With some terrific road trip options available in the surrounding area, renting a car makes good sense. Without one, it wouldn’t be half as easy to explore all that Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, 60 miles away, has to offer. Among your first few stops here should be Cahuita National Park, Punta Uva Beach and Black Beach. The locals will also probably point you toward Quepos, 60 miles away. If you can only see one thing here, make sure it’s Manuel Antonio National Park. (But we’re also big fans of Manuel Antonio Beach and Playa La Macha.)