A village notebook
Cabuya, where the road runs out
A small fishing village at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, where the road from Montezuma ends at the forest of Cabo Blanco. It has a bakery, a handful of places to stay, very quiet nights and an island cemetery you can walk to when the tide goes out.
These are our notes on it: where to sleep, eat and wander, and how to time the sea. Start with the village guide.
The island and the tides
Twice a day, the sea lets you walk to the cemetery
Just off Cabuya's beach is a low island covered in palms, and it's where the village buries its dead. When the tide drops, a band of reef comes up between the beach and the island and you can walk across in 10 or 15 minutes. A few hours later the sea closes over it again.
Low tide comes roughly 50 minutes later each day, so look at a tide table, set off about an hour before the low and start back before the water turns.
- High water The reef is under the sea and the island is cut off.
- Low water The walk opens up for an hour or two. Go early, come back early.
- Tomorrow Everything happens about 50 minutes later.
Around the village
Places we'd point you to
Every place here is one we've checked against its own website and recent listings. The list is short on purpose.
Sleep Places to stay
Also read Where to stay in Cabuya: villas, jungle lodges and retreats
Every place to stay
Past the end of the road
Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco
Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve covers the forested southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, a short drive past Cabuya, and was Costa Rica's first protected area when it was created in 1963. Visitors can walk two trails: the long Sueco trail down to Playa Cabo Blanco, or the short Danés loop.
Trails, rules and what you'll seeLonger notes
Guides
Practical pieces on getting here, the seasons, the beaches and days out along the coast.
See every guide- Beaches near Cabuya: where to swim, snorkel and surfCabuya's own beach is rocky and best at high tide, when the water is calm, or at low tide for the walk to the island cemetery.
- The best time to visit Cabuya, month by monthThe easiest time to visit Cabuya is the dry season, from about December to April, when roads are dry, the Mal País back road is usually open and hiking in Cabo Blanco is…
- Cabuya tides: how to time the island walk and tide poolsCabuya has two high tides and two low tides most days, and each low tide comes roughly 50 minutes later than the day before.
- Getting to Cabuya: ferry, flights, buses and the roadMost people reach Cabuya from San José by driving to Puntarenas, taking the car ferry to Paquera and driving down through Cóbano and Montezuma, about 4.5 to 6 hours in…
- A day trip to Mal País and Santa Teresa from CabuyaMal País and Santa Teresa sit on the open Pacific just over the hills from Cabuya, with surf beaches and sunsets over the ocean.
- Snorkeling and diving near CabuyaThe easiest snorkeling from Cabuya is on the reef around the island cemetery, on a calm day around low tide.
- Things to do in Cabuya, Costa RicaThe two things nobody should miss in Cabuya are a hike in Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve and the low-tide walk to the island cemetery just offshore.
- Where to eat in Cabuya and nearby MontezumaIn Cabuya, start the day at the village bakery, eat pizza at Cafe Coyote or Salón El Higuerón, and stop at Indígena for chocolate after hiking Cabo Blanco.
- Where to stay in Cabuya: villas, jungle lodges and retreatsCabuya has no big hotels, just a handful of small places to stay.
Every place in this guide is checked against its own website and recent listings before we publish it. No paid rankings.