History

The history of Golfito is an interesting one because the conquest of Costa Rica started here in 1519, when the Spaniards arrived from Panama. During colonial times, it was a small, dormant, fishing town few people cared about. Up until 1919, most inhabitants where of Colombian (later Panamanian) origin. The town of Golfito, and surrounding communities, boomed during the banana business years (1935-1985), but it felt victim of its mono-business dependency, when United Brands (formely United Fruit) closed its banana operations, and concentrated only in African oil palm. A major labor strike prompted United Brands to switch completely to palm, which requires subtantially less labor. The city is now slowly recovering partly due to tourism and not bananas. Five years after United Brands’s departure the Costa Rican government opened a Duty Free shopping center in an effort to bring the city back to life. Today Golfito is a popular destination for Tico's (Costa Rican’s) who are looking for a bargain on large appliances and electronics.