Jaco Beach in Puntarenas Costa Rica
Table of Contents
Surf Culture & Jaco Beach
Jaco Beach might just be the jumping off point for surf in Costa Rica. The perpetual springboard for surf culture and competitions that is Jaco Beach in Costa Rica has been making its impact felt for some time now.
Surf is the name of the game in Jaco & Hermosa
Between Carara & the Mountains
Jaco Beach Costa Rica is found between several mountains, and the beach backs up to the Carara National Park to the north, and directly in front of the city of Jaco. The beach plays host to a grand assortment of diversions with which to charm oneself, surfing being the paramount activity. Reputed to have some of the best breaks in all of Costa Rica, Jaco Beach doesn’t fail to deliver on its status amongst both novice and cutting-edge wave riders.
Items to Bring
When planning a trip to Jaco, some of the things you may consider bringing are your swimsuit, sun block, a beach towel, a surfboard or boogie board and a camera for pics of you taking a trip on the water’s edge. There are plenty of other activities to partake of in the Jaco, Beach area, but why would you want to do anything else. Just in case you are so inclined to pursue other interests you can head out for a fishing trip, snorkeling, diving, or head to one of the two nearby national parks.
Manuel Antonio & Others
There are many activities near by including Manuel Antonio National Park which lies to the south a seventy five kilometer clip from Jaco Beach. Other nearby beaches include Herradura Beach to the north and Playa Hermosa to the south. The features of these beaches and the neighboring parks comprise zip-line tours, waterfall rappelling, eco tours of the forest and its trails, ATV tours and some much more.
Getting There
Jaco is reachable in a number of ways. You could take a taxi from one of the international airports, or hire a mini-bus. Another option would be a rental car from one of the trusted rental car companies such as Alamo, Economy or Vamos. There are flights to the nearby city of Quepos from La Fortuna and San Jose.Jaco is roughly three hours and twenty minutes from the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. It’s around three and a half hours from the international airport in Liberia, Costa Rica.
Accommodations
The established hotels in the Jaco area are suitable for those seeking a backpacker’s adventure, or a more refined tour de force. Some of this location’s hotels consist of Hotel Poseidon, Hotel Mardeluz, Club del Mar Resort und Condominiums and Punta Leona. As you may have noticed, there are also condominiums as well as timeshares in the Jaco Beach locale. Oceano Hotel is where you’ll stay when on guided trip with Costa Rica Monkey Tours.
Beach: Jaco Beach
Location: Punatarenas, Jaco Beach Location
Distance from San Jose: 3 hrs 20 mins
Distance from Liberia: 3 hrs 30 mins
Items to bring: swimsuit, sun block, beach towel, surfboard, boogie board, camera
Hotels nearby: Hotel Poseidon, Hotel Mardeluz, Club del Mar Resort und Condominiums, Punta Leona, Oceano Hotel
Ways to get here: taxi, mini-bus, plane, rental car
Oceano Hotel in Jaco Costa Rica
The Oceano Hotel in Jaco, Costa Rica, is also where you will find condominiums for rent or timeshare along with high class luxury rooms for couples or the whole family.
Relax at the pool all day if you want!
An Art Gallery in the Hotel
Beyond the condos and hotel there is also an exceptional art gallery throughout the entire property at Oceano Hotel & Residence in Jaco, Costa Rica. The rooms are accompanied by beautiful works that pay homage to the sea and its life, and so is the lobby and other public spaces in the hotel. The theme of the ocean plays throughout the entire complex, and is represented in many ways.
Rooms & Amenities
Oceano Hotel & Residence in Jaco has 64 rooms and condos that have different floorplans based on whatever a guest might need to enjoy a luxuriant vacation. There are kitchens that accompany one room apartments and a living room setting. There are also larger complexes with pools that accompany master bedrooms, and all the rooms are equipped with safes, hair dryers, LED TVs, Wi-Fi, and much more.
The Spa
The establishment has an onsite full service spa where you can relax with professional treatments by trained masseuses. There is also a gym, the aquamarine café and a large swimming pool with Jacuzzis. If you feel peckish, you can order food to your room, and the tour desk will try to take care of any needs you might have concerning adventures nearby.
Getting There
Oceano is 2 hours and 19 minutes from San Jose and the Juan Santamaria International Airport. It is 3 hours and 16 minutes from Liberia in Guanacaste Province and the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport. You can easily reach Oceano by way of rental car, taxi, private shuttle, tour bus or you can hop on a plane from either of the international airports. Planes fly to the domestic airport of Jaco daily via Nature Air or Sansa Air, and flights are often 15 to 40 minutes.
Location: Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Rooms & Suites: 64
Amenities & Services: Spa, Fitness Center, Kitchens, Private Pools, Public Pool, Wi-Fi, LED TVs, Room Service, Room Safes, Bar, Lounge, Business Center, Tour Desk
Driving time from San Jose: 2 hours 19 minutes
Driving time from Liberia: 3 hours 16 minutes
Ways to get there: Rental Car, Taxi, Private Shuttle, tour bus, Plane
Contact Information: (506) 2643-0420 USA 8322517359 Canada 7786505541 Website
Jaco Beach in Costa Rica has no set population
Jaco could really be described as a nomadic city with a regular number of inhabitants at around 10,000 people, and a much higher number of passers through.
The Big Cities-Oh My!
As far as big cities in Costa Rica go, San Jose is it. There isn’t much else that is comparable to it in the country. Límon has a fair number of people at 55,000, and Liberia is at 63,000 regular inhabitants. They both experience a fair amount of traffic, and Liberia serves as a hub for the second international airport in Costa Rica. They do not, however, maintain the epic numbers that seem to flood through Jaco year round.
Who goes to Jaco anyway?
Travelers who frequent Jaco include surfers, adventure seekers, epicureans, photographers, birders and many more. Jaco is the entry point for many to other adventures along the Pacific Coast, and allows many to refuel there literal and figurative stocks before venturing out. It’s all got a thriving party scene where you can hit the clubs and bars until the early hours of the morning.
A City of Transitions
Jaco beach was once a somewhat remote fishing village, but not anymore. It is now a 24 hour city of transitions. There are some permanent fixtures such as a theater, a movie theater and a civic center along with the regular facets of a city like a fire station, police station, post office and clinic, but they are the heart and not necessarily what makes the city thrive. The ongoing numbers of those coming in and out of the area for a variety of reasons are the lifeblood.
A Major Tourist Location
Jaco maintains its position for being one of the most visited locations in Costa Rica due to its proximity to San Jose and the Central Valley Region. It’s about a two to three hour drive from the capital to the beach, resorts and discos of Jaco. There are three main routes which can bring you into Jaco from the Central Valley which consist of the 34, the 27 and the 313 to the 34, and getting there isn’t as complex as it was say thirty years ago. Large highways make up the mode of travel nowadays. There are also domestic flights via Nature Air and Sansa Air that can cut travel times down to 30 minutes.
Whichever way you make the trip, you won’t be disappointed by the end result.
Related Read:
5 Things You Must Do in Manuel Antonio
Playa Hermosa in Jaco Costa Rica
Playa Hermosa near to Jaco, Costa Rica, can be translated as “beautiful beach” in English, and once you’ve been to Hermosa you’ll understand the nomenclature.
Puntarenas; Not Guanacaste
The biggest draw to Playa Hermosa in the province of Puntarenas (not the Playa Heromosa in Guanacaste) is the surf. Playa Hermosa has great waves for riders from the period between April and November, but also remains a good place for surfing most of the year. The black sand beach of Playa Hermosa attracts surfers from Costa Rica and all over the world. To check the surf report for Playa Hermosa click here.
Lodgings at Hermosa
Many Playa Hermosa visitors opt to stay in the nearby beach town of Jaco, Costa Rica, but there are a few places where you can stay at Playa Hermosa. As development continues to boom along the Pacific coast in Costa Rica, the trend of staying in Jaco instead of Playa Hermosa is fading. Some of the local hotels include Terraza Del Pacifico, Ecovital Costa Rica, Playa Hermosa Lodge and Las Brisas Resort and Villas.
Surfing the Beautiful Waves
Playa Hermosa has an annual surfing competition in the month of August which brings in professional surfers world-wide to compete. At this time the beach is packed with spectators, telephoto lenses and many different surf brands can be seen throughout the beach. If you come in this period be sure to bring your camera and a pen to get pics of the surf champions of the sea and their autographs. Other items that you should consider bringing are sun screen, a beach towel, a swimsuit, a surfboard and some flip flops.
Flying or Driving?
There are daily flights into the neighboring town of Jaco, Costa Rica with Nature Air and Sansa Air. Most flights from any of the destinations that these two airlines fly from range from twenty to forty minutes, but to more remote locations flights can be upwards of an hour or so. It is easy to fly into one of the two international airports in Liberia or Alajuela, Costa Rica, and then take a flight with Nature or Sansa to Jaco where you can easily get a taxi or rental car.
From the Cities and International Airports
Driving from Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia, Costa Rica, takes around three hours and thirty minutes. From the international airport in Alajuela, Costa Rica, the drive to Playa Hermosa is one hour and thirty-one minutes. To the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica, the drive is two hours and twelve minutes.
Location: Playa Hermosa in Jaco
Items to bring: sun screen, a beach towel, a swimsuit, a surfboard, flip flops, camera
Distance from San Jose: 2 hrs 12 mins
Distance from Liberia: 3 hrs 29 mins
Hotels nearby: Terraza Del Pacifico, Ecovital Costa Rica, Playa Hermosa Lodge, Las Brisas Resort and Villas
Ways to get here: plane, taxi, rental car, bus, private shuttle
Punta Leona Hotel in Jaco Costa Rica
A resort city in the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, the Punta Leona Hotel is surrounded by beaches to the west and a dense tropical forest interspersed with a quaint local population to the east. The hotel is in Jaco, Costa Rica.
Mantas Beach
This two hundred room hotel is situated in front of Playa Mantas (Mantas Beach) with a complimentary beach shuttle, an outdoor pool and a children’s swimming area. There are 3 restaurants on the grounds and 2 snack bars with which to sate oneself. The guest rooms come equipped with complimentary wireless and wired high speed internet access, cable television, air-conditioning, toiletries, hair dryers, coffee makers and are pleasantly situated in front of the gardens housed by the interior of the premises of this hotel in Jaco, Costa Rica.
The Spa
Some other provisions provided by Punta Leona Hotel include all-inclusive rates where you can schedule all of your meals and beverages beforehand, or room-only rates if you prefer to dine at your convenience. This enterprise on the Pacific coast also maintains a full service spa. The Natural Spa at Punta Leona is a place to replenish your energies with mud baths, facials, massages and much more.
Attractions Close to Punta Leona
Nearby attractions include Hacienda las Agujas, or Needles Ranch in English. Hacienda las Agujas is a private three hundred acre horse touring ranch just off the coast and pleasingly located in the adjoining tropical forest. Canopy Vista los Suenos Adventure Park is another enticement within the vicinity of Punta Leona Hotel. This adventure park offers zip line tours, horseback tours and beach tours near the popular Herradura Beach.
Herradura Beach
The trendy Herradura Beach is one of the many beaches located in the province of Puntarenas, along with Agujas Beach to the far north, Playa Limoncito to the north and Jaco Beach and Playa Blanca to the south. Along with having plenty of beaches to explore at Punta Leona, another area allure is the Rainforest Adventures Costa Rica Pacific Park. Rainforest Adventures Costa Rica Pacific Park offers an aerial tram through the rainforest, zip line tours, a herpetarium specializing in local species of snakes and a waterfall climbing tour.
Getting There
Hotel Punta Leona is served by both Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose at a distance of about an hour and twenty minutes to the Jaco, Costa Rica site. Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport is around 3 hours and 10 minutes from the hotel. Across the Gulf of Nicoya you will find the local airport of Tambor from which you could drive around four hours to the hotel, or take a ferry trip at just over an hour athwart the gulf from Paquera to Puntarenas. Ferries can accommodate single passengers, multiple passengers and cars.
Hotel: Hotel & Club Punta Leona
Location: Jaco, Costa Rica
Rooms & Suites: 200 Units
Amenities & Services: WiFi, cable television, air-conditioning, toiletries, hair dryers, coffee makers, complimentary beach shuttle, an outdoor pool, children’s swimming area, 3 restaurants, 2 snack bars
Driving time from San Jose: 1 hr 20 mins
Driving time from Liberia: 3 hrs 10 mins
Ways to get there: plane, shuttle, taxi, rental car
Contact Information: Website, +506 2630 1000
*For Custom Vacation Packages to Jaco Travel Agents can work with us to build the perfect trip for your clients
