Location: between Caletas and Jaco beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Herradura Beach GPS Coordenates: 9.648350,-84.656911 (9°38’54.06″N, 84°39’24.88″W)
District: Jaco, canton: Garabito, province: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 61101.
Herradura Beach Costa Rica is a small beach of grey sands, calm blue waters and a palm tree lined shoreline that has become one of the most popular tourist destinations, located on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, exactly at about 5km (3.5 miles) north of Jaco.
Initially Herradura, which refers to the shape of the bay of this particular beach whose Spanish name means “horseshoe”, was a rural beach and sleepy little town. Nowadays, this unknown paradise has seen a lot of changes due to the demand of tourism and property development. Today Herradura beach is a tourist hotspot with different types of hotels, vacation rental condos, homes, camping sites, groceries, restaurants and nightlife, such as the prestigious Marriott Los Sueños Resort, with its own marina and golf course, known as the Fishing Capital of Costa Rica playing home to Costa Rica’s only full service five star Marina Boats and home to the largest fleet of the country’s top Big Game Sport fishing Captains and boats.
All this makes Herradura beach ideal for those looking for activities like swimming, water sports, boat trips, sport fishing, golf and many other options. Also, Herradura is located nearby the Carara National Park, famous for its crocodiles in the Tarcoles River and mangroves where you could see birds such as macaws, herons and toucans, as well as its trails will allow visitors to see an abundance of wildlife and impressive flora.
However, Herradura beach still does not attract as many visitors as its neighbor beaches such as Jaco does, making it a great place to slip away in a quiet environment. In fact, Herradura has a campground nearby with showers and other basic services just a few hundred meters from the coast, making it perfect for low budget travelers and backpackers.
Getting to Herradura Beach in Garabito, Puntarenas:
From San José
Drive north towards Puntarenas on route #27. Take the Pozón exit (to Jaco), and continue for about 31 km (19 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river, and then turn right again at Plaza Herradura (where the Auto Mercado supermarket is) towards Herradura. Continue for about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) until you reach the beach. This route requires a total of 1.5 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 31 km (19 miles), passing over the Tarcoles river, and then turn right again at Plaza Herradura (where the Auto Mercado supermarket is) towards Herradura. Continue for about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) until you reach the beach. This route requires a total of 2.5 hours.
By bus
There are no public buses to Herradura, however, you can take a bus from the route San José – Jaco (Transportes Jacó, +506 2223-1109), which takes about 2 hours, or you can also take a bus from the route San José – Quepos / Manuel Antonio (Transportes Morales, +506 2223-5567), which takes about 2 hours, making the stop at Plaza Herradura and then walk to the beach in both cases.
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