Cliff Jumping in Puerto Viejo

Types of Activities: Beaches, Swimming, Cliff Jumping
Average Cost: Free
Recommendations: If you aren’t a strong swimmer you may want to rent a kayak.
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There’s a great little “island” to jump off of in Puerto Viejo. It’s probably the most fun thing to do there, and also the least known. We had done it three times in one week, and when we took the owner of Rocking J’s out with us, it was his first time. I think we started a trend.

The island isn’t really an island. It’s really just a massive piece of coral protruding from the ocean floor. It’s not hard to get out to the island at all. It’s about a 10- to 15-minute swim from the beach. If you want, you can walk halfway there on coral and swim the rest of the way. Just watch out for sea urchins. They are all over the place, like landmines.

Wearing shoes to the island is a must. There is no way to climb up it without them. However, when you are about to jump off the island, it’s a better idea to throw your shoes off first. The impact can be quite damaging on your shoes. I broke a pair of Tevas on my fourth jump.

Once you get to the island, you can simply climb right out of the ocean, onto the north face of this huge rock. There are grips and footholds all over the place, and it’s an easy climb. Once you’re on the island, you will continue to climb toward the shore of the beach. You will pass a nasty green pool of water on the way. From there you can jump off anywhere from 15 feet to 40 feet high. It’s your call. Climbing out of the water to the highest jump takes about 5 minutes just because of the terrain.

This is a must to check out if you’re in Puerto Viejo. We took a crew of 10 people out one day and organized a group jump, where we had six people all jump off at the same time, including the owner of Rocking J’s!