60601

Location: between Manuel Antonio and Puerto Escondido beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Gemelas Beach entrance GPS Coordinates: 9.391385,-84.149654 (9°23’28.98″N, 84°08’58.75″W)
Gemelas Beach GPS Coordinates: 9.379899,-84.139823 (9°22’47.63″N, 84°08’23.36″W)
District: Quepos, canton: Aguirre, province: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 60601.

Gemelas Beach Costa Rica is a quiet and intimate little beach with white sands and clear blue waters, located inside of Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, named for its view of the Twin Islands (Islas Gemelas in Spanish) just offshore.

Gemelas Beach is one of the less crowded beaches at the park, due to its super strong currents with hidden rocks beneath the surface, making swimming difficult, if not dangerous. Also, there is a more secluded section of this beach accessible at low tide by walking around a small rock outcropping.

Gemelas Beach is accessed only by following one of the park’s nature trails. It’s fairly easy walk on mostly flat ground, but visitors have to come at low tide, otherwise Gemelas beach totally submerged at high tide.

Getting to Gemelas Beach in Aguirre, Puntarenas:

From San José

Drive north towards Puntarenas on route #27. Take the Pozón exit (to Jaco), and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Manuel Antonio National Park. You need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Gemelas beach is inside. This route requires a total of 3 hour from San Jose.

From Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR)

Drive to the northeast towards Liberia. Once in Liberia, continue along the same highway to Puntarenas for about 120 km (75 miles). Once at the entrance to Puntarenas, continue on route #27 to San Jose for about 25 km (15 miles) until you reach the exit to Pozon and Jaco, take it and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Manuel Antonio National Park. You need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Gemelas beach is inside. This route requires a total of 4.5 hours.

By bus

You can take a bus from the route San José – Quepos / Manuel Antonio (Transportes Morales, +506 2221-4214 / +506 2777-0318), making the stop at Manuel Antonio National Park, which takes about 4 hours. From here, you need to enter to Manuel Antonio National Park, and you need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Gemelas beach is inside.

Address map: Click here to view address map from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Gemelas Beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica

More Gemelas Beach Photos

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Playa Manuel Antonio Costa Rica

Location: between Espadilla Sur and Gemelas beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Manuel Antonio Beach entrance GPS Coordinates: 9.391385,-84.149654 (9°23’28.98″N, 84°08’58.75″W)
Manuel Antonio Beach GPS Coordinates: 9.381940,-84.143948 (9°22’54.98″N, 84°08’38.21″W)
District: Quepos, canton: Aguirre, province: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 60601.

Manuel Antonio Beach Costa Rica is a beautiful and idyllic white sanded beach with crystal clear turquoise waters and a small coral reef, surrounded by thick forested green hills and fascinating jungle blended with a network of trails and a welcoming and abundant wildlife, located within the Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Manuel Antonio Beach is separated from Playa Espadilla Sur by a tombolo, a natural land bridge formed over the years through the accumulation of sand, and both, Espadilla Sur and Manuel Antonio Beach, offer tidal pools brimming with minnows and crayfish, so diving is a very good option, especially during the dry season from early December until late April, when the water is clearer.

Manuel Antonio Beach also offers a variety of activities to do, such as hiking the trails of the park, whitewater rafting, ocean cruising, horseback riding, fishing, sea kayaking, just to name but a few. And the volcanic-sedimentary cliffs rise steeply from the shoreline, providing scenic views and hiking trails.

Manuel Antonio Beach is definitely one of the most exuberant places in Costa Rica, with spectacular forests that host a wealth of wildlife, including all four species of monkeys – Howler, Spider, Capuchin and Squirrel or Titi, Two and Three-toed Sloths, coaties, raccoons, marmosets, ocelots, toed anteaters, pacas, iguanas, millions of colorful little crabs and also Olive Ridley and Green turtles occasionally come ashore at Manuel Antonio Beach. Additionally, over 350 species of birds have been recorded, such as sea birds, Toucans and Scarlet Macaws.

However, be careful with the Capuchin Monkeys, who will steal food and anything else that they can get in their hands. Even though it is illegal to feed the monkeys, insensitive people still do it. Note that if you’re caught, you may, quite rightly, be ejected from the park. Recent studies have found a worrisome increase in heart disease and heart failure among the local monkey population. Unfortunately, the animals are much more prone to rises in cholesterol than humans, so please do not leave food lying around.

In the other hand, the popularity of Manuel Antonio has brought its own difficulties. With over 150,000 visitors a year comes the problem of overuse, so it was decided to close the park, which is the same entrance to Manuel Antonio Beach, on Mondays and limit the number to 600 a day. It is essential, therefore, to arrive early, before the quota has been reached.

Manuel Antonio Beach has bathrooms and showers, but do not have any type of accommodations or restaurants and no camping is allowed, but there are a lot of hotels in the vicinity to suit all pockets.

Getting to Manuel Antonio Beach in Aguirre, Puntarenas:

From San José

Drive north towards Puntarenas on route #27. Take the Pozón exit (to Jaco), and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Manuel Antonio National Park. You need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Manuel Antonio beach is inside. This route requires a total of 3 hour from San Jose.

From Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR)

Drive to the northeast towards Liberia. Once in Liberia, continue along the same highway to Puntarenas for about 120 km (75 miles). Once at the entrance to Puntarenas, continue on route #27 to San Jose for about 25 km (15 miles) until you reach the exit to Pozon and Jaco, take it and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Manuel Antonio National Park. You need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Manuel Antonio beach is inside. This route requires a total of 4.5 hours.

By bus

You can take a bus from the route San José – Quepos / Manuel Antonio (Transportes Morales, 2221-4214 / 2777-0318), making the stop at Manuel Antonio National Park, which takes about 4 hours. From here, you need to enter to Manuel Antonio National Park, and you need to pay the park’s entrance fee, as Manuel Antonio beach is inside.

Address map: Click here to view address map from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Manuel Antonio Beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Playa Espadilla Norte Costa Rica

Location: between Playitas and Espadilla Sur beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Espadilla Norte Beach GPS Coordinates: 9.391385,-84.149654 (9°23’28.98″N, 84°08’58.75″W)
District: Quepos, canton: Aguirre, province: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 60601.

Espadilla Norte Beach Costa Rica is a unique destination with white sands and clear blue waters in a long and wide beach located meters away from Manuel Antonio National Park entrance, in Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. In fact, is the largest and most popular beach in Manuel Antonio.

Its great atmosphere plus lush natural beauty turns this beach into a truly paradise. The landscape at Espadilla Norte Beach is beautifully accented by its incredible amount of tropical vegetation with stately palm trees, as well as its Coral reefs and abundant wildlife with species such as raccoons, porcupines, sloths and monkeys, that simply enchant all visitors. Its cliffs maintain the original vegetation and in their bases in shallow waters visitors can see lots of small fish and coral colonies, which must be protected so that they can be exploited for scientific tourism. In the rainy season the weather is nice for tourists, since generally the rain cools the air, and also, during this time, the endless stretch of sand reflects the sky’s beautiful, billowing clouds. On the other hand, both North and South Espadilla beaches, have been awarded under the Blue Flag award.

North Espadilla Beach is very popular, and tend to get slightly crowded, however, even when crowded, the beach is so long that you can find space to spread out in the sun or in the shade of the surrounding palms and almond trees. This is a beach ideal for swimming, sunning, and practice some water sports, such as surfing, kayaking, boat trips, jet skiing and fishing, as here abound snapper, snook, mullet, pomfret, etc., just to name a few. Also, North Espadilla is safer than most beaches due to the presence of lifeguards, an uncommon sight on public beaches in Costa Rica. Even though swimming here can be dangerous because of the unpredictable riptides and currents.

North Espadilla Beach has smooth and consistent waves, better known to have strong rip currents in spite of their small size, so surfers fall in love with the exciting each breaks found here, especially when the tide comes in.

North Espadilla Beach is accessible to the general public and tends to receive more visitors than the beaches inside the park. The town of Manuel Antonio itself has a wonderful tourism infrastructure that respects wildlife species, as well as the jungle flora found everywhere. Here you can find many restaurants, shops and street-vendors options, even a surf shop.

Getting to Espadilla Norte Beach in Aguirre, Puntarenas:

From San José

Drive north towards Puntarenas on route #27. Take the Pozón exit (to Jaco), and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Espadilla Norte beach, just before the park entrance. This route requires a total of 3 hour from San Jose.

From Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR)

Drive to the northeast towards Liberia. Once in Liberia, continue along the same highway to Puntarenas for about 120 km (75 miles). Once at the entrance to Puntarenas, continue on route #27 to San Jose for about 25 km (15 miles) until you reach the exit to Pozon and Jaco, take it and continue for about 100 km (63 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river and the towns of Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos and Parrita, taking the Quepos exit, just after Parrita. Follow the road until you reach the town of Quepos, and then turn left following the signs to Manuel Antonio National Park through the mountain for about 6.5 km (4 miles) until you reach Espadilla Norte beach, just before the park entrance. This route requires a total of 4.5 hours.

By bus

You can take a bus from the route San José – Quepos / Manuel Antonio (Transportes Morales, 2221-4214 / 2777-0318), making the stop at Manuel Antonio National Park, which takes about 4 hours, as Espadilla Norte beach is just at the park entrance.

Address map: Click here to view address map from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Espadilla Norte Beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.