In Limón

It’s not safe to park outside anywhere in Puerto Limón at night; your car will probably be broken into. The Hotel Acón, Hotel Park, and Hotel Continental have secure parking.

A standout among the budget options is Hotel Continental (Avenida 5, Calles 2/3, tel. 506/2798-0532, $10 s, $15 d), with 12 simple but spacious rooms with fans and private baths with hot water. It’s spotlessly clean and offers secure parking.

The same owners run the Nuevo Hotel Internacional (tel. 506/2758-0434, $10 s or $15 d with fans, $12 s or $18 d with a/c) across the road; it has 22 tiled rooms of a similar standard to the Continental.

Likewise, the Hotel Costa del Sol (Avenida 5, Calle 5, tel. 506/2798-0808, grupodelso [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr, $15 s, $22 d) offers clean rooms with modest, modern furnishings, fans, and private baths with hot water. It has secure parking.

The best bet in town is the Hotel Park (Avenida 3, Calle 1, tel. 506/2758-3476, fax 506/2758-4364, parkhotellimon [at] ice [dot] co [dot] cr, $40 s or $50 d standard, $44 s or $56 d ocean view with balcony), with 32 air-conditioned rooms featuring TVs and private baths with hot water. Prices vary according to room standard and view. It has a nice restaurant, plus secure parking, and is well maintained.

Slightly less appealing is the four-story Hotel Acón (Avenida 3, Calles 2/3, tel. 506/2758-1010, fax 506/2758-2924, hotelacon [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr, $34 s, $40 d), with 39 air-conditioned rooms. The hotel has a reasonable restaurant. Take a top-floor room away from the noise of the second-floor disco.

Outside Limón

At Playa Bonita, Apartotel Cocori (tel. 506/2798-1670, fax 506/2758-2930, $45 s, $55 d) is a modern cliff-top complex with a pleasing oceanview terrace restaurant open to the breezes. It fills with Ticos on weekends, when the disco could wake the dead. It has 25 simple but pleasing air-conditioned rooms with cable TV and private bathrooms with hot water. Rates include breakfast.

Hotel Maribu Caribe (tel. 506/2795-2543, fax 506/2795-3541, www.maribu-caribe.com, $68 s or $78 d standard, $112 family suite), at the south end of Playa Bonita, has a scenic setting above the ocean. The simple, uninspired resort, which caters mostly to Ticos, is centered on a swimming pool. It has two restaurants and offers 17 round thatched African-style bungalows and 50 rooms, each with air-conditioning, telephone, and private bath. Rooms have narrow beds and unappealing decor. Roomy showers make amends with piping-hot water.

At Moín, Hotel Mar y Luna (tel. 506/2795-1132, fax 506/2795-4828, $20 pp) sits atop the hill above the dock to Tortuguero. It has 14 modestly appointed air-conditioned rooms with TV and hot water. There’s secure parking and a clean restaurant that has karaoke.