Fodor's Expert Review Playa Pan de Azúcar
A seemingly endless stretch of soft, light-color sand, this Blue Flag beach is the idyllic paradise people picture in their tropical dreams. There is only one property on the entire beach, the Hotel Sugar Beach, offering parking, restrooms, and a restaurant open to the public except during private events. The north end of the beach has some good snorkeling when the sea is calm—usually around low tide—and swimming out from the middle of the beach is relatively safe. Watch out for a few rocks on both sides of the cove, and if the swell is big, children and weak swimmers shouldn't go in past their waist. This beach is frequented by Ticos on weekends, but it is still relatively peaceful compared with neighboring beaches. Playa Penca, a short walk south along the beach, can be a good swimming beach as well. A large part of the attraction here is the forest that hems the beach, where you may see howler monkeys, black iguanas, magpie jays, trogons, and dozens of other bird species. Amenities:... READ MORE
A seemingly endless stretch of soft, light-color sand, this Blue Flag beach is the idyllic paradise people picture in their tropical dreams. There is only one property on the entire beach, the Hotel Sugar Beach, offering parking, restrooms, and a restaurant open to the public except during private events. The north end of the beach has some good snorkeling when the sea is calm—usually around low tide—and swimming out from the middle of the beach is relatively safe. Watch out for a few rocks on both sides of the cove, and if the swell is big, children and weak swimmers shouldn't go in past their waist. This beach is frequented by Ticos on weekends, but it is still relatively peaceful compared with neighboring beaches. Playa Penca, a short walk south along the beach, can be a good swimming beach as well. A large part of the attraction here is the forest that hems the beach, where you may see howler monkeys, black iguanas, magpie jays, trogons, and dozens of other bird species. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.
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