Country Guide » Beaches
Playa Negra is located in the Guanacaste Province, next what is known as Little Hawaii or Playa Avellanas. Playa Negra is a lovely dark sand beach that well known in the surfing community for its right-hand barrel waves. Playa Negra is wild and beautiful and charms surfers and non-surfers alike with dark sand and little rock pool and surrounded by lush vegetation, there are few places on Earth like it. There is plenty of wildlife to enjoy with Howlers monkeys, iguanas, agoutis and more as well as myriads of tropical colorful birds. The southern end of the beach is slightly protected allowing quiet swimming for non-surfers and for families.
The surf breaks and waves of Playa Negra are very consistent all year around, attracting many avid surfers from all over the globe, but it is also a good beach for the novice, indeed this is where the movie Endless Summer II was filmed. There is a hollow right break reef that sometimes gets really crowded, but that is definitely worth the try.There is a very good choice of Resorts and Hotels to choose from in Playa Negra as well as many different bars, restaurants and cafes. Try Café Playa Negra for delicious local delicacies.
Playa Avellanas is pretty isolated and indeed it is not an easy place to reach as there is no public transport and the only access is an unpaved road that sometimes in bad condition. You will need a 4×4 to get there, but the rewards however are well worth it. It takes about one and half hour to drive from the Liberia airport. If you come from San Jose, the drive takes about 4 and half hours and you will need to go through the Tempisque Bridge.
Activities in Playa Negra
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Horsback Riding
- Hiking
- Moutain Biking
