Carmen Beach Costa Rica

Location: between Malpais and Santa Teresa Beaches in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
GPS Coordinates: 9.628744,-85.150897 (9°37’43.48″N, 85°09’3.23″W)
District: Cóbano, canton: Puntarenas.
Zone postal code: 60111.

Carmen Beach Costa Rica: a beautiful white sand beach with moderate to strong waves ideal for surfing. However, the force of the waves is lower than its neighboring beaches.

Carmen beach has been awarded with the “Blue Flag” which certifies the high environmental standards and safety compliance.

Besides surfing, you can also do some other activities such as horseback riding, hiking, swimming, kayaking, deep-sea fishing and ATV and canopy tours, as well as explore Costa Rica’s diverse wildlife since it has plenty of typical dry tropical forest nearby, as it is so close to the Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve, where you can spend a day hiking through nature.

Carmen beach also has a lot of options for accommodation, food and entertainment to suit all budgets.

Getting to Carmen beach Costa Rica

From San José go to Puntarenas and then take the Ferri to Tambor or Paquera. (Tambor Ferri is the largest and most comfortable, we recommend you get to Puntarenas an hour before the ferry leaves). Go through Tambor to Cobano. In Cobano cross the village and after about 8 km, and just before the beach, there is a junction, turn right onto Carmen. This trip requires a total of five hours from San José.

From Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), drive south through Nosara, Samara and Coyote, cross the Bongo river and continue through Manzanillo to Carmen. Between Ario and Manzanillo you can continue through a stretch of beach. Make sure the tide is low and only use a 4×4 vehicle for this route. It is a very scenic trip as you go down the coast (this route exemplifies rural Costa Rica and is very beautiful). Or you can reach the junction that leads to Ario Beach and go through the mountains, this way takes longer, but it’s an official road and its use is not dependent on the tides.

By bus

Take a local bus from the San Jose – Malpais – Montezuma route, which takes about 5 hours (Transportes Rodriguez, +506 2642-0219).

By plane:

You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Tambor Airport, either with Sansa Airlines or Aerobell every day. From here you can rent a car and drive, or take a bus or taxi to Cobano and then Carmen, which is about 30 minutes.