Many tourists who are fortunate enough to visit Costa Rica, call it the most beautiful country on the planet. And it should be noted that there are grounds for this bold statement. In this country there are noisy waterfalls, exotic beaches with black sand, a huge number of national parks, mountain ranges covered with the rarest “rain” and “cloud” forests, well and further down the list. Doesn't this look like a haven for travelers? Let's see which Costa Rica's beaches are the best and how they look.
Bahia Culebra (Bahia Culebra)
If you come to rest in Costa Rica, you can head to the province of Guanacaste.
On the Pacific coast, in the extreme northwestern parts of Costa Rica, there is a huge bay called Golfo de Papagayo. Baia Culeba is located in a small bay in the interior of the bay. The peculiarity of the area is that the sea surface is always calm. Here, according to tourists, you will find several small but picturesque beaches with very clear water and beige sand. Thick equatorial forests surround the bay. In the dry season, many plants drop leaves here.
Playa del Coco (Playa del Coco)
And again we return to the province of Guanacaste. Not far from Playa Hermosa, in the northwest of Costa Rica is Playa del Coco. As elsewhere on the Costa Rica coast, the beach is clean, with sand of dark beige color with brown nuances.
Despite the fact that Playa del Coco is located in a rather lively tourist region, it looks quite wild. In addition to the numerous villas and hotels that travelers love, this place is also the center of attention in the real estate business. It is far from a secret that the Pacific shores have always been an attractive place to live, and Playa del Coco is no exception.
Playa Hermosa (Playa Hermosa)
It turns out that the province of Guanacaste can offer a great choice for a beach holiday in Costa Rica. Very close to Bayi Culebra is another beach, Playa Hermosa. It is located on a peninsula between two hills and over a total length of about 1.3 kilometers and boasts beige sand with a slight ash tint.
Bahia Hermosa is considered one of the busiest beaches in Costa Rica. The reason is that it is a very developed tourist area with many small hotels and villas. According to reviews, here you can not only enjoy your vacation, but also have fun.
Playa Matapalo (Playa Matapalo)
This amazing beach is located in the province of Puntarenas. A forest of coconut palms that grow near the shore, waves, endless stripes of sea foam washing cinnamon-colored sand - all this magnificence, judging by the reviews, attracts connoisseurs of pure nature and tranquility from around the world.
The beach is located on the Pacific coast and there are no large settlements in the vicinity. Sometimes Playa Matapalo looks such a secluded place that it begins to seem to you that you are the first and only person who has ever been to this beach.
Playa-la-Penca (Playa la Penca)
The province of Guanacaste again offers us a great option for a holiday. Playa la Penca is a beautiful beach where the beige-golden sand has an exceptionally attractive view against the backdrop of the bright sun. Located in the northwestern part of Costa Rica, the beach with its beautiful surroundings is a good place to relax. Although, despite the abundance of tourists, there is little chance to be there alone and enjoy the endless blue sea. According to reviews, this is the best option for a romantic trip.
Playa-Negra (Playa Negra)
Playa Negra is one of the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica, the photo of which, by the way, does not quite match its name. It is also located in the northwestern part of the country and is located on the Pacific coast.
Contrary to the name, the sand here is not dark, but rather rather light with nuances of a golden hue. Sometimes large waves form here, so the place is great for surfers. Lush subequatorial plants grow in the region, which, however, are much inferior to the rain jungle of the Caribbean coast.
Playa-Santa-Teresa (Playa Santa Teresa)
This Costa Rica beach can be found in the province of Puntarenas, it is located on the Nikoya Peninsula in the most southwestern part and has a wide and long beach strip with fine light beige sand. Depending on the weather, the ocean here is either calm and looks like a mirror surface, or striking with huge waves. Fans of surfing can find application in such weather: in this case, the beach becomes the perfect place for this sport. A lush tropical forest approaches the beach itself, and the Malpays village is nearby.
Playa Blanka / Flamingo (Playa Blanca / Flamingo)
One of the most beautiful white sand beaches of Costa Rica is Playa Blanca, or Playa Flamingo, which is located on the northwest shores. The beauty of this place definitely cannot be described in words. Snow-white sands are gradually moving from clean Pacific waters. Often the sea is calm here, which looks very tempting in conditions of high temperatures of Costa Rica. Dense subequatorial vegetation grows on the beach, greening in the rainy season and thereby turning into the real jungle.
Playa Tortuguero (Playa Tortuguero)
One of the most beautiful and longest beach stripes on Costa Rica can be found in the province of Limon on the Caribbean Sea - the wild Tortuguero beach. It is part of the National Park, which is an equatorial jungle. The color of sand here varies from brown to light beige.
This beach strip is one of the most important places in Costa Rica, because here sea turtles go to lay eggs.
Punta Uva (Playa Punta Uva)
On the southeastern coast of Costa Rica in the province of Limon lies the beach of Punta Uva, considered the most beautiful place within this tropical exotic country. Fabulously beautiful wild beaches with golden shades of sand spread out around the peninsula, covered with rainforest. According to reviews, this is also one of the best places where you can swim among the luxury coral reefs of the Caribbean.
Playa Manzanillo (Playa Manzanillo)
This Costa Rica beach has the most typical Caribbean view and is located north of Playa Gandoca in the province of Limon. The sand here is light, soft beige and golden. A rainforest grows at the edge of the beach, and coconut palms hang over the coast. Like many Costa Rican beaches, this one is also unguarded and wild, and the branches thrown on the coast by tropical winds remain there until the next storm, until it takes them to the sea.
Playa Gandoca (Playa Gandoka)
This Costa Rica beach is located in its southeastern part, directly on the border with Panama. Located on the Caribbean, it has a dark ash color. The area is almost deserted, except for a couple of small villages. The dense equatorial jungle covers the surroundings of Playa Gandok.
Playa Conchal (Playa Conchal)
As you already understood, beach tourism in Costa Rica is very developed. For example, according to reviews, on the Nikaya Peninsula, in the northwestern part there is one more of the most beautiful beaches that a tourist could find on the Pacific coast. The waters of the sea are transparent and clean, and the sand is ivory. Dense vegetation of the subequatorial climate grows right next to the beach, dropping its leaves in the dry season.
According to local authorities, this is one of the cleanest places in the coastal areas in Costa Rica.
Bahia Junquillal (Bahia Hunkilal)
Bahia Hunkilal is an exceptionally beautiful and small bay on the Pacific coast. It is located in the northwestern part of Costa Rica, about ten kilometers from the borders with Nicaragua. The bay attracts tourists with its sandy light beige beaches.
The surrounding area is great for camping, and green lovers can enjoy the sub-equatorial forest. Many trees here drop their leaves during the dry season, and make the place unrecognizable at different times of the year.
Playa Carrillo (Playa Carillo)
At Playa Carillo, you can spend an excellent holiday alone. The ideal temperature in combination with an abundance of sunlight is a great addition to the white beach, just a glance at which tourists will breathe. Sea waves provide good conditions for swimming, as they are very calm. This beach, according to residents, is one of the cleanest in the country, and therefore throughout the world.
Ballena Bay (Bahia Ballena Bay)
Baia Ballena Whale Bay is one of Costa Rica's most famous beach resorts, famous for its lush tropical greenery, huge sandy beaches and humpback whales swimming close to the coast. According to reviews, a vacation in Costa Rica here is one of the best options. This place is attractive for lovers of sports fishing, surfing, kayaking and diving. The sandy shore, which overlooks the ocean with a huge forked cape, resembles a large tail of a whale.
Costa Rica's Bahia Ballena Beach is part of the Ballena Marine National Park, a major natural attraction in the area. Named after the humpback whales migrating to this place from August to October, the marine park offers tourists the opportunity to explore coral reefs, mangroves and the sea coast.
The park is about 110 hectares of coastline and more than 5300 hectares of the Pacific, and also serves as a good place for laying eggs for sea turtles. Bissa and olive turtles nesting here from May to November are also endangered. This reserve was created to preserve the fragile marine ecosystem and the natural habitat of marine animals (bottlenose dolphins, sea hares, turtles) and fish.
The pearl of the national park was the humpback whale, annually sailing from December to April and from August to November to the Costa Rica coast during the mating season. These sea giants can reach 16-18 meters, and a meeting with them will leave an unforgettable impression!
Numerous tourists flock to the wonderful sandy beaches of Bahia Ballena all year round to watch live on Whale Bay. Travelers feel safe, as the beach strip is protected from strong waves by small islands and coral reefs.
Mangroves adjacent to the coast give a lot of opportunities for enthusiastic people to watch birds. In the thicket, an attentive traveler will find nests of large blue herons, cormorants, waders, gulls, white ibises, frigates, pelicans and some species of terns.
Judging by numerous reviews, all the conditions for comfortable accommodation of tourists who wish to visit Costa Rica are created on the coast. If desired, travelers can stay in luxury hotels near the beaches, cheap apartments or in small eco-hotels. The territory of the national park is open daily from 6:00 to 18:00.