La Ruka Hostel

I absolutely loved my stay at La Ruka and would definitely go back! It is at a convenient location between town and the main beaches. The private rooms were clean and comfortable with a cute Pura Vida vibe. The hostel has a beautiful garden, well equipped kitchen, and awesome common areas. You can rent bikes for a good price too. It is quiet at night after 10 pm (not a party hostel) but it is very social and I made tons of friends traveling solo! The owner is absolutely the best!! He threw an amazing Christmas dinner for us, and everyone who works there was very kind and friendly. Thank you for such an amazing time and stay, La Ruka fam! I can't wait to be back!!🤗❤️

I absolutely love La Ruka and would recommend it to anyone visiting Puerto Viejo. After my initial visit, I returned, extended my stay as long as possible, then returned again two months later because of the remarkable impression it left on me. I felt very comfortable staying in the shared dorms which include personal bedside lamps, privacy bed curtains, locker storage space, fans or AC, and a bathroom which is cleaned daily and well-maintained. The communal spaces like the kitchen, dining area, smoke shack, pool table, gym, yoga shala, and reception are equipped with everything you could need to fully enjoy them. This is not a party hostel, there are quiet hours from 10pm-7am, which is perfect for me. I made some incredible friendships within the gates of La Ruka because I believe it attracts really wonderful and open-minded travelers. The location is also perfect! It is easily walkable to Cocles and the Puerto Viejo town center. If you don’t prefer walking, they have bikes available to rent which I found to be my favorite way to explore town and travel further distances. There is a local bus service, tuk tuks, and Uber available for transportation as well and the people working reception are very helpful when it comes to figuring out transportation—they even can book you a shuttle to different destinations such as Bocas de Toro and La Fortuna. Of course, I cannot forget to mention the animals of La Ruka. Mumu, Lily, Ruka, Artemisa, Mr. Ra, and Bagheera are very special members of the family and their presence is so sweet! Thank you Viola, Dave, Dani, and all of the volunteers for welcoming me at La Ruka and truly making it feel like my “home away from home.” I am so grateful for this place!

I stayed at La ruka Hostel for almost two weeks, and it was truly a wonderful experience. The energy of the staff, the volunteers, and even the guests created such a warm and welcoming atmosphere – I made so many amazing new friends during my stay. The kitchen was great, the bed very comfortable and cool, and I loved the extra touches like the yoga loft and street workout area. For cooling down, the ice bath and sauna were absolutely perfect. The location couldn’t be better, right between the town and the beaches. Overall, I can only recommend it – a solid 10/10. Thank you to everyone at La ruka for making my stay unforgettable!

I loved my stay at La Ruka. It is a high end hostel at a very reasonable price - and you can appreciate the care in every aspect of its design/layout. Definitely very modern and clean and the staff were friendly and helpful. The balcony outside the dorm room overlooking the garden was fantastic - with a clean and comfy hammock and generous provision of clothing lines. Other notable features were the option for rooms with or without AC, larger or standard Twin sized beds, curtains on the dorm beds for privacy, and a clean outdoor tile shower with warm water (and a curtain) in case you don't want to take a shower in a crowded dorm room. I also took advantage of the eggs from the hostel's own chickens (for sale at a reasonable price). I heard the chickens in the morning, but never saw where they were grazing. It's on the edge of town and about a 12 min walk to Cocles Beach. I saw an agouti once in the garden and some lovely birds - but not the same wildlife experience as accommodation options further down the highway.

This has been one of my favorite hostels. There are really affordable dorm rooms, which are kept clean daily. But what I loved about this place was all the outdoor space to hangout and socialize and meet new people. There’s a pool table, little couches to snuggle the cats on, a big outdoor kitchen, a smoke shack. It’s an easy walk to town but still away from the noise and a little more secluded in nature. I highly recommend staying here, the staff are all lovely and it was really easy to make new friends.

My stay at La Ruka was perfect. The kitchen was well equipped, and I loved that in the shared rooms each bed has a curtain, its own lamp, and a power outlet. There are spacious outdoor areas to relax and also to exercise. Pleasant atmosphere and very friendly staff. Highly recommended!

I love la Ruka, Daniela and her crew are amazing. The cleaning person was telling me how amazing and nice they are to her. That says a lot and thats one of the reasons why love this place. I love that it's close to the center, but far enough that you don't hear all the noises. Mil gracias por todo.

It's a hostel with more mature energy, not this party energy. Which I was very happy about! They have beautiful spaces for workout, another big plus! Nice and clean spaces, friendly staff. Close to the beach but unfortunately also close to the road.. It can get quite noisy because of that.