Herradura Beach
Herradura Beach
3.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
114 reviews
Excellent
32
Very good
31
Average
38
Poor
10
Terrible
3
Alejandra G
1 contribution
Jun 2023 • Family
The beach is very nice the only thing is that wasn’t clean ( the sand area ) when I was there. I’m not sure if It is like this all times or just because yesterday was raining a lot.
Written 6 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jacob'smom
Massachusetts191 contributions
Feb 2023
So it really depends what your expectations are for a beach and what they are for a CR Pacific beach.
Just North of Jaco, this beach sits in Herradura Bay making it one of the few really swimmable beaches on the Pacific side. The waters are relatively calm and clean. The beach sand itself is common to the Pacific side, dark sand. If you go in the rainy season, sediment does flow from the mountains making it turbid not dirty.
This beach isn't a gringo tourist beach, rather it is a get away spot for Ticos and gringos alike. If you prefer a resort type beach with white sand for miles, this isn't it.
There is a free parking spot at then end of Calle Herradura, if you can find a spot. There are also parking spots between palms right along the beach like many CR beaches in the area. They usually fill early on the weekends.
Calle Herradura turns into a tiny congested street right along the beach with restaurants and tour places. You can rent an umbrella and a chair for around $6-10 for the day from various places like SUPHerradura.
I would recommend spending a day here if you're not on a super tight site seeing schedule. I definitely prefer it to Manuel Antonio beach.
Just North of Jaco, this beach sits in Herradura Bay making it one of the few really swimmable beaches on the Pacific side. The waters are relatively calm and clean. The beach sand itself is common to the Pacific side, dark sand. If you go in the rainy season, sediment does flow from the mountains making it turbid not dirty.
This beach isn't a gringo tourist beach, rather it is a get away spot for Ticos and gringos alike. If you prefer a resort type beach with white sand for miles, this isn't it.
There is a free parking spot at then end of Calle Herradura, if you can find a spot. There are also parking spots between palms right along the beach like many CR beaches in the area. They usually fill early on the weekends.
Calle Herradura turns into a tiny congested street right along the beach with restaurants and tour places. You can rent an umbrella and a chair for around $6-10 for the day from various places like SUPHerradura.
I would recommend spending a day here if you're not on a super tight site seeing schedule. I definitely prefer it to Manuel Antonio beach.
Written 26 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
crazygrammybert
Sellersville, PA15 contributions
Jan 2023
There is literally nothing to recommend about this beach. My title says it all, except that the worms WERE pretty, as worms go.
Written 29 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CDBCDB
Lodi, CA490 contributions
Mar 2022
Not the prettiest beach, but a long beach with plenty of room to roam. We were staying at the Marriott, which is right on the beach; the beach was completely empty during our 10-day visit. This is not a white-sand beach, more of a muddy-brown sand. There are a lot of hermit crabs at night, so watch your step.
Written 6 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tyagi
New York City, NY401 contributions
Dec 2021
Small beach with rocks in the sand. parking is right on the beach. There are sodas & fast food available practically on the beach.
Written 5 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ArtPhemister
Chattanooga, TN386 contributions
Oct 2021
Herradura Beach is a nice swimmable beach with great views. This a local beach that was visited mostly by local families the day we were there. We really enjoyed swimming here.
Written 11 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
flsurfer
Grecia, Costa Rica440 contributions
Aug 2020
Large public access beach and parking. This is not a pretty white sand beach, but is worth a visit. It is in a cove, therefore the day we were there the water was calm. Might consider making this the beach we visit for a nearby beach day. It is close to Jaco where there are plenty of restaurants. Did not visit any of them, but there are several restaurants right on the beach here as well.
Written 22 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CraigH08
Cincinnati, OH60 contributions
Great beach for walking (especially south toward Jaco), watching waves, and finding rocks and shells
Feb 2020
I was staying at the Marriott Los Suenos February 21 and 22, 2020. This beach is just a few hundred meters from the hotel. If you like walking you can walk north towards the Marriott and the Marina and check out the yachts, and continue on a short distance to a small beach with very few people. If you go south (toward Jaco), you can walk for about an hour and get all the way up to where the large island is (Isla Palma). In low tide it is very easy walking. In high tide you can still do it easily, but you may have to step on my rocks to get there. Once you get to the "point" where the island is, if low tide you can walk around a pointed rock. If high tide you may decide to turn back, wade through the water, or climb the rock (I climbed the rock - not to bad). But once around the corner the waves crashing and splashing on even larger rocks is even more breath taking than what you just saw earlier, plus there is a little beach there. I kept walking on sand, and hopping on rocks for another several hundred meters before pretty much ran out of room to walk and had to turn back. No people in this area at all - very quite and secluded. I spent a lot of time watching the pelicans diving for fish, watching the waves, and the sunset - beautiful. Decent amount of small unique shells and pebbles if you like collecting those as well. Again, this is a good hour one way depending on hour fast or slow you walk. I had on hiking shoes to protect my feet from the rocks, and keep from slipping. There is parking at the end of the road (Calle Herradura). On Friday afternoon / evening there was lots of parking, on Saturday evening it was very full with lots of families and friends watching the sunset. Enjoy your time at the beach.
Written 23 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pirate828
Ventnor City, NJ531 contributions
Feb 2020
Very nice beach, clean, about 2 miles including the bay, no waves, good swimming, not great. Couple low keys fun bars/restaurants on beach.
Written 20 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John Saxton
Herradura, Costa Rica4 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Wonderful place to visit. So many places to see and things to do! Great food, great atmosphere! Can’t wait to come again!
Written 10 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hola, planeo ir el 29 de enero del 2022, ¿alguien que haya visitado me puede decir que tal está la playa y si hay lugares en donde hospedarse cerca?
Shirin J
San Francisco, CA30 contributions
someone mentioned crocodiles in the water...what's up with that and how real of an occurrence is this? I will be traveling with small children who love the water...
marcbergeron101
8 contributions
No to worry crocodile hate salty water, Tarcoles river though, need a guide and you would be better to rent in Jaco Beach :)
Shirin J
San Francisco, CA30 contributions
someone mentioned crocodiles in the water...what's up with that and how real of an occurrence is this? I will be traveling with small children who love the water...
Jada
4 contributions
PS, there are No Private Beaches in CR. All are available to the Public if you can get to them. It’s the law.
HERRADURA BEACH - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Herradura Beach
- We recommend booking Herradura Beach tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 2 Herradura Beach tours on Tripadvisor