• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MytanFeet

MytanFeet

Costa Rica Travel Information

  • Home
  • Start
  • About
  • Blog
  • Deals
  • Contact
    • Work with us

Playa Barrigona: Gorgeous Secluded Beach by Samara

April 10, 2020 By Sammi 7 Comments

If you’re staying in Samara and would like to take a day to visit a lesser known beach, then you have to go to Playa Barrigona. This secluded crescent shaped beach is so beautiful that even Mel Gibson built a huge resort next to it! Luckily all beaches in Costa Rica are public so not even celebrities can prevent people from visiting this stunning beach.

In this guide, you’ll read about how to get to Barrigona beach, what it’s like and why you should make it a point to visit.

Location and Directions

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica map

Playa Barrigona is in the south Guanacaste province, very close to Samara.

How to get to Playa Barrigona

Even though Barrigona looks close to Samara, it’s more complicated to get there than it seems. The best and easiest way is by driving as there are no direct buses.

Driving directions from Samara

From Samara, get on Route 160. If you are at the main intersection in town with the beach behind you, take the road that goes to the west side of town (left). From there, continue on this road towards Hotel Samara Pacific Lodge and stay on the main road. After about 9 kilometers, turn left to stay on Route 160.

You’ll pass Rio Buena Vista (small river in dry season) and keep going. You’ll pass a Ferreteria Coyote on your left and the turn to Barrigona is not too far ahead. Look out for an intersection and tree with a red B painted on it. It looks like this:

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica - sign for the beach
Look out for this tree that has a red B painted on it (hard to see in photo but it’s there) and turn to the left to get to Barrigona beach

The GPS coordinates for this turn is N9 53.546 W85 34.463.

Once you leave Samara, the road is unpaved and when you turn left at the red B tree, the road gets really bumpy. In dry season, you can make it with a 4wd but in rainy season, it becomes one giant slippery mess. You can see what the road looks like in dry season below:

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica road
The road to Barrigona beach after the turn. Picture take in February so it’s dry since it was summer.

4×4 required?

The road to Barrigona requires a 4×4 in rainy season. Because of the road, taxis will drop you off at the intersection and you will need to walk the last couple kilometers if you go during rainy season. In dry season, you can probably get there with a normal car by going slow.

We visited in February which is peak of the dry season and all the rivers were dried up or very small. Driving there was no problem in our truck. But if you go during May – November (especially September to November), a 4×4 is required and I definitely don’t recommend going if it’s raining.

If you want to go in rainy season and it’s super muddy, some people will park at the intersection and walk the rest of the way. However, this does leave your car vulnerable to break ins so keep that in mind.

Parking

There is no dedicated parking lot. You will have to park your car before the river and as there is no security or anything around, make sure you lock your doors, roll up windows and don’t leave valuables visible in the car. Petty theft is the most common tourist crime and it is easy for thieves to get in and out of your car quickly. When you are on the beach, you don’t have a view of the parking lot at all.

Horseback riding tours

There are some horseback riding tours that go down to Barrigona. Check with the Samara Info Center for more information. It’s $60 for a 3 hour horseback ride (morning and afternoon).

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica Beach

The reward after this section of treacherous road is an absolutely breathtaking beach. You’ll see a small parking lot at the end of the road. There’s a river to the side but in dry season, it isn’t very full and you can walk around it to get to the beach.

Then you’ll see the full beauty of Playa Barrigona.

Barrigona Costa Rica beach
Barrigona beach panorama photo

The beach has soft white sand and bright blue waters, surrounded by forest covered mountains from end to end. During dry season, the mountains are more yellow and sparse but in rainy season, they turn a lush green.

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica aerial photo
View of Playa Barrigona from the air

What to do on the beach

There is nothing on Barrigona: no hotels, no restaurants, nothing. It’s a wonderful escape from the crowds of Samara!

At both ends of the beach are large rocky reefs and the north end rocks are always visible. This side has some nice palm trees and flat spaces for laying down and relaxing.

Swimmable?

The waves at Barrigona are much bigger than it seems so if you want to swim, be very careful. The Triple Crown surf competition was held at Barrigona in 2014 so if you’re a surfer tired of the crowds at Samara, this is an excellent nearby beach to catch waves.

Barrigona Beach
Soft white sand at Playa Barrigona.

Crowds

When we visited in February, we saw only one other car there even though it was high season. It was the couple in the photo above, they brought their own umbrella and towels. It was amazing to share this beautiful beach with only two other people! Samara was completely packed in February which is why we set out to find Barrigona.

Camping

There isn’t really anywhere to camp at Barrigona. If you want to camp, you would have to drive on the beach to get to the trees on the other end of the beach which is not encouraged. If you can, stay until sunset at least because it is very beautiful at Barrigona!

Playa Barrigona Costa Rica sunset
Barrigona at sunset

Other Beach Near Samara

You can also visit Playa Carrillo for another beautiful quiet beach near Samara.

Read about other secluded beaches in Costa Rica below!

Playa Mina Guanacaste: Local favorite white sand beach south of Conchal

Cuevas beach: Small white sand beach in Mal Pais, great snorkeling bordering a private reserve

Playa Cabuyal Guanacaste: Empty white sand beach in Gulf of Papagayo

Chiquita Puerto Viejo: Beautiful beach between Punta Uva and Cocles

Playa Buena: Small white sand beach between Playa Panama and Hermosa in Guanacaste

Playa Penca: White sand beach with clear waters by Playas del Coco

Filed Under: Costa Rica Beach information

Primary Sidebar

About Mytanfeet

Hi! We are Yeison and Samantha

Mytanfeet is full of local tips, detailed guides, photos, videos and maps to help you plan the perfect ​trip to Costa Rica.

Our Costa Rica City Guides

Tamarindo Costa Rica Travel Guide


Costa Rica Destinations Map

Special rent a car rates for Mytanfeet readers

Check Rates or Reserve


Get Exclusive Costa Rica Travel Tips and our Free Travel Guide Straight to You!

Yes, send me the tips

Footer

About

Who are we ?
Contact us
Our Instagram
Copyright & Disclaimer

Travel

Start here
Destination Map
Join our YouTube Channel

Exclusive deals

Car rental discount and freebies
7% off Arenal tours
White water Rafting special
See all our exclusive deals

Mytanfeet LLC Copyright© 2013 - 2023 - Thank you for supporting our Travel Blog!