The capital of the Puntarenas province and the largest city on the Pacific coast. Puntarenas is the capital of the Puntarenas province and the largest city on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
As its named implies, Puntarenas is a strip of sandy land that protrudes out to the Golfo de Nicoya and makes an excellent port for small fishing and pleasure vessels that anchor at its estuary (El Estero).
Because of this peculiar geographical shape, it was Costa Rica's main pacific port until the Port of Caldera was build in the 1980's, but it still remains an excellent port for visiting yachts that use all its facilities for maintenance and repair of their boats.
Because of its closeness to the Central Valley, it keeps on being a very popular resort for Costa Rican tourism. It features a yearly festival called "Carnavales de Puntarenas" that attracts lots of visitors every year.
It is now a port of call for large pleasure cruisers that dock at the newly restored pier.
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