Puntarenas History Facts and Timeline

(Puntarenas, Costa Rica)

Previously a major seaport on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, Puntarenas or 'Sandy Point' has historically played an important part in the eventual rise of Costa Rica.

The city has grown on the back of coffee, being a chief point of export, although it now functions as something of a gateway to the region's islands and beaches.

Coffee and Duty Free

Hernán Ponce de León discovered Puntarenas as 'Villa Bruselas' in the Spanish colonial days (from 1519). It remained a relative backwater due to its inaccessibility from the rest of the country - albeit serving as a port and gateway to the Central Plateau from the Gulf of Nicoya, until coffee began to be exported from the Costa Rican highlands in the year of 1840.


In Costa Rican history, Puntarenas was used to ship coffee out to Europe and the US, being declared a duty free port in 1845, although not for liquor. The only way to previously get the coffee to Puntarenas from the Central Plateau towns of San Jose and Cartago was via a slow oxcart trail over the mountains.

The San Jose Connection

In 1879, a railway line was built to link nearby Esparza and this was later extended to connect San Jose some 30 years later. This lifted the city's economic status greatly, with a direct connection to the capital, while the southern ports of the Puntarenas province were busy with banana exports, taking trade from the eastern town of Puerto Limon.

Later, in the 1900s, facilities at the port of Puntarenas became old, unable to keep up with exports and increasing cruise ship arrivals for tourism. A new port was thus built in nearby Caldera, where the Spanish had previously landed.

Tourism and Today

Puntarenas is primarily used as a commercial fishing port today, while cruise tourists often stop here. They come for the nearby beaches and islands, such as Playa Naranjo and San Lucas, and also for the Mangrove Forest and regional parks. The city frequently serves as a transit point to San Jose (by bus), while Costa Ricans regularly arrive to check out Puntarenas history. Tourists also make a stop-off here before heading south down to Palmar Norte on the Pan-American Highway, where pre-Columbian stone spheres are to be found.

From a historical viewpoint, Puntarenas lacks ancient sights, although the Tourist Boulevard (the Paseo de los Turistas) features a number of attractive Art Deco houses from the 1950s. The nearby 1930s Customs Building (Capitania de Puntarenas) is another popular historical landmark. Also of note is the Catholic Cathedral on the Central Plaza, with its Gothic forms, while La Casa de la Cultura comes with information relating to the history of Puntarenas. Another popular attraction deserving a strong mention is the Marine History Museum (Museo Historico Marino), which resides right next-door.