"Best Beaches in Costa Rica," How Do I Even Answer That?

One of the questions I get the most is, what is your favorite beach, usually as an attempt for me to recommend one.

When I think about this one, I have to laugh a bit, thinking to myself about the number of favorite beaches I have had in my life.

Playa Grande, and a sunrise I did not believe

I think the first one was Playa Grande, in Guanacaste. It was so far away from San Jose, where I lived, at least a six hour car trip. I remember getting there close to midnight, to a questionable hostel that was not particularly nice.

Then the next morning came.

I had talked with my partner back then about going to see the sunrise early in the morning. I honestly could not believe my eyes. The most incredible shades of purple, red and yellow I could imagine. The beach was so long it felt endless, hence the name, and the sand was so white and pure that the spectacle in the sky was reflecting on the ground, doubling the awe factor.

I walked for around three hours from end to end, in an experience that was so humbling, as the sense of serenity just started hitting me. A beach so big it felt completely like it was just for yourself.

That day, Playa Grande became my favorite beach. That is, until I went to Playa Uvita, in Puntarenas.

Playa Uvita, a beach that felt alive

I was there for my partner's birthday. We went for a three day long weekend. The first thing I remember was being received by such a dense forest that felt so raw, like a break from day to day life, from quotidian life.

After crossing the forest, getting to a beach as immense as Playa Grande, but unlike that one, this one felt so alive. The influx of crabs, the surge of pelicans that came with it, the abundance of fish in the pristine water, and of course the tail of the whale, the rocky formation that gives the National Park its name.

It was so extraordinary that I started looking for a place to rent and soon after I moved there for a couple of months, so that I could experience it firsthand every day. This became my favorite beach. That was, until I visited Bahía Drake.

Bahía Drake, a place from a different time

I wanted to go to Corcovado, so I made a trip to Puerto Jiménez, from where I started the trip to this National Park. I loved the park itself, but also ended it with a small, unplanned detour to Bahía Drake.

The town felt like it was from a different time. I was told electricity had only arrived in 2016, and you could definitely tell. It was a place so uncommunicated that it took me two hours on a very inhospitable road to get there. And once there, there did not seem to be a ton of things going on other than a harbor and many fishermen.

But then I started walking, and the closest thing to paradise appeared in front of me. These were actually many, many small beaches that you get to know by undertaking an incredible hike along the coast. You get the most scenic scenarios for 20 to 30 minutes before stumbling upon the next hidden gem of a beach: small, cozy, private. And this was the pattern for hours and hours.

I was so impacted by it that I started looking for land in the area, telling myself, this is where you want to live the rest of your life.

A cemetery that changed my view of life

After this experience, I thought I was settled on my favorite beach, until a completely unexpected one changed my view of life. During a trip to Santa Teresa and Montezuma, beautiful beaches for sure and very popular as well, I came across Cabuya Island Cemetery.

I could not understand it myself at the moment. It was not as aesthetically beautiful as any of the others I am describing here, and it was a cemetery at the end of the day. But looking at this place, which could only be reached at low tide, this sense of peacefulness, of a somewhat sacred place surrounded by beautiful sights, just hit me differently.

It was an experience that felt like being in front of your own mortality, having to embrace it, but also feeling it as part of a wholeness, nature itself. No beach had ever made me feel this way. It felt very deep, very intimate.

So which one is the best?

At this point I cannot even say which one is my favorite beach, to be honest. But the more I think about it, does it even matter?

Each of these places added something to my life, a deeper understanding of myself, of what moved me, what I was looking for in life, and even making peace with eternity. They are all valuable memories that add to the person I am today.

If I get the question today, honestly, all I can say is, you would just have to experience it yourself. And that would come with a deep desire that they touch you as deeply as they touched me.

Enjoy your trip. Make it worthwhile.