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Best Beaches in Costa Rica Costa Rica is a world famous beach destination. Each and every year, around 2 million tourist go to Costa Rica for a variety of reasons, including visiting one or two beaches. Each and every time someone asks us, which is the best beach; unfortunately, the answer is usually a question. What kind of a beach are you looking for? Do you want a large white sand beach, or do you like the natural black sand beaches? Do you want to be close to a beach village, or do you want to be secluded? In Costa Rica, the permutations of the number of beaches, and the quantity of the available activities around the beach, helps make this a difficult decision. Best Surfing Beaches 1. Playa Jaco and Hermosa, Central Pacificplaya-hermosa-jaco-costa-rica For certain, if you're a hard-core surfer, you can do no wrong visiting either Playa Jaco or Playa Hermosa, just a few minutes south. Jaco used to be a sleepy beach town. However, its proximity to the airport and San Jose combined with excellent surf conditions make the town explode in growth in the past 15 years. There are two well known surf schools in Jaco called Third World Surf Camp and Jaco Surf School. If you cannot bring your gear, there are several surf shops in town where you can purchase or rent gear. More advanced surfers usually go south to Playa Hermosa where there is more consistent high swells. Both Playa Hermosa and Jaco might have strong rip currents. There are no lifeguards, so you need to be a very good swimmer and seasoned surfer. If you're just learning, it is possible to usually ask a surf instructor for taking you out when the waves are more tame. They normally know the rhythm of tides very well. Recommended Hotels in Playa Jaco: Hotel Poseidon Avg. Nightly Rate From $69 La Palmera Hotel Avg. Nightly Rate From $39 Copacabana Hotel And Suites Avg. Nightly Rate From $79 Blue Palm Hotel Avg. Nightly Rate From $62 Recommended Hotels in Play Hermosa: Hermosa Lofts Avg. Nightly Rate From $119 Marea Brava Avg. Nightly Rate From $133 Fuego Del Sol Avg. Nightly Rate From $85 2. Playa Tamarindo and Langosta, North Pacific Although smaller than Jaco, Playa Tamarindo is a growing surf town located north in Guancaste.tamarindo-surfing The one common difference between Tamarindo and Jaco is the beach of Tamarindo is white sand and much cleaner. Tamrindo doesn't have nearly the commotion of Jaco, but there is a descent nightlife for younger people. There are two well known surf camps in town Witches Rock Surf Camp and the Tamarindo Surf School. There can also be lots surf shops, restaurants and beach shopping in town. If you switch the local radio station 99.5 Radio Dos on Friday at happy hour, they give you a show from the bar in Witches Rock Surf Camp. (You can click that link and listen to it live everywhere in the world over the internet!) Recommended Hotels in Playa Tamarindo: Best Western Tamarindo Avg. Nightly Rate From $76 Hotel Pasatiempo Avg. Nightly Rate From $70 Hotel Flores Avg. Nightly Rate From $65 Hotel Domus Kahuna Avg. Nightly Rate From $69 Hotel Mahayana Avg. Nightly Rate From $43 Hotel Luna Llena Avg. Nightly Rate From $75 Hotel Bula Bula Avg. Nightly Rate From $85 Recommend Hotels in Playa Langosta: Sunset Inn Avg. Nightly Rate From $73 3. Playa Domincal, South Pacific Playa Dominical can be found a few hours south of Quepos and is a little more secluded than Jaco or Tamarindo. playa-dominical-surfThe nearby town is called Uvita (Little Grape) adn offers restaurants and a very casual atmosphere. There are no nightclubs, casinos or high rise condominiums like Jaco. There is actually a small nightlife, but it is more tame than Tamarindo and Jaco. The beach starts at Rio Baru. It is rumored that Dominical is similar to Hermosa in that there are consistently high swells. There are several surf schools in town and all the gear you require can be rented or purchased. For novices, there is even a beginner beach called Playa Dominicalcito just to the south, where the waves are small for freshies. Recommended Hotels in Dominical: Villas Rio Mar Avg. Nightly Rate From $70 $63 La Tierra Divina Avg. Nightly Rate From $75 Villas Alturas Avg. Nightly Rate From $125 Kura Design Villas Avg. Nightly Rate From $220 Oxygen Jungle Villas Avg. Nightly Rate From $199 Best Beaches Near National Parks Costa Rica has 28 National Parks and if you are looking for a beach in close proximity to, or even inside the park, then this is a must read. We recommend three parks: Manuel Antonio, Cahuita and Tortuguero. Each of these parks have hotels inside where can immerse yourself with natural biodiversity and the beach. Manuel Antonio is located on the central Pacific coast and about 3 hours from San Jose. Cahuita and Tortuguero happen to be on the Caribbean side and just about 4 to 6 hours from San Jose. 1. Playa Manuel Antonio The beach in Manuel Antonio is an almost surreal expression of organic beauty. There are actually two beaches in the park. The first beach is located in front of the commercial zone where you have public parking, restaurants, supermarkets and souvenir shopping. The beach is very natural white sand and the surf is ideal for the beginner, as the swells are consistent, but not much larger than six feet. The second beach is located inside the national park.manuel-antonio-beach To get there you either need to take the hike through the canopy tour from the park entrance, or you can take a boat across and enter the park from behind. It is an absolute treat to take the nature hike from the park entrance and observe the tropical forest. It is practically a surprise to walk down a slope of trail to uncover the second, mores secluded beach, inside the rainforest. Here you are also certain to share the beach with white-faced monkeys who live in the trees. Recommended Hotels In Manuel Antonio La Mariposa Hotel Avg. Nightly Rate From $175 $149 Hotel Parador Resort And Spa Avg. Nightly Rate From $380 $190 . Save 50%!!! Hotel San Bada Avg. Nightly Rate From $240 $156 . Save 35%!!! Inn On The Park Avg. Nightly Rate From $107 Hotel California - Manuel Antonio Avg. Nightly Rate From $93 Hotel Costa Verde Avg. Nightly Rate From $116 The Falls Resort at Manuel Antonio Avg. Nightly Rate From $105 Si Como No Resort, Spa and Wildlife Refuge Avg. Nightly Rate From $236 2. Playa Negra near Cahuita If you are interested in a more relaxed, Afro-Caribbean theme, go to Playa Negra near Cahuita National Park. Playa Negra is just north of the park entrance, you may also notice the blue flag at the beach which states bandera azul ecológica. This implies the beach passes the top ecological standard. This is a beach where you can take relaxing swims in it’s calm waters, or learn surfing in the gentles swells. You can also swim out to the coral reef to snorkel and capture underwater pictures of undersea marine biodiversity. Visitors which come between March and June normally will be able to watch the sea turtle nesting grounds.playa-negra-bandera-azul Recommended Hotels in Playa Negra: VIP Hotel Playa Negra Cabinas Caribe La Luna Coral Hill Bungalows 3. Playa Tortuguero Tortuguero National Park is among one of Costa Rica’s largest national parks with 46,000 acres of natural biodiversity including wetlands, mangrove forests, beaches and rainforests. It is one of Costa Rica’s most remote parks, which is only accessible by a water taxi which leaves from La Pavona on a regular basis. Once you are in the park, you can explore the park by boat, kyak or by foot. The park is an eco-tourists dream as you can observe 11 or 12 Costa Rican natural habitats.playa-tortuguero-cr Ofcourse, as the name implies, you can also see all four of six varieties of sea turtles native to Costa Rica including leatherback, loggerneck, green and hawksbill sea turtles. Recommended Hotels in Playa Tortuguero: Tortuguero Lodge and Resort El Icaco B and B Rainforest Adventure Lodge Beaches with Nightlife 1. Playa Jaco Jaco Beach has exploded in the past 15 years to become a large thriving beach town, with a nightlife that could be compared to a miniature Las Vegas. There aren’t as many neon lights or tall hotels, but the town is the life of partying, gambling and sex tourism. If you're a single adult, and looking to misbehave, you virtually have no limits. The town is also full of younger folks from the US, Canada and Europe. Most of them come to surf and party in the bars, night clubs and discos, which regularly stay open until sun rise.jaco-at-night Recommended Hotels in Playa Jaco: Hotel Poseidon Copacobana Suites (Adult) Morgan’s Cove Best Western Jaco Blue Palm Hotel Canciones Del Mar (Now Hotel Del Rey Jaco) Hotel Club Del Mar DolceLunas 2. Playa Tamarindo Playa Tamarindo is growing from being a sleepy beach town and fishing village to the a town with the third largest nightlife scene. Of course, you are still located to great eco-tourist activies and parks. The town is still renowned for surfing. But, the night time has taken on a life of its own. The night scene is not as crazy as Jaco, but there is something for everyone on just about every night of the week. Since Tamarindo is close to many other beaches and towns in Guanacaste. Frequently, there is a steady mix of travellers form outside of Tamarindo who come to town to consume and dance the night away. While some of the bars have remained rustic, some of the newer bars are more upscale with modern disco lighting systems and flat screen high definition TVs on the walls.tamarindo-at-night Recommend Hotels in Tamarindo: Tamardindo Diria Beach and Golf Resort Hotel Capitan Suizo Barcelo Langosta Beach Best Western Tamarindo Hotel Arco Iris Hotel el Jardin Eden Hotel Flores Hotel Domus Kahuna Hotel Pasatiempo Cala Luna Boutique Hotel 15 Love Bed and Breakfast Tamarindo Yam Hotel Luna Llena Hotel Pueblo Dorado Hotel Blua Blua Sunset Inn 3. Puerto Viejo Puerto Viejo boasts Costa Rica’s third largest nightlife destination. It definitely maintains a rustic, roots rock reggae beat and rhythm, with Reggae music on almost every street corner. Ten years ago, there initially were just one or two bars that would stay open past dark, currently there are probably a dozen and they feature not only Reggae. In some bars, they regularly have live music from Caribbean styled Calypso to Rhythm and Blues. puerto-viejo-reggae-band Recommended Hotels in Puerto Viejo: Hotel Cariblue La Cameleon Playa Chiquita Lodge Totem Hotel and Resort For great information on visiting beaches in Costa Rica, go to http://tipscostarica.com/best-beaches-in-costa-rica/
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