Isla Cabuya: The Island Cemetery

The town of Cabuya is a small quiet one but it shouldn’t be overlooked. This town has a lot more to offer than people realize and Isla Cabuya is one of them. This isn’t any normal island. This island is a cemetery that has been around since the 1700s. And you can also walk to it! Other activities in this town include visiting the famous national park of Cabo Blanco and visiting the Wild Sun Rescue Center. Be sure to check for availability because it is harder during these times to gain entrance.

In this blog, I will explain how to get to Isla Cabuya as well as tips on what to do when you’re in town.

How to get to Isla Cabuya

Santa Teresa to Isla Cabuya

There are multiple different ways to get to Isla Cabuya from Santa Teresa. This is a very common area to come from on a day trip. Because of this, transportation will not be hard to come by. I will be going over the different ways to get to Cabuya below.

Rent ATVs: This is my suggestion if you are wanting to do more than just visit Cabuya. There are many different activities you can do in Santa Teresa with them. These also enable you to take the faster route which is half the distance it would take with a car or taxi.
Taxi: This is expensive, especially if you are by yourself. The cost will be around $40 and takes double the amount of time as it would with ATVs.
Bus: This will be the cheapest for a solo traveler and there would be minimal stops. The cost is around $10-$15. For more information on all of these routes check out Rome2rio.

Montezuma to Isla Cabuya

This is where we came from when visiting Cabuya. We loved this area and would highly suggest spending more time than a day in Montezuma.

Taxi: We took a taxi back to our hostel from Cabuya and it was $10 total for the two of us. Not totally ideal but also not that bad.
Bus/shuttle: There is a shuttle bus that leaves Montezuma 4 times a day to head to Cabuya. We paid 1000 CRC one way and didn’t mind it at all. He dropped us off at the location of our choosing.

Tips When Visiting Isla Cabuya

It may seem straightforward on what to do when visiting Isla Cabuya but we definitely saw groups of people seem confused about what to do and even people trying to walk during the wrong times. We went here during the peak season of January and there were a decent bit of people constantly trying to walk out to it.

Visit During Low Tide

As you can see from the picture above, there are people who try and walk to Isla Cabuya during high tide. I would not suggest doing that and coming back when it is low tide. The locals around are fishermen and they know the area pretty well. We went to just take a look as we knew when low tide was and they were kind enough to make sure we didn’t do what those people were trying to do. The walkway becomes massive once it becomes low tide and only takes about 10 minutes to walk across it.

Enjoy a Coffee at Panaderia Cabuya Cafeteria

Low tide for us was around 2:30 PM and so we had to take the 10:15 shuttle to Cabuya. Since we were there early we decided to indulge in one of our favorite activities, getting coffee. This was a neat little coffee shop with a good selection of food as well. The portions are on the bigger side, so it’s a great place to share something with someone. It was a very hot day, as it was every day but we wanted an iced coffee. In some places when they say iced coffee it comes out frozen, so be careful about that when ordering. Overall very pleased with this coffee shop.

Relax at Playa Cabuya

We got to the area a few hours before it was low tide so we decided to hit up Playa Cabuya to relax. This beach isn’t as popular as many in the surrounding areas but that’s also the main benefit of coming here. There were only 10 total people that we saw on the beach for the few hours we were there. Since it was getting closer to low tide at the time of arrival, the water was more like swimming holes than an ocean to swim in. You still get the vibe that you are finding this beach while coming straight out of the jungle. Many Villa-type accommodations run along this area of the beach and have their perfect hammock sites set up. It was still a very relaxing way to spend our day before we headed to Isla Cabuya.

Thoughts About Isla Cabuya

Isla Cabuya is definitely a unique experience and something that everyone should see if they have time. The fact that they have been bringing people to bury on this island since the 1700s is mind-blowing to me. The one thing I would recommend is to make a day out of this if you are coming from anywhere besides Cabuya. There are many other things for you to do and also helps you to get away from the faster-paced life of either Montezuma or Santa Teresa.

Below are some photos from the island so you can get an idea of how cool this place is. You can see Cabo Blanco from here while being surrounded by gravestones. Thank you for reading my blog about Isla Cabuya and I hope you get to make it out this way one day!