Getting ashore on San Lucas Island just got a whole lot simpler. Costa Rica has inaugurated a new tourist pier at the former prison island in the Gulf of Nicoya, replacing the ageing dock at one of Puntarenas' most atmospheric destinations.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) funded the project, spending more than ₡1.1 billion on the new dock. It can handle up to four boats at once and was built to meet the country's Law 7600 accessibility standards, so travellers with disabilities can get ashore comfortably too. President Laura Fernández and ICT chief Marcos V. Borges were on hand as the first boatloads of visitors stepped onto the new structure.

There's a green angle as well: the pier runs entirely on solar panels, collects rainwater for on-site use, and picked up an Ecological Blue Flag award in the construction category. Building over water inside a national park wasn't straightforward — crews had to protect marine life while juggling tides, weather and the challenge of ferrying materials out to an island. The island stayed open to tourists the whole time.

So why go? San Lucas was a prison for over a century before it shut in 1991, and its crumbling cell blocks and ruins still stand — the setting that inspired José León Sánchez's famous novel "La Isla de los Hombres Solos." Beyond the history, the national park holds roughly 15 kilometres of trails, archaeological sites and a rare surviving stretch of tropical dry forest. Keep an eye out for white-tailed deer, anteaters, howler monkeys and a solid lineup of resident and migratory birds.

The park is young, officially created on 24 August 2020, and open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Practically everyone arrives on guided boat tours from downtown Puntarenas, a short hop across the gulf. Officials hope the upgraded pier will also draw cruise passengers and more travellers exploring the Gulf of Nicoya's mix of history and wildlife — and it should improve daily working conditions for the guides, rangers and tour operators who run trips there.

For anyone piecing together a Pacific coast itinerary, this removes a practical bottleneck. San Lucas pairs easily with time in Puntarenas and makes a compelling day trip: a dose of dark history, quiet trails and wildlife, all within an easy boat ride of the mainland.

Original reporting: The Tico Times