Costa Rica has a little bit of everything–from tropical rainforests, volcanoes, waterfalls and plenty of beaches. While a lot of those beaches are located in the Guanacaste Province, you’ll find them all over Costa Rica. We headed down the Pacific Coast to Playa Hermosa Puntarenas, a quaint beach town known for its surfing and black sand beach.
Where is It
First things first. There are actually several Playa Hermosa’s in Costa Rica but there are two that are a little more well known and likely the ones to get mixed up. They’re located in very different areas, so you kinda need to know which is which. One is located in the province of Guanacaste in the northwest of the country and the other is located in Puntarenas which is along the coast towards the middle of Costa Rica.
Playa Hermosa Guanacaste is a little more developed with nice condos/hotels and restaurants though it’s still a smaller beach town. It’s a great place to relax, swim, snorkel, dive, etc and is located just 30 minutes from the Liberia airport. Guanacaste is a popular area and Playa Hermosa is pretty accessible and has a better swimming beach.
Playa Hermosa Puntarenas is a small beach town and a great place to catch some waves or relax on the black sand beach. It takes a little more time to get to and the town isn’t as developed, but it does have something the other does not: world class surfing.
How to Get There
Playa Hermosa Puntarenas is located about 1 hour 45 minutes southwest of the capital, San José. It’s located just below another popular beach town, Jaco. The main route from San José will take you west, then along the coast to three beach towns that are right next to each other: Playa Herradura, Jaco, and finally Playa Hermosa.
By Car: The best way to get there is to rent a car and drive. Then you can explore the area at your leisure.
By Bus: The cheapest way to get to Playa Hermosa is by bus. The bus leaves from the San José Tracopa Terminal in the center of town and goes directly to Playa Hermosa and costs around $10 or less. Or you can take the bus from the airport to La Sabana, where you’ll change buses to the San José stop, then walk 10 minutes to the San José Tracopa Terminal.
By Shuttle: There is a shuttle available that takes approximately two hours and leaves at 8:00am or 3:00pm from the airport. You’ll be traveling in a private van which costs about $55.
Getting Around
Playa Hermosa is a pretty small town and unlike the other two nearby beach towns, the main road runs right through the middle of it. If you’ve rented a car, getting around means pulling back out onto the main road, driving along for 1-2 minutes and then pulling off again. Most of the restaurants and places to stay are along the main road but if you continue along the beach road, you’ll come across additional accommodation.
To visit Jaco and Herradura, you simply get back on the main road for a 10 minute drive into Jaco or a 20 minute drive into Playa Herradura. If you haven’t rented a car, you can easily take a bus or taxi between the towns. And because of how small Playa Hermosa is, you can walk to a lot of places.
Best Time to Go
The rainy season in Costa Rica runs from May to November. Generally, most people think the best time to visit Costa Rica is in months where it isn’t raining as much. We ended up going in August and while we had some rain, it was mostly afternoon showers that filtered out by sunset.
Things to Do in Playa Hermosa Puntarenas
Relax on the Beach
The beach at Playa Hermosa is one of Costa Rica’s black sand beaches. It’s a long stretch of sand with a cluster of rocks at the north end. The color of the sand can appear darker or lighter depending on the weather and how much rain there is. Since we visited during rainy season, there were often afternoon showers and the sand was pretty black when we were there.
While the beach is really pretty, it’s not a good swimming beach. The water is rough and the waves can be pretty tall. Unless you’re a surfer, you probably won’t be in the water much if at all. But regardless, we enjoyed walking up and down the beach every day to watch the surfers, look for parrots and watch the sunset.
Surf
Playa Hermosa is known for its beach breaks and most of its tourism revolves around surfing. Every year in August, Playa Hermosa hosts the Quicksilver International Surfing Championship and it also became Central America’s first World Surfing Reserve.
You’ll find beach breaks year round here though the spring and summer is said to have the best swells for surfing. This area is best suited for advanced surfers as the waves can get pretty big. If you’re just starting out, you can head up the road to Jaco instead where the waves are smaller.
Regardless if you partake or not, it’s a great spot to watch surfers in action. We saw more people head here around sunset and several would congregate at Vida Hermosa–a restaurant on the sand–where you can sit outside and watch.
Bird Watching
Costa Rica is full of tropical birds and it’s especially exciting seeing them in their natural habitat. While we traveled all over Costa Rica, we didn’t see as many tropical birds as we did in Playa Hermosa Puntarenas. That’s probably due to the fact that we were there for a whole week and had many opportunities to look for them.
We saw scarlet macaws every morning as we walked along the beach. You can hear them before you see them–their loud squawks and rustling in the trees makes them pretty easy to spot. They’re an endangered species and are mostly seen in the lowland tropical forests on the Pacific Coast.
One thing I discovered was just how hard it is to photograph birds. I had a telephoto lens and a tripod, but parrots especially are active and ornery. They seemed to play fight in the mornings and were constantly moving or eating. But I loved going out and looking for them.
And…
As you can see, there isn’t a whole lot to do here, activity wise. So why’d we stay here if we don’t surf? We had about a week where we were in Costa Rica but still had to work.
Before taking off for about 10 days in Costa Rica, we decided to stay somewhere and work remotely. At first we considered just staying in San José but instead we looked for a close beach town to the capital.
We wanted a quiet beach town and found exactly that. If you’re looking for entertainment and lots of things to do–this might not be your place.
Working Remotely
Playa Hermosa was a great place to stay and work remotely, and we loved being there, so here’s what our week looked like:
We chose an Airbnb that was located about a minutes walk from the beach and right next door to a cafe. The town itself is really small so even though we were located a little towards the end of town, nothing was that far away.
A day in Playa Hermosa Puntarenas
Since we live on the East Coast, we were two hours behind in Playa Hermosa Costa Rica (during Daylight Savings). We started our days pretty early by heading to the pathway behind our Airbnb and walking the minute or so down the dirt path to the beach. We’d walk along the beach when the sun was coming up and look for parrots in the trees.
Then we’d come back, make breakfast and get started with work. Wifi in the town is decent, though we did have it go off about 2-3 times during the week. Only once did the wifi not come back on immediately, so we walked down the beach to a hotel and sat at their restaurant to finish the work day.
For lunch we’d walk over to one of the nearby cafes or lunch spots, then head back to work. Since we were there during the rainy season, it often rained in the afternoon and then tapered off by the time we were done working.
Our work day ended at 3pm, so we’d either go to one of the other nearby beach towns to explore or head back to the beach to hang out and watch the surfers.
Then we’d walk down the beach to Vida Hermosa for happy hour–a restaurant and bar that’s on the sand. Also a popular spot for surfers to hang out. Then we’d walk back along the beach to head home to make dinner.
If you noticed a common denominator, it’s that we walked a lot. This is a town where you can walk to a lot of places, either along the road or on the beach. It was a very chill and relaxing week.
Restaurants:
The restaurants in Playa Hermosa definitely have a beachy, laidback vibe. There’s a smoothie spot with fresh fruits, a pizza shop under a thatched roof and several cute restaurants and cafes.
Some places to check out:
- Vida Hermosa – Local cuisine + seafood
- Cafe Bohio – Coffe + sandwiches
- Sunny’s Bowls – Smoothie bowls + salads + toasts
- Pizza Pata – Pizza
- Vista Hermosa – Seafood + International
- Bowie’s Point – Local cuisine + seafood
Where to Stay
There aren’t many places to stay in the area and you also need to be aware of the location if you’re searching online. There’s another Playa Hermosa near Uvita, so make sure you’re searching the right one.
Though there are a handful of boutique hotels along the beach, it looked as if many of them were shuttered. We opted for an AirBNB instead and loved the location. The good thing is that no matter where you stay in Playa Hermosa, you won’t be far from the beach.
Things to Know
- Playa Hermosa Puntarenas is a sleepy surf town. If you’re looking for excitement, parties, lots of things to do–this probably won’t be your pace.
- The beach is not a good swimming/snorkeling beach.
- Surfing here is recommended for advanced/expert surfers.
What’s Nearby
Jaco
Jaco is a little more well-known and has a lot more going on than Playa Hermosa. As it’s one of the closest beaches to San Jose, it’s a popular spot for surfing, relaxing and nightlife. There are plenty of restaurants and bars if you’re looking for entertainment but it has gotten a somewhat seedy reputation for being a party town.
The beach at Jaco was interesting– it was half sand, half pebbles. It wouldn’t be too enjoyable in some areas unless you had water shoes, but up by the chairs was more sandy. It did seem a little more calmer for swimming though you still need to be cautious of rip tides.
Since it’s only 10 minutes up the road from Playa Hermosa, it’s easy to explore. We drove up here for groceries, dinner and to walk around the town, but we actually preferred the quietness of Playa Hermosa. Jaco is definitely more crowded and busy.
Playa Heradurra
Just north of Jaco is another small beach town, Playa Herradura. Of the three beach towns, this one was the nicest in terms of high-end accommodations. There were lots of nice neighborhoods, gated resorts and condos on the drive to the beach. The beach area here is smaller and more accessible than Playa Hermosa with parking right near the palm trees with restaurants lining the road opposite.
Manuel Antonio National Park
One of Costa Rica’s most popular national parks is located just south of Playa Hermosa. Manuel Antonio National Park is about an hour down the road near the town of Quepos and is one of Costa Rica’s most visited national parks. It has a little bit of everything: rainforests, beautiful beaches, trails and lots of wildlife.
Is Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica worth visiting? Though we don’t surf, the black sand beach is beautiful. The slow pace may not be for everyone, but if you want a quiet beach town, this is a beautiful spot to enjoy.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Playa Hermosa looks like a dream! I was in Costa Rica years ago, but another visit is definitely overdue.
Costa Rica has been on my mind lately to research for a possible trip. This makes me want to go, especially to the beaches.
I stayed in Santa Teresa, CR which is a big surfing town also located on the west coast. I remember our bus stopped at Playa Hermosa. It is a wonderful part of the country but a pain to visit if you fly into San Jose airport.