Playa Bahía Junquillal

Playa Bahía Junquillal Review

This 2½-km (1½-mi), tree-fringed, Blue Flag beach is as close as you can get to a white-sand beach in this part of Guanacaste. The warm, calm water makes it one of the best swimming beaches on the Golfo de Santa Elena. Not to be confused with the Playa Junquillal on the western coast of the Nicoya Peninsula farther south, this beach is part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area, and is a wildlife refuge, to the north of Santa Rosa. Stay for the day or camp out in the well-kept, shaded camping area with cold-water showers, bathrooms, grills, and picnic tables ($1 park entrance, plus 75¢ per person per night to camp). You can snorkel if you've got your own gear.