When to visit Manzanillo Beach
The dry season in Costa Rica typically runs December — April and it’s during this period that I recommend visiting Manzanillo Beach. From May to November, it’s much wetter in the country as the dry season gives way to the rainy season. However, the country has many different microclimates and the weather can differ depending on the region.
I was in Puerto Viejo in mid-May and it rained heavily while I was cycling to Manzanillo Beach but cleared up shortly before I arrived.
Enjoy Manzanillo Beach near Puerto Viejo
Visiting Manzanillo “Shipwreck” Beach was my favourite experience in and around the Puerto Viejo area. It’s a beautiful place, the bike ride there is fun and the Yicel wreck is really interesting. Enjoy this picturesque beach and have fun exploring other parts of the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.
Looking for more Costa Rica adventure travel recommendations? Then check out the following articles.
- Getting from Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica) to Bocas del Toro (Panama): Your Travel Options
- Cerro Chirripó Costa Rica Hike: Complete Guide
- When is the Best Time to Visit Guanacaste, Costa Rica?
- Ultimate 7-day Costa Rica Itinerary for Adventure Travelers
- Things to do in Orosi Valley Costa Rica: Complete Guide
- What to do in Sámara, Costa Rica: Complete Travel Guide
- The 6 Best Things to do in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica