Secret beach: Playa Cocolito, Costa Rica

One of the things we love most about Costa Rica is the ability to drive only a few hours for an entirely different vibe. The Nicoya Peninsula is known for its secluded beaches, small towns, and laid back charm. No wonder this is considered one of the world’s five “blue zones” (areas with the longest life expectancy!)

We decided to include the Nicoya Peninsula in our itinerary initially because we just *had* to take a bioluminescence tour. Paquera Bay is one of the two spots in Costa Rica you have a chance of seeing bioluminescence year round. We weren’t sure if we wanted to stay, or hit up more popular beaches along the pacific coast such as Jaco or Dominical. We ended up staying for 3 nights, and it was a refreshing and very relaxing change of pace. These were some of the best beaches we found in Costa Rica. If you’re looking for a secluded, romantic beach to have all to yourself (or almost all to yourself), you won’t be disappointed here!

I can’t say we “stumbled” upon Playa Cocolito, because I’d discovered it beforehand online. It’s one of the off-the-beaten path gems, along with an entire string of beaches in this area between Tambor and Montezuma. What sets this beach apart is the small waterfall (El Churro/Cocolito Falls) at one end. During dry season, you can even climb through and behind it! If you’re driving through southern Nicoya Peninsula, be sure to do some beach hopping – and Playa Cocolito (and Playa Grande next to it) is a good one!

Why you’ll want to check out Playa Cocolito

• El Churro waterfall – a waterfall to scramble around is a unique beach feature in and of itself, but El Churro is apparently 1 of only 30-ish waterfalls that empty directly into the ocean! (This seems remarkably low to me, but I do not know how to properly fact check this. And if you’re speaking to local Costa Ricans, this drops to 1 of 7! In any case, this is fairly rare, and Cocolito is certainly the only one in Costa Rica.)

• Secluded beach – especially if you come in the morning, you will be the only ones here. It’s a special experience, to have the ocean to yourselves and the jungle at your back

• Picturesque views – the water here is a gorgeous blue. Add in a beautiful strip of yellow-sand beach and jungle for the quintessential tropical beach vibe.

Location

Playa Cocolito is located between the towns of Montezuma and Tambor, about a 45 minutes drive from the Paquera-Puntarenas ferry (which will get you across the Nicoya Gulf from the “mainland” and the rest of the pacific coast).

While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend making the trek just to visit this beach, it’s a must do if you’re in the area. Tourist come through this southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula to fish, whale and dolphin watch, or to hit up bioluminescence, as we did. Isla Tortuga is a popular spot for snorkel tours. Cabo Blanco is renowned for being Costa Rica’s first wildlife reserve. Montezuma is a quaint, laid-back town with plenty of good restaurants. Tambor is mostly a collection of resorts and a golf course. So there is plenty to do here, but the main charm of this area is really the ability to unwind and experience authentic Costa Rica before it became a popular tourist destination.

How to get to Playa Cocolito

The easiest way to get to Playa Cocolito is by car (or taxi). We’d read a few articles that this spot is hard to find, hidden behind Hotel Tango Mar. But actually, this secret beach is not so secret! We simply plugged Playa Cocolito into our GPS (Waze), and it brought us to the right spot. You will turn down a side road where you will then hit Hotel Tango Mar. Take the other fork and drive a few minutes further to get to a small parking lot for Playa Cocolito. This will be marked with a sign for “cascada” (waterfall). It is a 10 minute walk along an easy trail from the parking lot to the waterfall end of the beach. There are no parking attendants at this parking lot to watch over your vehicle, so make sure not to leave any valuables in your car.

If you are staying in Montezuma and looking for an adventure, you can ask around for companies that offer horse riding tours. It is a 1 hour ride to get to Playa Cocolito from Montezuma.

You can also hike from Montezuma along the beach during low tide, which takes about 2 hours.

Is Playa Cocolito family friendly?

Being a family travel blog, we are always asking this question.

Big and Lil S were 8 and 6 when we visited, and it was an exciting adventure to break up our days of “beaching” at Barcelo Tambor resort (we were only there for 3 days, but even that seemed like a lot of beaching for our family of movers). Lil S was just old enough and big enough to scramble down the waterfall to the beach, but even then we had to keep a close eye on her. We would not recommend coming with kids who are much younger, due to safety concerns.

The waterfall was actually quite strong when we visited (and it was dry season), and the waves here are pretty intense. Our kids spent some time running in and out of the waves but most of their time playing in the sand and hunting for cool shells that’d washed up on the beach. Our kids enjoyed the adventure, but preferred the much calmer Beach Tambor for swimming and playing in the water.

How long to spend at Playa Cocolito

We recommend at least an hour to enjoy the beach, which is about the length you will spend if you are coming by horse-back tour. However, a good half a day will allow you to truly relax and soak in those tropical beach vibes. Playa Cocolito is connected to Playa Grande, so there is lots of beach to explore.

We recommend coming early in the morning – you will be the only ones there, and the beach heats up as the day wears on. There is tree cover from the jungle, but unless you want to be setting up your beach towel *in* the treeline, morning is the best time to visit. Keep in mind there are no food spots around Playa Cocolito. We had breakfast at our hotel, and returned by lunchtime. During our visit, we only ran into 1 other couple, but after exploring the waterfall we each found our own beach nooks and we never saw them again. On our way back, we ran into a couple more people on their way down.

What to bring

Keep in mind you will have to hike a short distance and scramble down some rocks to get to the beach, so bring only the necessities in a sturdy daypack.

• Swimwear – we recommend a rash guard, especially for the hiking and waterfall exploring. The Costa Rican sun is *strong* here… Lil S got sunburned after a few hours even *with* applying sunscreen.
• Sunhat, sunscreen
• Water-shoes or hiking sandals – ideally something that can get wet but has a grippy sole. The rocks around the waterfall are slippery.
• Bug spray
• Microfibre beach towels
• Water
• Snacks
• A book (if you’re traveling sans-kids or have kids that will actually let you read books on the beach)

Looking for more family-friendly Costa Rica travel recommendations? Be sure to check out our other articles!