Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Puerto Caldera is the cruise port to Puntarenas - a major city and gateway to Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast. The city is located on a long and narrow peninsula in Gulf of Nicoya. It was country's main seaport for years, but now is mainly used by cruise ships. Puntarenas City covers a an area of approx 34 km2 (13 ml2) and has population around 35,000.
The coast features a city beach lined with bars and restaurants (although its water is a little murky). The region has numerous National Parks or protected nature reserves. Inland Monteverde is famous for its cloud forest and two reserves (Santa Elena Rain Forest and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve).
Approx 20 ml / 30 km south of Puerto Caldera are located two forest reserves, best known for their diverse populations of birds - Carara Biological Reserve and the preserve encompassing the islands Negritos, Los Pajaros and Guayabo.
Puntarenas cruise terminal
Cruise ships to Puntarenas usually dock at port Puerto Caldera - Costa Rica's largest seaport, also ranked the country's most important cargo port. The port's harbor is protected by breakwaters and has docking terminals.
The distance between Puntarenas and Puerto Caldera is 28 km / 17 ml (northwest of the port). From the cruise port Caldera to Orotina City is 26 km / 16 ml (east of the port).
There is a regularly scheduled daily service by passenger ferries, linking Puerto Caldera with Puntarenas and Nicoya.
Puntarenas tours, shore excursions, hotels
City Tours and Shore Excursions
From both cruise ports (Puntarenas and Puerto Caldera) are offered as shore excursions bus tours to San Jose - Costa Rica's capital city. Another popular tour destination is the Arenal Volcano - located approx 90 km (56 ml) northwest of San Jose. Tours to Monteverde are also often offered from the Puntarenas cruise port.
Port Puntarenas cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Puntarenas, Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.
| Day | Ship | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 January, 2019 Thursday |  Sea Cloud II | ||
| 5 January, 2019 Saturday |  Star Breeze | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| 11 January, 2019 Friday |  ms Volendam | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 12 January, 2019 Saturday | Wind Star | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| 12 January, 2019 Saturday |  Norwegian Star | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 12 January, 2019 Saturday | Norwegian Gem | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 14 January, 2019 Monday |  Coral Princess | 07:00 | 19:00 |
| 16 January, 2019 Wednesday | ms Amsterdam | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 19 January, 2019 Saturday | Star Breeze | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| 21 January, 2019 Monday |  CMV Magellan | 08:00 | |
| 21 January, 2019 Monday |  Oceania Insignia | 07:00 | 16:00 |
| 24 January, 2019 Thursday | Norwegian Star | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 25 January, 2019 Friday | ms Volendam | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 26 January, 2019 Saturday | Wind Star | 06:00 | 18:00 |
| 28 January, 2019 Monday |  MSC Magnifica | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 29 January, 2019 Tuesday |  Queen Victoria |
The Puntarenas cruise port map is interactive. It shows the port's exact location, along with the real-time cruise ship traffic (if any) in its vicinity - today, and right now. By zooming-out you can see other cruise ship ports located near Puntarenas, Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica.
If you lose the Puntarenas location on the map, simply reload the page (also with F5 button). This feature is integrated with the CruiseMapper's cruise ship tracker tracking the vessels' current positions at sea and in ports.
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