Nauyaca & Portalon Waterfalls: Day Trip with Beach & Lunch

4.95

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already sticky from the drive down the Pacific coast when our guide, Diego, pulled over by a cluster of palms—just past Portalon. He grinned and handed me a machete (a little too confidently, honestly), then showed us how to twist a coconut off the tree. The juice was cold and sweet, and I swear the salt in the air made it taste better. We could hear the ocean thumping behind us at Playa Linda but it was just us and some crabs scuttling sideways. I didn’t expect to start a waterfall day trip this way, but here we were.

Portalon waterfall came next—Diego called it “his favorite swimming hole” and I get why. There was that earthy smell you only get in real rainforest, and the water was so clear my toes looked cartoonish under it. We all took turns jumping in (well, except for Anna, who just floated and laughed at us). It’s not far from Nauyaca—maybe 30 minutes?—but feels like its own world. And then back in the van, windows fogging up from wet swimsuits and someone’s snack bag rustling open.

Dominical was this sleepy surf town where time felt slower—kids selling bracelets by the beach, old guys sipping coffee outside a shack painted every color you can imagine. We got smoothies (mango for me) and wandered around; I tried to ask about a local fruit in my broken Spanish and got a lesson plus a hug from an abuela who ran the shop. Honestly, I could’ve stayed there longer but Nauyaca was calling.

The walk through the jungle to Nauyaca is muddy but not hard—just enough to make you feel like you earned it. You hear the falls before you see them: first a low rumble, then that sudden white roar as you round the bend. The two tiers are bigger than they look in photos; mist on your face, rocks slippery underfoot. Some people jumped right in while others just stood under the spray with their arms out like they were charging up on waterfall energy or something. Lunch after tasted better because we’d worked up an appetite—rice, beans, grilled chicken, nothing fancy but somehow perfect right then.

I still think about that light coming through the trees above Nauyaca’s pool—how everything felt both wild and safe for a minute. Not sure if it was just good company or Costa Rica working its magic again.