8 Best Places to Shop in Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica

This main street boutique specializes in beachwear and clothing handmade by designers based in Costa Rica. Using recycled, eco-friendly materials and sustainable production methods, these local brands create swimsuits, surf clothing, two-piece sets made with soft, breathable fabrics, jewelry, and accessories.

The walls of this shop are stacked with more than 80 types of locally made chocolate bars in a variety of flavors and cacao percentages, streamlining a sampling of all the major artisanal chocolate producers in Limón. The shop also offers tastings of chocolate paired with coffee, wine, or local craft beers.

Small by U.S. standards, this farmers' market has a handful of vendors selling fresh produce and meats in the community center building. Open Sunday 6 am to noon.

Puerto Viejo's Saturday-morning farmers' market is a good place to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies for that weekend beach picnic, jewelry and crafts made by local artisans, and speciality food items. It takes place in a building just south of the bus stop.

Puerto Viejo's nicest shop sells a wonderful selection of local indigenous carvings—balsa and chonta wood are especially popular—as well as jewelry, paintings, and ceramics by 30 artists from the region. Prices run a tad higher here than other places around town, but you're assured of good quality.

This eye-catching, open-air shop sells bold-yet-breezy beach clothing made of light fabrics in radiant colors and outrageous patterns, all sourced from Indonesia and available in a range of styles and fits for men, women, and children.

Really two stores in one, Tienda del Mar sprawls around a street corner in the center of town and specializes in bright, colorful batik clothing of all sizes, as well as more run-of-the-mill T-shirts, sandals, wood carvings, ceramics, and postcards. On the second floor is an art gallery full of vibrant, colorful canvases of tropical-themed creations by local painters.

The inventory at this shop is less trinket-focused than most souvenir shops, offering a quality selection of locally made crafts, body care products, jewelry, and colorful clothing. They carry national brands of swimwear, as well as Lycra made from recycled plastics.