Costa Rica has a lot of great beaches, hundreds of them all distributed along three different provinces and two coasts. You can surf, swim and enjoy the true beach life you’ve always dreamed of.
The province of Limon is the home of the Caribbean coast, full of astonishingly beautiful beaches, some great for surfing, others calm enough for snorkeling or paddle boarding, and vibrant towns full of music and culture. The province of Puntarenas is the longest in the country, with great surf towns such as Santa Teresa, or the biggest coastal town in the country which is Jaco. Guanacaste province is Costa Rica’s hot spot, where most expats buy property, and where development is growing year after year. It’s on the Pacific coast and has from surf towns to still rather unexplored beaches.
With all that information in mind you might ask yourself, what is the safest beach in Costa Rica? Well, we broke it down into two types: safe as in safety from crime, and safe for swimming.
Keep in mind you will find a lot of information online from other sites and blogs listing random beaches they’ve probably never heard of. This is an article written by a Costa Rican who has lived his whole life here, who knows most coastal towns and has been to the hidden gems. Sure, we’ll mention some of the most popular places since that’s where you might be interested in, but we’ll mention some you haven’t even heard of. Let’s go.
Safe Beaches In Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas
Manuel Antonio Beach in Costa Rica is perhaps the most famous beach and beach town in the country. Home to the most popular national park we have, this place is broken down into different beaches both inside the park and right outside of it. They’re not surfing beaches, which makes them great for swimming, but it’s also a very safe town to be in. Almost no crime, safe to walk at any time of the day or night, and all the amenities you need.
Now let’s take a deeper look at why Manuel Antonio is safe:
– Top Tourist Destination: Manuel Antonio is a popular tourist destination, as such, the area is well-policed and monitored to ensure the safety of tourists.
– National Park: Given it’s a top national park, police and the authorities protect the area, which contributes to its safety.
– Limited Access: The town, its beaches and surrounding areas are relatively secluded and accessible primarily through only one road.
– Tourist Services: The presence of tourist services such as lifeguards, tour guides, and security personnel further enhances safety on Manuel Antonio Beach.
That said, Petty crime is a reality in Costa Rica, and if you leave things unwatched at the beach, they can get stolen. It’s a reality.
Playa Carrillo, Samara & Playa Camaronal, Guanacaste
Playa Camaronal is a beautiful beach, also home for a national park reserve, right next to Playa Carrillo and the town of Samara. All three areas are considered very safe to live in, and Samara and Carrillo are great for swimming, but we’ll look at them later.
Why is this area safe?
– National Park Reserve: Playa Camaronal is a national reserve, which means there are park rangers there, and it has a limited access, which makes it much safer.
– Tourist Destination: The Playa Samara town is a popular tourist destination in the country, with shops, restaurants and a lively, yet controlled night life.
– Engaged Community: The local community of both Carrillo and Samara are very engaged in local activities as well as keeping the town and beach clean. Not for nothing both beaches are some of the most popular amongst Costa Ricans, they are great.
Playa Negra, Guanacaste
The small town of Playa Negra in Guanacaste has become one of the most popular places for expats to invest in the recent years. Close to Tamarindo, yet far away enough to remain a quiet and peaceful place to live, it has attracted locals and foreigners and become a nice town.
– Engaged Community: Playa Negra is a small surf town, with some nice properties and houses, with a really, really engaged community. The Hotel Playa Negra management does a fantastic job of keeping the beach clean as well as making sure it’s safe. Owners of local restaurants and ship are also involved in maintaining the town’s safety.
– Quiet Night Life: The fact that Playa Negra has barely any night life, filters out all sorts of people and company you don’t want. Sure, the town has some great and famous restaurants to dine in, as well as a couple of bars, but it doesn’t have clubs or a busy night life. It’s mostly residential, and as such, very safe.
– Mostly Locals: Playa Negra remains a very local town. By local we mean Costa Ricans and some expats that have formally transferred there to live. As such, it doesn’t have many tourists, which in a way can be good as it avoids petty criminals coming into town. It’s safe to walk at night (despite the limited sidewalks), and very safe during the day even if you’re at the beach.
Bahia Ballena & Uvita, Puntarenas
Bahia Ballena is perhaps the most beautiful beach in the country, with literal a sand formation that looks like a whale’s tail. The town is actually Uvita, still rural, still small, but growing. Plus, it’s the home of some of the most luxurious hotels in the country.
What makes it safe?
– Luxury Tourist Destination: This area is home of some of the top and most luxurious hotels in Costa Rica and Central America. As such, most of the town revolves around this industry, which helps keep it very, very safe.
– National Park: Bahia Ballena is a national park and reserve, full of local rangers, police and authorities, which keep the beach extremely safe and clean, as well as the town.
– Engaged Community: We’ve repeated this over and over, but depending on the town you can get an engaged community or not. Uvita’s is. They work together to keep their beaches clean and safe, as well as take care of their natural beauties such as forests and rivers and waterfalls. As a result, they care about eco-tourism and a safe environment.
– Secluded: Uvita is very far away from most cities. It takes long to drive there, it’s secluded. This reduces crime and increases safety a lot!
Playa Flamingo, Guanacaste
Playa Flamingo recently opened a marina, attracting a lot of locals, tourism, and expats. It’s a beautiful white sand beach, with a chilled ocean to swim in, and nice trendy shops and restaurants. It’s considered very safe, let’s see why:
– Top Tourist Destination: Playa Flamingo is a popular tourist destination, known for its stunning beaches, luxury resorts, and the new marina. As such, it receives significant attention from local authorities and law enforcement to ensure the safety of visitors.
– Well-Maintained Infrastructure: The area around Playa Flamingo is well-developed with modern infrastructure, including hotels, restaurants, and recreational facilities. This typically results in a higher level of security and safety for tourists.
– Tourist Services: Just like in Manuel Antonio Beach, Playa Flamingo offers various tourist services such as lifeguards, tour guides, and security personnel. These services help ensure the safety of visitors and provide assistance in case of emergencies.
Safest Beaches For Swimming In Costa Rica
As we said before, Costa Rica has hundreds of beaches, some are safe to swim in for beginners, some are definitely not. Costa Rica has a oot of rip currents, and if you end up in thw ring place, it can be dangerous. As such, you must be careful. Here’s a list of some of the best and safest beaches for swimming in Costa Rica and why!
Playa Bahia Ballena (Whale Bay Beach):
Mentioned in the earlier section as one of the safest beaches and towns, it’s also a great place to swim:
– Protected Cove: Playa Bahia Ballena is situated within a natural cove, which often provides calmer waters compared to beaches exposed directly to the open ocean. The cove helps to reduce the strength of currents and waves, making swimming safer, especially for less experienced swimmers.
– Gradual Slope: The beach typically features a gradual slope into the water, which means that the depth increases gradually as you wade further from the shore. This gradual slope is conducive to safe swimming as it allows individuals to enter deeper waters gradually and comfortably.
– Lifeguard Presence: Depending on the season and visitor demand, Playa Bahia Ballena may have lifeguards stationed on the beach. Lifeguards can provide assistance to swimmers in distress, offer safety advice, and monitor water conditions to ensure the safety of beachgoers.
– Tourist Services: Similar to other popular beaches in Costa Rica, Playa Bahia Ballena offers a lot of tourist services, from guided beach tours, to the simple fact that being a national park, it requires an entry fee and registration. With authorities present in the area, the safety in the ocean is increased.
Papagayo Peninsula & Surrounding Beaches:
The Papgayo Peninusla in the northwest of the country has become one of the most popular areas, mostly due to the presence of famous hotels such as the Four Seasons. Ont op of that, it’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches, mostly accessible by boat only, and light blue ocean water. The fact that it’s a peninsula, makes it one of the safest area for swimming.
– Protected Peninsula: The fact that it’s a peninsula, it protects the beaches from harsh waves of the open sea and controls the flow of rip tides and current. These are some of the calmest waters in the region.
– Limited Rip Currents: As said above, since it’s a protected peninsula, the rip currents coming in and out aren’t as strong, and they are quite easy to spot and predict. Making all the beaches rather safe.
– Tourist Services: This area is very touristy, with lots of boats, tours and even lifeguards. There is a lot of people constantly watching and making sure everyone is safe.
Playa Minas, Guanacaste:
A small and “hidden” beach, not that easy to access depending on the vehicle you have, and where mostly locals hang out. Great beach to swim in.
– Bay: Playa Minas is essentially a bay, a true bay. It sits between Punta Sabana and Punta Ticos, two points you can actually walk to. These points protect the beach from practically all waves, it’s like a lake.
– Small Beach: being a very small beach, when locals and other people are around, you have many eyes on the water, making it very safe to swim as people are aware of the few swimmers close by.
– Not Many Currents: Given it’s a bay, this beach barely has any currents. It is a very, very calm ocean and really nice to swim in even with kids!
Playa Chiquita, Limon:
We weren’t going to leave Limon out, ever! Playa Chiquita, close to Puerto Viejo, is the calmest beach in the region.
– Protected Bay: Playa Chiquita isn’t exactly a bay, don’t get us wrong, but it’s in between two points or “puntas” which are Punta Uva and Punta Cocles. Both points help stopping and attracting the roughest waters, rips and waves, leaving quite a calm area in Chiquita.
– Gradual Slope: Unlike other beaches in the region which have a steeper slope, Chiquita has quite a gradual slope, making it a great place to swim peacefully.
– Reef: There’s a large portion of reef in the area, which tends to help with the currents and waves, both during high tide and low tide. It’s mostly during low tide where the reef protects even more the area making it perfect to swim.
Playa Junquillal, Guanacaste:
A long beach, with white sand and barely any tourists, where many turtles come to lay their eggs at specific times of the year. Paradise huh? Wait till you hear it’s safe to swim!
– Gradual Slope: Junquillal beach is a very long beach composed of “smaller” beaches, but all of them have a thing in common: a very gradual slope as you access the ocean. It’s one of those beaches where you get to walk quite a bit until you reach the deeper part of the ocean. It’s very easy to swim or bathe in the ocean here without having to go deeper than your waist.
– Limited Rip Currents: there’s barely any currents here, making it very, very safe to swim. Waves are also quite “soft”.
– Reef: there’s a lot of reef in Junquillal, which can be a bit of headache with a high tide since it means you are constantly stepping over the reef which can hurt, but during low tide there are hundreds of beautiful natural pools to bathe in, as well as areas to swim where it’s very calm.
What Is The Safest Beach Town In Costa Rica?
We have come to the final answer of the question: what is the safest beach town in Costa Rica?
There’s two answers: Samara or Playa Negra, Guanacaste. Both towns are in Guanacaste, and as you may have read above, they have some of the best communities as well as being close to different beaches giving you freedom, peace, serenity and a very nice place to be in.
Playa Samara has a town that is slowly growing into one of the best ones, with a great local community focused on quality tourists, great food and nice vibe. You get to visit Playa Carrillo and Playa Camaronal which are next to it.
Playa Negra in Guanacaste is not far from Tamarindo, where you get a lot of entertainment and services. Yet in “Negra” you are in a small and safe community, right next to beautiful beaches like Playa Negra, and one of the safest beaches to swim in Costa Rica like Junquillal.