We found excellent beaches in Costa Rica, but if we had to say which are the best, without a doubt it would be the beaches of Manuel Antonio.
At least for us, the great vegetation, the number of animals and the much more transparent and warm water than the others made us think that.
But as I always say, it does not mean that it is the same for everyone. Some will be bothered by animals or prefer colder water or no people at all.
In Manuel Antonio we can find good beaches both within the National Park and outside of it.
We said that the best was Playa Blanca but it is still isolated, here they are all very beautiful.
Inside the Manuel Antonio National Park
To access them you have to pay the entrance fee to the Manuel Antonio National Park. At the same time, the hours are limited to the closure of the park, so you will never be able to see a sunset from there, for example. Another drawback is that they will not be able to leave the park.
Therefore, anything you want to buy will have to be brought beforehand. And if they forgot something at the hotel, you went. Maybe they’ll let you leave and come back in, we didn’t try it. But the path to the beaches is quite long.
Within the park we find 3 beaches and for us only 2 are the most beautiful to spend the day. What you have to take into account not only on this beach but on all the beaches in Costa Rica, is how quickly the tide begins to rise. Suddenly your things are underwater and you didn’t realize it. We say it from experience!!!
Espadilla Sur Beach: one of the best beaches in Costa Rica
Espadilla Sur Beach was the first one we visited once we finished touring the Manuel Antonio National Park. It was the one we liked the most because it was the quietest, the monkeys don’t bother us as much and it is more sheltered from the wind.
This beach borders the northern espadilla, separated by some rocks. I was wondering if you can go to the park without paying for these rocks. Don’t try it and I’m not saying you should, but I understand that beach access should not be restricted.
In itself, I found some signs at the access to the beach coming from the park where it said that they could request your entry and a document proving your identity.
They never asked us for anything but it may be that there is this clarification given the possibility that it can be accessed from the north espadilla.
On this beach there is no place to shop, only some bathrooms with showers that are used to clean yourself a little before leaving.
The vegetation is beautiful and you can see iguanas, some monkeys from time to time and raccoons. When the tide starts to rise the beach almost disappears so be careful.
Manuel Antonio Beach
One of the most chosen by tourism and for which we only took a dip and went to the south espadilla. I think it is the one that is chosen the most because it is where the most people arrive directly and many end their journey there.
In addition to the bathrooms there are some tables to eat and it is closer to the restaurant to buy food.
Since there are more people and more food, there are more monkeys. That is another negative point since when they approach you cannot be calm thinking that they are going to take anything from you. We in the espadrilles were fine, except for 10 minutes where a monkey insisted on a can of Pringles. He was hanging around upstairs until we threw it away.
Another negative point is that there are some stones to enter or at least in the place where we went to enter. The good thing is that the beaches are quite wide and you will never see them crowded with people.
Gemelas Beach
Walking from Playa Manuel Antonio and passing the restaurant we find Playa Twines. You have to walk a lot, it is super quiet because only groups with guides go. The bad thing is that it is full of stones and it is not at all comfortable to get into.
Now if what you are looking for is to be alone, it is undoubtedly the best beach. In this place we found some iguanas, which were the largest we saw in the park.
hidden port
Before entering the park we had read that the beaches of Puerto Escondido were the best. However, after walking a lot and in terrible heat, we were surprised that it could not be accessed. You have to pass twin beaches and walk quite a bit with ups and downs.
Today it only works as a viewpoint or at least in March when we were there. It’s a nice place to take photos but I don’t know if it’s worth the effort. So if you are looking for a beach, ask first if the access stairs to the beach are enabled.
Outside Manuel Antonio National Park
Outside the park we also find beautiful beaches. The best known is the northern espadilla, which is close to the park but outside of it.
North Espadilla Beach
Being publicly accessible, it is obviously the most popular. You will find more umbrellas places to eat. And it is the beach chosen by surfers since there are more waves. We did not enjoy this beach much since we preferred to go to others that were nearby but where there were not so many people.
Biezans Beach
It used to be the hidden gem, but I’m sorry to tell you it’s not anymore. There are lounge chairs for rent, and the beach gets quite crowded.
If the tide is low you can escape to the little beaches that are next door but keep in mind that if the tide goes up and you have bags, you will be complicated.
It is a nice beach for snorkeling, super transparent and it is a swimming pool. There are signs that indicate how to get to the beach, one of the reasons why it is no longer so secret. We arrive with GPS.
We parked on the street, they charged us 2000 colones to take care of it. As we were leaving we had the chance to hear a howler monkey. wow!! They don’t know what that is, incredible that such a small monkey sounds like a gorilla.