Guys, I swear warm weather is coming. I just looked at the weather for Minnesota when we are supposed to arrive and 70 degrees is happening. Because of that fact, I don’t feel like it’s torture now to share some of our favorite beaches in Costa Rica. Today, I’m sharing 3 of our favorites and I’ll be back with the rest in another post. It’s possible I took more beach pictures than anything else on this trip.

Tamarindo

If you don’t have a car, this is the best beach to stay near. There are more shops, bars, restaurants and nightlife in this area than anywhere else that we visited. My dad stays here when he comes to visit and loves this area. Justin tried surfing here because there are lots of rental places, but that also means there are lots of people learning to surf in this area – that can be super dangerous. There were multiple surfboards flying through the air on Justin’s first paddle out. If that’s your thing, find a local and go first thing in the morning before the masses are there.

Playa Grande

This beach is right across a small river from Tamarindo. If you don’t have a car, you can take a “ferry” ride for a few dollars across this river to visit Playa Grande. This is the place to go if you want to watch super talented surfers. Hotel las Tortugas is at the end of the road and has a great restaurants with 2 for 1 margaritas and mojitos all day. We enjoyed lunch there one day and loved the atmosphere. They had lots of hammocks and great beach access. We spent some time watching the surfers and wishing we would have saved some room for Taco Star.

Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal was the beach with the most beautiful water. There are crushed shells at the bottom which help make the water turquoise. Driving to this beach was a little tricky because you are driving through town and then all of a sudden, you’re cruising across a beach until you find a small driveway that goes up and over a rocky mound and you are at the beach. The parking is a little crazy, but if you get there early, you’ll find a spot. You can find all kinds of souvenirs and coconuts full of drinks on this beach. They also have a BBQ set up with food being grilled all day long. We visited this beach early in the trip and then returned on our ATV’s. I wish I would have got a great picture of the water, but just pretend you are swimming in it. I promise, it’s amazing.

I promise, I will be back in the near future with the rest of our beach pictures. In the meantime, tell me where your favorite beach is in the world because I’m thinking I need to plan my trip for next winter already.