Location: between Carmen and Hermosa Beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. GPS Coordenates: 9.644389, -85.167897 (9°38’39.80″N, 85°10’04.43″W) Canton: Puntarenas District: Cóbano
Santa Teresa is a beautiful white/gold sand beach with swells that are superb all year round. Santa Teresa beach is well known for a relaxing atmosphere and good surf conditions, as it is renowned worldwide for some of the best surfing in the entire country.
Santa Teresa is an ideal beach for surfers of any level. Here, swells range from moderate to strong. While surfing conditions are excellent throughout the year due to consistent off shore winds, the best time to visit Santa Teresa beach is from May to December.’ During this time, swells at Santa Teresa beach are at their peak. However, it is important to keep in mind that inexperienced surfers should avoid trying to surf during this period.
Besides surfing, you can also practice some other activities like horseback riding, hiking, deep-sea fishing, ATV and canopy tours, as well as explore Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife since it has plenty of tropical vegetation nearby, as it so close to the Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve. Santa Teresa beach has also become known for its many excellent restaurants, all started by various chefs who have moved to the area from various other countries. Here visitors can also find a wide variety of hotels, cafes, bars and pubs to suit all budgets.
Getting to Santa Teresa Beach
From San José go to Puntarenas and then take the Ferri to Tambor or Paquera. (Tambor Ferri is the largest and most comfortable, we recommend you get to Puntarenas an hour before the ferry leaves). Go through Tambor to Cobano. In Cobano cross the village and after about 8 miles, and just before the beach, there is a junction, turn right onto Santa Teresa. This route requires a total of five hours from San Jose.
From Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), drive south through Nosara, Samara and Coyote, cross the Bongo river and continue through Manzanillo to Santa Teresa. Between Ario and Manzanillo you can continue through a stretch of beach. Make sure there is low tide and only use a 4×4 vehicle for this route. It is a very scenic trip as you go down the coast (this route exemplifies rural Costa Rica and is very beautiful). Or you can reach the junction that leads to Ario Beach and go through the mountains, this way takes longer, but it’s the official road and its use is not dependent on the tides.
By bus
Take a local bus from San Jose – Malpais – Montezuma, which takes about 5 hours (Transportes Rodriguez, 2642-0219).
By plane:
You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Tambor Airport, either with Sansa Airlines or Nature Air every day. From here you can rent a car and drive, or take a bus or taxi to Cobano and then to Santa Teresa, which is about 30 minutes.
Location: between Malpais and Santa Teresa Beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. GPS Coordenates: 9.628744,-85.150897 (9°37’43.48″N, 85°09’3.23″W) Canton: Puntarenas District: Cóbano
Carmen beach is a beautiful white sand beach with moderate to strong waves ideal for surfing. However, the force of the waves is lower than its neighboring beaches.
Carmen beach has been awarded with the “Blue Flag” which certifies the high environmental standards and safety compliance.
Besides surfing, you can also do some other activities such as horseback riding, hiking, swimming, kayaking, deep-sea fishing and ATV and canopy tours, as well as explore Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife since it has plenty of typical dry tropical forest nearby, as it is so close to the Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve, where you can spend a day hiking through nature.
Carmen beach also has a lot of options for accommodation, food and entertainment to suit all budgets.
Getting to Carmen beach
From San José go to Puntarenas and then take the Ferri to Tambor or Paquera. (Tambor Ferri is the largest and most comfortable, we recommend you get to Puntarenas an hour before the ferry leaves). Go through Tambor to Cobano. In Cobano cross the village and after about 8 km, and just before the beach, there is a junction, turn right onto Carmen. This trip requires a total of five hours from San José.
From Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), drive south through Nosara, Samara and Coyote, cross the Bongo river and continue through Manzanillo to Carmen. Between Ario and Manzanillo you can continue through a stretch of beach. Make sure the tide is low and only use a 4×4 vehicle for this route. It is a very scenic trip as you go down the coast (this route exemplifies rural Costa Rica and is very beautiful). Or you can reach the junction that leads to Ario Beach and go through the mountains, this way takes longer, but it’s an official road and its use is not dependent on the tides.
By bus
Take a local bus from the San Jose – Malpais – Montezuma route, which takes about 5 hours (Transportes Rodriguez, 2642-0219).
By plane:
You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Tambor Airport, either with Sansa Airlines or Nature Air every day. From here you can rent a car and drive, or take a bus or taxi to Cobano and then Carmen, which is about 30 minutes.
Location: between Cabo Blanco and Carmen Beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. GPS Coordenates: 9.604067,-85.141428 (9°36’14.64″N, 85°08’29.14″W) Canton: Puntarenas District: Cóbano
Malpais beach is a great place to relax and surf some great waves. This quaint beachfront village is fast becoming one of Costa Rica’s hottest tourist attractions, as well as a surfer’s paradise.
Malpais is a rocky beach with sandy stretches and is covered with pretty sea shells. With lush vegetation growing alongside the coast, this uncrowded area is prefect for those who want a peaceful and quiet vacation away from the crowds.
Malpais beach forms a very irregular and rocky shoreline, where the visitor can find secluded coves, capes, platforms, reefs, rocky sheets streching out from sandy portions of the beach and tide pools which form individual eco-systems each.
Malpais beach also offers plenty of water sports such as fishing, scuba diving, kite surfing and snorkeling, as well as horseback riding, mountain biking, quad biking, canopy tours and some great hiking trails to explore its wildlife, as it is a huge number of coastal and migratory birds that are a treat to see.
The nightlife at Malpais beach is also plenty of fun, with a wide number of bars and restaurants, as well as hotels to suit all budgets.
Getting to Malpais beach
From San José go to Puntarenas and then take the Ferri to Tambor or Paquera. (Tambor Ferri is the largest and most comfortable, we recommend you get to Puntarenas an hour before the ferry leaves). Go through Tambor to Cobano. In Cobano cross the village and after 1 km turn left to Malpais. This route requires a total of five hours from San José.
From Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), drive south through Nosara, Samara and Coyote, cross the Bongo river and continue through Manzanillo to Malpais. Between Ario and Manzanillo you can continue through a stretch of beach. Make sure the tide is low and only use a 4×4 vehicle for this route. It is a very scenic trip as you go down the coast (this route exemplifies rural Costa Rica and is very beautiful). Or you can reach the junction that leads to Ario Beach and go through the mountains, this way takes longer, but it’s the official road and its use is not dependent on the tides.
By bus
Take a local bus from San Jose – Malpais – Montezuma, which takes about 5 hours (Transportes Rodriguez, 2642-0219).
By plane:
You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Tambor Airport, either with Sansa Airlines or Nature Air every day. From here you can rent a car and drive, or take a bus or taxi to Cobano and then to Malpais, which is about 30 minutes.
