Playa Flamingo
Playas Flamingo, Potrero, Brasilito and Conchal Beaches, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Feb 12, 2008, 12:20

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Playas Flamingo, Potrero, Brasilito and Conchal Beaches, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

280km (174 miles) NW of San Jose; 66km (41 miles) SW of Liberia

These beaches were among the first in Costa Rica to attract international attention and are the heart of Guanacaste's "Gold Coast." Still, with attention and development shifting toward the Papagayo Gulf a little farther north, along with the amazing boom in Tamarindo to the south, this has become a great place to find desolate stretches of beautiful beach and isolated Costa Rica hotels in a wide range of price categories.

Playa Conchal is the first in a string of beaches stretching north along this coast. The 310-room Paradisus Playa Conchal is one of the premier large-scale luxury resorts in Costa Rica. For decades this was the semiprivate haunt of a few beach cognoscenti. The unique beach here is made up primarily of soft crushed shells. Nearly every place you could walk, turn, or lay down your towel was shell-collectors' heaven. Unfortunately, as Conchal developed and its popularity spread, unscrupulous builders have brought in dump trucks to haul away the namesake seashells for landscaping and construction, and the impact is noticeable.

All beaches in Costa Rica are public property. But the land behind the beaches is not, and the Melia company owns almost all of it in Playa Conchal, so the only public access is along the soft-sand road that follows the beach south from Brasilito. Before the road reaches Conchal, you'll have to ford a small river and then climb a steep, rocky hill, so four-wheel-drive is recommended.

Just beyond Playa Conchal to the north, you'll come to Playa Brasilito, a tiny beach town and one of the few real villages in the Nicoya area. The soccer field is the center of the village, and around its edges you'll find a couple of little pulperias (general stores). There's a long stretch of beach, and though it's of gray sand, it still has a quiet, undiscovered feel (at least on weekdays). Playa Brasilito is popular both with Ticos and budget travelers from abroad, and there are a few Costa Rica hotels and a couple of campsites here.

For years Playa Flamingo, located on a long spit of land that forms part of Potrero Bay, was the beach destination in this neck of the woods. Playa Flamingo feels sleepy and forgotten. There's a sense that the boom has passed it by. Still, the beach here is a beautiful stretch of white sand. At the northern end of the beach is a fortress like high rock outcropping upon which most of Playa Flamingo's hotels and vacation homes are built. There are great views from this rocky hill. If you're not staying here, you should know that there are (unprotected) parking spots all along the beach road where you can park your car for the day. There isn't much shade on the beach, so be sure to use plenty of sunscreen and bring an umbrella if you can.

If you continue along the road from Brasilito without taking the turn for Playa Flamingo, you'll soon come to Playa Potrero. The sand here is a brownish gray, but the beach is long, clean, deserted, and quite calm for swimming. You can see the hotels of Playa Flamingo across the bay. Drive a little farther north and you'll find the still-underdeveloped Playa La Penca and, finally, Playa Pan de Azucar.

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