Beach Guide for Uvita, Dominical, & Ojochal Costa Rica
Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge and Boutique Hotel offers 5 different vacation villas or homes directly beside a river.
We have 11 different beaches within a 15 minute drive! Unless you are staying for a week, you will likely never be able to experience them all. This beach guide will help you find the beach you are looking for! Looking for a surfing beach with a surf school, a swimming beach with calm waves, or perhaps monkeys in a palm fringed beach setting? The beaches of Costa Ballena stretch for almost 30 miles from Dominical to Ojochal. These incredible beaches are all different and is one of the top reasons we choose to live here!
Stunning sunsets await you at any of these Costa Rican Beaches.

1. Playa Hermosa
This is the closest beach to Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. Only 3.6km or about a 6-minute car ride.
Note: There are 3 different entrances all with parking. The entrance furthest north is not marked and is a gravel road just past a stream, ask us for details on this secret entrance.
Playa Hermosa Uvita Costa Rica Beach with Surf School. Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge1st entrance Playa Hermosa – A lovely beach with some food vendors and surf lessons. Wide beach and easy and safe swimming. Note there are two entrances to Playa Hermosa off the Costanera highway. Both have food vendors, but only one has the surf school.

There are also showers available on the beach for 50 colones which is like a dime in US dollars.

The beach is massive and stretches for a long way. On the far North Entrance there is a cool stream that connects to the ocean and is a great combination of ocean and stream!
We also suggest you sign up for our Horseback Riding Tour to the Beach which takes you to Playa Hermosa!
You can also rent mountain bikes!
If you are interested in surf lessons contact +506-8465-6820

2 – Playa Uvita – Main Entrance for Whales Tail Beach
Whale’s Tail Beach is only 5.3km from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge.
Parque Nacional Marino Ballena in Spanish Ballena is Whale!
This is the largest marine park in Costa Rica! Stunning the beach is close to 800ft wide at low tide and is preserved. They do not allow commercial development to maintain the beauty and wildlife. We see monkeys on the beach in the surrounding palms nearly every trip to the beach!

Although you can explore the beach on your own, we strongly suggest taking our guided nature tour of the National Park. Many guests see sloths, monkeys, and things they would never see without our trained guides. Discover and learn under the trained eye and knowledge of the local guide. You can book that experience Here:

If you go at low tide you can walk out onto the Whales Tail.

For snorkeling, we suggest you book our Cano Island Snorkeling Trip, the best snorkeling in Costa Rica!
Our Whale Tour also departs from here! Humpback Whales come from the North and the South and spend more time here in Uvita than anywhere else in the world! We recommend you take out Whales, Dolphins, and Snorkeling Tour.

Be sure to look up Attractions in our Digital Guidebook to see the Miradors and to find out how you can enjoy sunset drinks with this view!

3 – Playa Chaman – Best for its natural vibe, thick jungle canopy and seeing monkeys!
Playa Chaman is only 5.5km from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. Another beautiful beach in Uvita and close to us. A lovely area to experience.
There are a couple of local restaurants close by there as well.
Parking is easy and free there.
We prefer this area of Uvita due to its less crowded and more authentic vibe!

4 – Playa Ventana – Best swimming beach with cool cave!
Playa Ventanas is located 15 kilometers from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. About an 18-minute drive South.
Best Choice for swimming! Best for smaller children. Best for beach vendors selling food, snacks, and ice cream.
They also have a restroom building at this beach!
Located in a deeper cove so protected from the waves with a huge shallow area for a long way out. So we vote this one the best for swimming. Also, the best view of the mountains from the ocean, just an incredible view.

Great beach with a super large shallow area for walking a long way out. Protected from the surf in the bay. At low tide, the beach is the largest.
Another unique feature on this beach is the cave, named “Ventana” Spanish for window. You can see the ocean through the cave giving you a cool window to the Pacific!





If you book our Whale and Dolphin Tour, you will also visit this area on the tour. You will be able to see the Window to the Pacific cave from the boat.
You should only attempt to go into and through the window or ventana (cave) at low tide. It is too dangerous at high tide.
If you go South to this beach, take a change of clothes and finish in the small village of Ojochal and enjoy a nice dinner at Citrus or a drink at the amazing Belgium beer pub just inside the town.
The beach vendors here are also unique as selling is not allowed in the National Park. Here you can enjoy snacks, drinks, and the traditional ice cream treat of Costa Rica!

There is even a bathroom building here! Parking is now free and extremely safe!
5 – Playa Dominical – Best Beach for Beach Vendors, beachfront restaurants, and seeing Scarlet Macaw Parrots.
Dominical Beach – Hippie Surf Town with Beach Vendors.
17 km from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge.
This beach is unique due to the large number of almond trees that almost certainly attract the Scarlet Macaws. They have been there every time we are there.

Also, there are a lot of beach vendors at this beach selling paintings, wood carvings, and shirts. Good place for cheap souvenirs, but more authentic locally made souvenirs can be found at the local Uvita Market on Saturdays and Wednesday.
Easy parking that is free and plenty of room right on the beach.

Dominical is a hippie surf town mostly with hostels and backpackers. There is also a Farmer’s Market there every Friday from 7-1:00 pm that is definitely worth checking out!
If you go to Dominical, there are two places we suggest you visit:
El Fuego Brewery, Restaurant, and Coffee House. See more in our restaurant guide.
Cafe Mono Congo on the River(see picture below)




6 – Dominicalito Beach – Surfing Beach
Another amazing beach so close to us!

Like Playa Hermosa, this beach is good for surfing. Waves are smaller than Dominical Beach so this is better for learning. The beach is widest at low tide. Easy access and no 4×4 needed.
Dominicalito is a beautiful gray sand beach, with an intermediate swell and loose stone located in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica. Like Dominical, it is a constant visit site for surfers, although this place is usually less crowded. On this beach you can enjoy the shade provided by the trees, tan on the sand or walk along the beach, while observing the islet that decorates the landscape within the sea.

Activities and services: Near Dominicalito they offer surf classes and some food sales.
7 -Playa(Beach) Colonia – National Park Entrance with less crowds and a camping/hostel vibe.
Located 6 kilometers from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. About an 11-minute drive South.
Uvita is known for its amazing beaches, massive biodiversity, the mountains closer to the beach, and its friendly people. Playa Colonia is yet another amazing beach close to Casitas Del Rio.
This is a protected area within the National Park, so you may encounter howler monkeys, iguanas, pelicans, turtles, or scarlet macaws. Nature here is absolutely stunning and well-preserved. Playa Colonia is an ideal spot to relax in a wide-open space, meditate, and re-energize.
This is also close to the Mirador Don Roger, where we suggest you enjoy sunset drinks overlooking the iconic Whales Tail Beach.
Best way to find the beach is to drive the Costanera South(Ruta 34) until you see the new Maxi Pali store on the right, bright green in color. Turn there(only one way) and follow the road to the beach! There is parking right by the beach and some great local food vendors right at the entrance.



8 – Playa Arco – The Secret Beach. Only access is through a jungle hiking trail with steep stairs.
Arco Beach – 8km from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge. www.junglebeachvacation.com
Another Amazing Beach you can visit within minutes of Casitas Del Rio!

This is a bit of a secret beach since it is not well marked and many people don’t even know it exists. There are hiking trails on the property that are free for you to use. There is also a great restaurant there, Aracari Restaurant.
It is best to go to Arco Beach at low tide. At high tide, the beach is consumed by the ocean. At low tide the beach is massive and you can visit the archway in the rocks that forms a passage like a cave.



If you go here, there is a great restaurant, Aracari Restaurant. See more in our Places to Eat with A View in Uvita Guide.
9 – Playa Piñuelas – Great Sunsets looking at the 3 Sisters Rock Formation. Also a great seafood restaurant at the entrance.
Pinuelas Beach is about 10 km (6 miles) to the south of Uvita. It is an easy and smooth drive on the Costanera Sur Highway (Ruta 34), and takes less than 10 minutes from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge / www.junglebeachvacation.com
The beach has the views of the 3 sister rocks (Tres Hermanas) protruding from the ocean. If you are there around the time of the sunset, do not miss the sun setting beyond the 3 sister islands. It is one of the best I have seen in the region. With the dusk, watch the color play on the beach rocks and the reflections on the wet sand.


10 – Playa Bellana
8km South of Uvita, this beach is 15 minutes from Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge.


11 – Playa Tortuga – Turtle Conservation Project Beach
Another amazing beach so close to Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge www.junglebeachvacation.com
This beach is home to the turtle conservation project. Since 2009, they have released more than 50,000 baby turtles and saved on average 100 nests per season! You can tour the facilities and see this amazing beach.




