Manzanillo is the small Afro-Caribbean fishing village at the end of the paved coast road south of Puerto Viejo. It is the gateway to the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge — the coastal trail starts at the end of the village — and the kind of place where the main road ends in sand and chickens cross between houses.
A handful of family-run restaurants serve fresh catch and traditional rice-and-beans-in-coconut-milk. Maxi's, on the corner, is the most famous; arrive hungry. The bay itself is gentle and protected, with good snorkelling on the offshore reef when the sea is calm.