Ultimate beach vacation in Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica. The park has trails through coastal jungles, lookout points, plenty of wildlife, splendid swimming beaches, beach sports, and great snorkeling. World-class sport fishing, sea kayaking, river rafting, horseback riding and other outdoor adventures, fine dining and entertainment options abound in the attractive beach resort area of Quepos and Manuel Antonio... and that's just TWO of many beaches!

The ONLY bad thing is that there's too much to do in just one trip!

Beach Areas by Location (click on the heading for more information)

Dominical
The once quiet fishing village of DOMINICAL , 44km south of Quepos, was until quite recently largely undiscovered, though since the paving of the road here it has seen increasing numbers of foreign visitors, lured by the beauty of the surroundings, the romantic sunsets and the get-away-from-it-all atmosphere. Wide and long, the palm-fringed, dark-sand beach is postcard-pretty, though often deserted except when surfers flock to chase the big waves. Snorkelling is good here, too, and there are a couple of pretty waterfalls nearby. Though it seems poised to become the country's next Manuel Antonio, development remains - for the time being at least - relatively low-key
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Montezuma
The popular beach resort of MONTEZUMA lies some 25km southwest of Paquera, near the southwestern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Some twenty-five years ago a handful of foreigners fell in love with the place and settled here. Then it was just a fishing village, largely cut off from the rest of the country; nowadays it's definitely been discovered: lights twinkle, and music pours out of restaurants and bars peopled by tatooed boys and batik-clad girls
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Playa del Coco
Thirty-five kilometres west of Liberia, with good road connections, Playa del Coco was the first Pacific beach to hit the big time with weekending Costa Ricans from the Valle Central. Its accessibility, budget accommodation and good restaurants make it a useful place for a couple of days' jaunt or, if you have a car, as a base to explore the better beaches nearby
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Playa Jaco
The best thing you can say about PLAYA JACУ is that it's the closest beach to San Josй. Just three hours (102km) from the capital, it attracts a mix of surfers, weekenders and holidaying Ticos, from party-hearty students to working-class families
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Puerto Limon
Generally speaking, tourists come to Limon for one of three reasons: to get a boat to Tortuguero from Moнn, to get a bus south to the beach towns of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, or to join the annual Carnaval-like celebration of El Dнa de la Raza (Columbus Day) during the week preceding October 12
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Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
It's surfing that really pulls the crowds; the stretch south of Stanford's restaurant at the southern end of the village offers some of the most challenging waves in the country, and certainly the best on the Atlantic coast. Puerto Viejo's famous " La Salsa Brava " crashes ashore between December and March and from June to July
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Quepos
Vegetation is thicker and greener than up north, and you'll notice the proliferation of sports-fishing imagery - of all the sports-fishing grounds in Costa Rica, the Quepos area has the most variety, and many small tour agencies cater more or less exclusively to sports-fishers
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Samara
For sheer size, and for safety for swimming, SБMARA , 30km southwest of Nicoya, is probably the best beach in Costa Rica, especially now that local residents and visitors have tackled the litter problem that once plagued its wide, flat sands. The waves break on a reef about a kilometre out, so the water near the shore is actually quite calm
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Tamarindo
Stretching for a couple of kilometres over a series of rocky headlands, Playa Tamarindo is one of the most popular beaches in Guanacaste, attracting surfers and weekending Costa Ricans. TAMARINDO village, which has a sizeable foreign community, boasts a great selection of restaurants, a lively beach culture and some nightlife, at least during high-season
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