The Beach Guide: My Favorite Beaches in Costa Rica

Being the water nymph that I am, I spend several days a week in the water – either in the pool here in San Isidro, or on one of the beautiful beaches along the coast of Costa Rica.

In the first five weeks, I’ve managed to visit six different beaches. Even though they’re all in the same country, there are some differences between them. Let me welcome you to Costa Rica’s 2026 beach guide!

Playa Uvita is part of the Marino Ballena National Park, which from above looks like a whale’s tail. It costs about 50 Norwegian kroner to enter the park.

The beach is incredibly beautiful, with palm trees and soft sand. It is located in the town of Uvita, where you can also go whale watching.

Otherwise, we felt the town around was a bit too quiet, which pulls the experience down a little. It’s easy to get here from San Isidro, since there’s a direct bus that takes an hour and a half each way.

Santa Teresa is perhaps the most famous beach in the entire country, and surfers from all over the world travel far to visit it. They have good reason to, because the conditions are very good for surfing.

In addition to that, the sunset on the beach is absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, it’s a bit complicated to get here from the university town on your own. You have to take a bus, a ferry, and then a bus again.

Fortunately, Kulturstudier arranged transport for us one weekend. The only downside to this beach is that at high tide it can be hard to see all the rocks under the water, so it’s easy to scrape yourself up.

Dominical is the closest beach for those of us who live in San Isidro. It takes a little over an hour by bus or 45 minutes by car.

The trick here is that the nicest part of the beach is a bit of a walk from the main entrance. If you walk about one kilometer in the direction of Dominicalito, you’ll end up on a beautiful beach with warm, pleasant water.

There are also good surfing opportunities here, even though the waves can often be quite large. All the many pleasant eateries around the town are also a big plus.

This beach is a 30-minute drive from Santa Teresa, and the trip is absolutely worth it. It was quieter here than at Playa Santa Teresa, the water was crystal clear and the sand was fine.

You can also find shade under the palm trees. In addition, you can swim in the tidal pools if you need a break from the waves.

There is no mobile coverage on the beach, so it’s important to plan your transport home and anything else that requires coverage in advance.

From this beach you have a view of Manuel Antonio National Park. You can get here by taking a bus for about 15 minutes from Quepos.

The beach is lovely, with the clearest water I’ve seen in the country. It’s more crowded here than at the others I’ve mentioned, which you can tell from the number of beach vendors. From them you can buy everything from jewelry to juice. There are also many restaurants and shops nearby.

To get to this beach, you have to walk for thirty minutes through the jungle.

The trail is clear and relatively easy to walk, so the hike is suitable for most people (I recommend leaving the flip-flops at home – speaking from experience).

Along the way we saw monkeys, iguanas and toucans. I would say the beach is one of the finest in the country, and I have nothing to complain about! As long as you remember to bring enough water and food, this makes for a really nice day trip.