Playa Penca in Guanacaste: Charming White Sand Beach

By 24 Comments

Playa Penca in Guanacaste, Costa Rica used to be a hidden, white sand beach in the Gulf of Papagayo.

It’s close to Playas del Coco and before 2020, not even many locals had visited this beach.

We discovered this beach while kayaking in 2012, and it quickly became one of our favorites, with its white-ish sand, clear turquoise water and calm waters.

Unfortunately, this beach is no longer a secret.

As of 2025, the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique finished construction and opened its door for business. They built a massive resort on this mountain.

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Location

Playa Penca is on the peninsula between Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa. This beach is also known to locals as Playa Penca Punta Cacique.

It is the beach where the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique is now.

How to Get to Playa Penca

The best way is to drive to the resort.

All beaches in Costa Rica are public and you can tell the guard you want to go to the beach and they have to let you into the guest access.

You aren’t allowed into the resort property but there are steps down the mountain for the public to go to the beach.

Boat: You can also take a boating tour from Playas del Coco. We love going beach hopping and snorkeling in the Gulf of Papagayo and we sometimes stop by Penca.

4×4 required?

No.

Now with the hotel, they have created a road and parking lot.

The Beach

*These photos were from before the resort was built, from years 2012-2020.*

Walking down the path to Playa Penca makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the true unspoiled Costa Rican jungle.

There’s no paved road, there are no facilities or anything on the beach. The views are beautiful, especially in rainy season when the hills turn an intense lush green!

Playa Penca in Guanacaste
Playa Penca Guanacaste in June

We like to put up a hammock, bring some cold drinks and lay down towels for a relaxing beach day at Penca.

We always bring our friends and family here and they love it! This is one of my favorite beaches in Guanacaste hands down and one of my favorite hidden beaches in Guanacaste!

Playa Penca Guanacaste
Hammock time!

The entire hill has actually been owned by someone for many years (rumor is Bill Gates).

Playa Penca Guanacaste
Aerial view of Playa Penca Punta Cacique

Now in 2025, the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique has completed their construction and is open.

waldorf astoria punta cacique on playa penca
Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique

Video of Playa Penca in Guanacaste

Here’s an aerial video we took of Playa Penca. This was taken in July 2017.

Enjoy seeing what this beach used to look like before the resort was built.

Read about other beaches in Costa Rica below!

Playa Mina

San Juanillo beach

Playa Cabuyal

Conchal beach

Playa Real and Bahia de los Piratas

Playa Iguanita

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24 responses

  1. Patrick

    What is the current status of this beach as of Nov 2025? My wife and I are meeting my elderly parents and staying in Playa Ocotal for a couple days at the end of November. I would love to find a beautiful white sand turquoise water beach within 1 hour drive of Playa Ocotal, that isn’t going to be brutally crowded. I was searching and Playa Penca came up and then I found your blog. Do we know what access and “busyness” is like, given the new hotel? Also, 1 review on Google says there are 160 steps down to access it? Is this accurate? If so, this would not work for my step mother who isn’t as steady on her feet as she once was. I heard Playa Nacascolo on the Papagayo Peninsula might also fit the bill, albeit’s a bit more than an hour away. Any suggestions you can offer would be welcomed.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      Yes the beach is at the bottom of a mountain so you need to walk through the public path. Nacascolo is also open to the public as it’s inside the Four Seasons but you must take a shuttle bus and that also requires quite a bit of steps down

      Reply
  2. Sue Donora

    Unfortunately, this whole area is now a huge construction zone. They’re building a Waldorf Astoria hotel right on the playa Penca beach. On the upside, the road is much better. On the downside, as you sit on the beach, you hear construction noise as they are completely digging out the hill above the beach to put in the hotel. They are keeping public access trails to both beaches, but they’re definitely not as pretty as they used to be.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      We heard 🙁 It will be open in 2024. I hope they will allow access to the beach to non hotel guests still (all beaches are public in COsta Rica but they could block off the one road available).

      Reply
  3. Lucy

    Are there boat taxis that can take us from Brasilito and drop us off at Play Penca and back?

    Thanks,
    Lucy

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      There is a Coco taxi boat from Playas del Coco but none from Brasilito that I know of because it is very far from Brasilito, like an hour or so boating.

      Reply
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