Manuel Antonio is known for its rainforest, but the coastline is half the reason people come. If you are planning a Costa Rica beach vacation, the range here is unusual for such a small area: wide public beaches with surf schools and vendors, sheltered coves that are better for snorkelling than swimming, and a couple you have to work to reach. Staying at Boutique Hotel Las Cascadas puts you a short walk or drive from all of them.
Here is the honest guide to each one, including which are inside the national park and therefore need a ticket, because that is the thing most first-time visitors get wrong.
Playa Espadilla: the main public beach
Playa Espadilla, sometimes called Espadilla Norte, is the long public beach just outside the national park entrance. It is free, it is busy, and it is where most of the life is. Good for:
- Swimming, with an eye on the currents
- Beginner surf lessons, and there are several schools on the sand
- Beach football and volleyball
- Sitting under a palm doing nothing at all
Vendors work the beach with fruit and souvenirs, and there are bars and restaurants along the back of it, which makes this the one for sunset. Come early morning or late afternoon if you want the walk without the heat. Rip currents are a genuine risk on this stretch, so swim near the lifeguard station where one is posted.
Playa Manuel Antonio: the calm one, inside the park
Playa Manuel Antonio sits inside the national park, a curve of pale sand in a sheltered cove with jungle running down to it. It offers:
- The calmest, safest water in the area for swimming
- Clear, protected water in a genuine cove
- Monkeys and iguanas in the trees behind the sand
Because it is inside the park, you need a park ticket to reach it, and tickets are sold online in advance through SINAC at serviciosenlinea.sinac.go.cr rather than at the gate. The park also closes one day a week and keeps set hours, so check both there before you plan the day around it. Go early: the wildlife is more active and the beach is nearly empty for the first hour.
Playa Biesanz: the snorkelling one
A short drive from the main road, Playa Biesanz is a quiet crescent with calm, clear water in a protected bay, which makes it the best snorkelling that does not involve a boat. Here you can:
- Snorkel over rock and reef with tropical fish and the occasional ray
- Kayak, in water that stays gentle most days
- Picnic in the shade at the back of the beach
It is far quieter than Espadilla or Playa Manuel Antonio. Water clarity is best in the dry season, December to April. Biesanz sits OUTSIDE the national park, so there is no entrance fee, and it is reached by a short trail off the road near Punta Quepos.
Playa Gemelas: the secluded pair
Playa Gemelas is two small beaches split by a rocky outcrop, and it is where you go when you want nobody else in the photograph. Expect:
- Soft pale sand and clear water
- Good swimming and better sunbathing
- Trails to it through forest, with wildlife on the way
Gemelas is INSIDE the national park, so reaching it means a park ticket and a walk in from the entrance. Outside food is not permitted in the park, so bring a refillable water bottle rather than a picnic. Dry season gives the best chance of flat water and clear skies.
Playa Espadilla Sur: quiet sand inside the boundary
Confusingly named, and worth understanding: Playa Espadilla Sur is INSIDE the park, on the sandy spit running out toward Punta Catedral, while Playa Espadilla Norte is the free public beach outside it. Sur sees a fraction of the people. Highlights:
- A long, quiet stretch of pale sand
- Views out to Punta Catedral with forest at your back
- Far fewer people than the public beach
Two practical points. The currents here are stronger than at Playa Manuel Antonio, so it is the less good choice for children. And there are no bars, restaurants or vendors anywhere inside the park, which also closes well before sunset. If you want a drink as the light goes, that is Espadilla Norte.
Playitas: over the rocks at the north end
Playitas sits at the far north end of Playa Espadilla, reached by scrambling around a rocky headland. The passage is cut off around high water, so access depends on the tide, and there are no facilities of any kind. It has long been known as Manuel Antonio's gay beach. What you will find:
- A quiet cove well away from the main beach
- Tide pools among the rocks
- A rocky bottom and a surf break rather than easy swimming
Check the tide before you set out, wear shoes you can scramble in, and carry whatever you need. For calm water and easy family swimming, Playa Manuel Antonio inside the park or Biesanz are the better picks.
Playa La Macha: rugged, and clothing-optional
La Macha is not a swimming beach and is certainly not a surfing one. It is a small cove where the sand is broken up by lava rock, reached only by a jungle trail, and that walk is precisely what keeps it empty. It is widely regarded as the last clothing-optional beach in Manuel Antonio. Come for:
- A rugged shoreline of sand broken by lava rock
- A jungle hike in of roughly twenty to forty minutes, with a steep climb on the way back
- Real seclusion, which is increasingly rare along this coast
Wear proper shoes, carry water, and be careful of the rocks and the currents if you go in. La Macha is about the walk in, the view and having a piece of coastline to yourself rather than about the swimming.
Where to stay for easy beach access
Boutique Hotel Las Cascadas makes an easy base for all of this. We are minutes from these Manuel Antonio beaches, and the property offers:
- Comfortable rooms and suites, each one different
- Tropical gardens and a pool with a waterfall running into it
- Easy access to restaurants, shops and tours, with a concierge who books them
Come back salty, get in the pool, and work out which beach you are doing tomorrow.
