Best Beaches in Costa Rica for Families
When most of us think of Costa Rica, we think of wildlife, jungle, and BEACHES. The beaches in Costa Rica vary quite a bit, and it can be hard to decide which ones are worth the time to visit. We hope this list of our best beaches in Costa Rica for families will help you in making your choices.
Best Beach in Costa Rica for Families Interested in Learning to Surf
Our family really wanted to learn to surf during our trip to Costa Rica. After doing a lot of research, we settled on Uvita Beach as the best place for us to learn. It provided a perfect combination of consistent waves that are perfect for beginner surfers, shallow water a long way offshore, and a nice sandy bottom. There is also ample shade to enjoy the views while resting. There are freshwater showers (albeit not fancy) and bathrooms as well as parking available within 25 yards of the beach. Finally, we worked with great surf instructors from Surfing Uvita who made sure that we had a wonderful first experience.
If you are a more experienced surfer, Dominical Beach comes highly recommended. There were a great number of surfers there when we stopped there to eat.
Uvita Beach is also part of the famous Whale Tail beach. At low tide, you can walk along the beach to a connected area that is in the shape of a whale tail when seen from above. It is a great place for shell collection, and we saw a bunch of sand dollars!
Best Beach in Costa Rica for Families Wanting to Snorkel and Swim
Many of the beaches in Costa Rica are known for surfing, so they are not typically known for being calm and having good snorkeling. Manuel Antonio beach in Manuel Antonio National Park is a perfect beach for a swim. It also has some good snorkeling along one end. The water is a beautiful turquoise and visibility is very good. It also has a great sandy bottom and mild currents that make it easy to enjoy even with small children. Just beyond the trees are very nice changing areas and showers. The proximity of these amenities allows one to enjoy the rest of the park before or after enjoying the beach.
Best Beach for Taking a Walk
Espadilla Beach is the longest beach in Manuel Antonio. It has various places to stay, restaurants, and watersports vendors along about a 2 km public beach. The south end of the beach is more crowded than the north end. We really enjoyed staying right on the north end at Buena Vista Beach Villas. Because it is a public beach, you can also just come to visit for the day or to watch the sunset. The versatility of this beach definitely puts it on any list of best beaches in Costa Rica for families.
You can also walk down this beach for easier access to the entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park. Taking this route allows you to avoid the craziness of parking right by the entrance. It does make for a long walk at the end of the day though!
More Info for Planning Your Costa Rican Adventure
Be sure to check out our full itinerary for 10 days in Costa Rica for additional info and details about visiting this beautiful country! In particular, we have all of the details that can be difficult to find to help make your visit to Manuel Antonio National Park a great visit. There are so many great beaches in Costa Rica. We hope this helps you narrow your list on which ones to visit first!
