Cahuita National Park
The finest accessible Caribbean reef in Costa Rica — a 1,067-hectare marine and terrestrial park 45 minutes south of LIO. The main trail runs throu…
Limón — Caribbean Coast. 10 min from Limón city center.
Limón International Airport (IATA: LIO, ICAO: MRLM) serves Puerto Limón — Costa Rica's main Caribbean port city and the gateway to the Caribbean coastline stretching south toward the Panamanian border. At just 7 meters above sea level on the flat Caribbean coastal plain, LIO is the air access point for one of Costa Rica's most culturally and ecologically distinctive regions.
The Caribbean coast that LIO serves is fundamentally different from the Pacific. The Afro-Caribbean culture — descendants of Jamaican workers brought to build the Atlantic Railway in the 1870s — has created a unique culinary, musical, and social tradition that exists nowhere else in the country. The food (rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, patí pastries, rondon seafood stew), the music (reggae, calypso, cumbia), and the relaxed pace of life distinguish the Caribbean coast as a genuinely separate travel experience from the Pacific-focused mainstream of Costa Rica tourism.
Ecologically, the zone south of Limón — Cahuita National Park, the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, and the Bribri indigenous territories — contains some of the most intact Caribbean reef systems, primary forest, and cacao-growing traditions remaining in Central America. For the private charter traveler, LIO eliminates the 3–4 hour drive from San José on the challenging Braulio Carrillo highway, replacing it with a 30-minute flight over the volcanic highlands of the central cordillera.
The finest accessible Caribbean reef in Costa Rica — a 1,067-hectare marine and terrestrial park 45 minutes south of LIO. The main trail runs throu…
90 minutes south of LIO by road — the cultural capital of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. The town's Afro-Caribbean character, concentrated on a 1km…
The most southerly protected area on the Caribbean coast — 2 hours from LIO, adjacent to the Panamanian border. 9,449 hectares of forest, mangroves…
The Bribri people of the Talamanca highlands (2 hours from LIO) are one of Costa Rica's most active indigenous communities. Guided cacao farm tours…
35 minutes south of LIO — the world's first sloth rescue and rehabilitation center, now also the world's largest. The sanctuary rehabilitates injur…
Limón International Airport (IATA: LIO, ICAO: MRLM) is a regional airport serving Puerto Limón and the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Located 7m above sea level with a 1,970m runway, it operates during daylight hours. LIO is the primary air access point for Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, and the southern Caribbean coast.
A private charter flight from San José (SJO or SYQ) to Limón (LIO) takes approximately 30 minutes vs. 3–4 hours by road on the Braulio Carrillo highway. AeroRide operates this route on request. Contact us via WhatsApp for scheduling and pricing.
The Caribbean coast near LIO offers: Cahuita National Park reef snorkeling (45 min), Puerto Viejo surf and culture (90 min), Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (2h), Bribri cacao tours (2h), sloth sanctuary visits (35 min), and the best Afro-Caribbean cuisine in Costa Rica throughout the corridor.
LIO has a 1,970-meter (6,463 ft) asphalt runway at 7m elevation. The airport operates during daylight hours. ICAO code: MRLM.
LIO currently has limited scheduled commercial service. Most Caribbean coast travelers arrive overland from San José or via private charter. AeroRide operates private charter flights to LIO from San José and other domestic airports on request.
Tell us your departure airport — we'll have a charter quote in minutes.