Rockin' J's

i spent 5 nights here at Rocking J's. i had the time of my life. there was always something to do. i was there for st. patty's day and they had festivities to celebrate it all night. you can either stay in tents, hammocks, private rooms, dorms. there are community bathrooms located in the middle of the hostel.

pro: the restaurant has AMAZING food, the hostel is amazingly decorated by fellow travelers, tons of hammocks to lay around, book exchange, clean bathrooms/showers.

con: it stays pretty loud til late so either stay up and party with those backpackers making the noise or bring some earplugs, showers are cold (but feel good after being on the beach all day).

conclusion: i would highly recommend this hostel to anyone going to puerto viejo. its so easy to meet other travelers here, and it's not too far from where all the bars/shops are.

Definitely a fun hostel environment. Young party crowd. Staff very nice and attached restaurant @T E's is amazing!! Dorms are really gross (dungeon like) I stayed in the hammock area for $5/night... LOVED it.. at first wasn't sure but it turned out to be super comfy and the concept of 30 other hammocks in the same area I thought was fun. Otherwise there are tents w/ bedding, or if you have your own hammock you can hang yours.

They have assigned lockers (HUGE-backpack, everything you could possibly have will fit in it, they provide lock&key). Right on the beach however the beach area is not that nice (caribbean side) and you can't really swim in it. Puerto Viejo in general is a laid back rasta town. I spent a week there which was plenty. Nonetheless, Rockin' J's is definitely worth stopping at.

Easily the best hostel I've ever stayed at... The rooms are worth the 12$ a night investment, but hammocks work fine for half that if you feel like scrimping... but the atmosphere makes the hostel, and you don't find a more eclectic bunch of surfers (mostly, I didn't really surf much, but it's what you go to PV to do) many places besides at Rockin' J's.