With over 800 miles of coastline and hundreds of beaches, there are a lot of amazing things to do in Costa Rica. It beckons visitors looking to relax and spoils them for choice. Add two very different coastlines, one on the Caribbean Sea and the other on the Pacific Ocean, and the choice of where to lay your towel in Costa Rica becomes even trickier. (It’s a great problem to have, obviously.) The Pacific side is known for being slightly more developed, with a variety of accommodations and some touristy towns. That said, visitors usually believe that it’s the Caribbean coast where secret tropical escapes await.
That said, the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is about 600 miles long, far longer than the Caribbean side, so there is always somewhere to go if you want to get away from it all. One of those places is Playa Coyote, tucked away on the Nicoya Peninsula in the province of Guanacaste. This horseshoe-shaped stretch of sand lined by palm trees is one of the most remote beaches in Costa Rica. It promises a tranquil vacation for those yearning to discover paradise.
Unwind in Costa Rica
Playa Coyote is a spectacular place to indulge in the art of doing absolutely nothing. On the agenda: lazing on the sandy beach under the swaying coconut palms, cooling off in the gently lapping tide, and watching incredible sunsets over the Pacific Ocean. The water at Punta Coyote tends to be calm and shallow, so it’s great for dipping your toes or splashing around with children. Enthralled visitors write on Google that Playa Coyote is a “tropical paradise,” “uncrowded,” and “wild and untouched.”
If you prefer more activity on your vacation, Playa Coyote has that, too. Watersports like diving and snorkeling are available, and surfers can grab their boards and head about 3 miles toward the southern beach of Punta Coyota, where there are decent breaks. You can also take horseback rides on the beach and into the forests.
There’s a lot of wildlife to spot at Playa Coyote. Walk north, and you’ll come to the Rio Jabilo estuary, where you can see birds like egrets and herons. You may even come upon a crocodile enjoying the sun. Turn south and head to the Caletas-Ario Wildlife Refuge, a nesting area for several turtle species, including endangered leatherbacks.
Arriving and staying
The charm of Playa Coyote lies in its untouched nature. However, there are some amenities for visitors. One is the excellent El Barco Restaurant & Bar, which happy visitors highlight as a hidden gem, with particular love going to the fish dishes and tacos.
Several hotels and guesthouses dot the beach, many with excellent reviews. Salvatierra Beachfront Hotel has a 9.5/10 rating on Booking.com, with reviewers praising the rooms, the service, the location … basically everything. More reasonably priced accommodation is at the similarly well-reviewed (9.4/10) Hostel & Camping Alouatta, where you’ll find large, glamping-style tents and a communal kitchen. The nearby village of San Francisco de Coyote has additional food and accommodation options.
You’ll want to stay a few days at one of these accommodations, and not just because it’s spectacular. Getting to Playa Coyote is a bit of a trek. The roads to the beach can be rough, and the nearest international airport, Liberia Guanacaste, is three hours away. The main airport in Costa Rica’s capital, San José, is either a 4.5-hour drive away around the peninsula or a drive-ferry-drive combination, which takes a similar amount of time. Don’t be discouraged by the travel: We promise it’ll be worth it when you sink your feet into the soft sands of paradise.
