Brasilito, Costa Rica: A Quiet Beach Town in Guanacaste

Brasilito, Costa Rica is an excellent beach town in Guanacaste for a relaxing beach vacation.

With an authentic Costa Rican town feel, Brasilito offers a low key atmosphere and serves as a great anchor location to other destinations.

Let us help you plan your visit to Brasilito in this guide.

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Location and Directions

Brasilito is 62 kilometers (39 miles) from Guanacaste Airport, about a 1 hour drive.

Brasilito is 259 kilometers (161 miles) from San Jose International Airport, about a 4.5 hour drive.

Driving Directions from Guanacaste Airport to Brasilito

You can use GPS apps like Google Maps and Waze to get to Brasilito.

From Guanacaste Airport, it is about a 1 hour and 10 minute drive to Brasilito. We recommend to take Route 21, 156 and 180. The road is completely paved so a 4×4 is not required to get to Brasilito.

However, if your GPS leads you to take Route 911 Monkey Trail, we recommend to only take this route during the day (before 6 PM). This is a windy mountain road with two river crossings so we recommend to drive this route only during the day.

To avoid the rivers, you can cross via the The Congo Trail bridge by paying a small fee to enter their property.

In the driest months like February, March and April, it is possible to take Route 911 without going through the Congo Trail as the rivers have dried up.

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Bus

You can take the bus from Liberia to Playa Flamingo and get off at Brasilito. There is a bus every day at 430 AM, 6 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM and 6 PM from the Transportes La Pampa in Liberia.

Flying

The closest local airport is at Tamarindo. You can fly to Tamarindo and from there, take a taxi or pick up your rental car. Tamarindo to Brasilito is about 25 minutes driving.

Shuttle

If you need a ride from Guanacaste Airport and do not plan to rent a car, the best option is to book a private shuttle to your hotel in Brasilito. Need a private shuttle? Contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you.

If you are coming from another destination such as La Fortuna or Monteverde, you can book a shared shuttle if you’re on a budget. Get our Interbus shared shuttle discount here!

Brasilito Beach

Brasilito beach is not as popular as Conchal which is right next to it but it’s still beautiful.

It has light brown sand with blue grey waters. Waves on a normal day are fine for swimming but when there’s a swell, you can actually surf at Brasilito on the southern end with the rocks.

There is a break there and when there’s a swell, you’ll see locals surfing at Brasilito.

Brasilito beach is fairly long and stretches over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from end to end.

The sand does get very hot at Brasilito but there is a good amount of shade. Plus, the sunsets are beautiful.

Playa Brasilito is very much a locals beach as most tourists go to Conchal or Flamingo.

Weather

Brasilito is in Guanacaste, one of the hottest areas of Costa Rica. This area experiences typical tropical weather with dry and rainy seasons. Expect sunny skies and high temperatures nearly all year long!

Rainy season is from May to end of November. Dry season is from December through April.

Average temperatures in dry season range from low to high 90s° F (35° C). The rainiest months are October – November. The hottest months are March and April.

Brasilito, Costa Rica Town

The town of Brasilito is nothing fancy, nothing to brag about. It’s a modest town with a few local restaurants, small hotels, the church, the school, a field and a couple or small markets.

It is a small local community but all the beaches in the area are very close to each other so Brasilito is in an excellent location for a home base in Guanacaste. Especially if you’re looking for someplace quiet and not as expensive as Flamingo or Conchal.

You can see what Brasilito town looks like in this video!

The video above is from before 2019 so you can’t drive on Brasilto beach anymore to get to Conchal beach.

Brasilito, Costa Rica Hotels

There aren’t a ton of hotels in Brasilito but vacation rentals more than make up for the lack of hotels. Check Airbnb or VRBO to find listings.

Westin Conchal: luxury all inclusive resort on Conchal beach

Hotel Brasilito: Good budget option by the beach

Conchal Hotel: Cute little B&B style hotel on Brasilito

W Costa Rica: Chic upscale resort on the same Westin Conchal property on Conchal beach

Personally, if you don’t plan to stay at the Westin or W, I would book a vacation rental in Brasilito rather than a hotel since there are many houses and apartments/condos for rent.

There is also a campsite right on Playa Brasilito called Don Julian with bathrooms, water and electricity.

Brasilito, Costa Rica Restaurants

For local food, Soda Brasilito is very good. Soda El Coco is not bad either. Both are family run local restaurants serving traditional Costa Rican food.

We also like Deli Cafe (coffee shop and artisan bakery with amazing cinnamon rolls and cupcakes), Patagonia (steak), Masala (Indian food) and Soda Sol y Luna (another Costa Rican restaurant). Ander’s Restaurante is another good local place.

Things to Do in Brasilito, Costa Rica

This beach town is in a good location to explore the beaches in Guanacaste and to visit natural attractions and national parks since they aren’t too far away.

Here are some popular things to do in Brasilito and day trips from Brasilito.

Farmers Market

Every Saturday from 11 AM to 6 PM, there is a farmer’s market in Brasilito in the Brasilito Plaza. You’ll find homemade jewelry, artisanal products, food, produce and more from the locals and the immigrant/expat community in Brasilito.

Conchal Beach

A visit to Playa Conchal is a must do in Brasilito as Conchal is one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica.

Additionally, Brasilito is the gateway to Conchal as it has the only direct public access.

Plan your trip to Conchal beach with our guide!

Fishing

Playa Flamingo near Brasilito has a large marina where visitors can go off and in shore fishing.

ATV Tours

You can book an ATV tour to take you around the beaches and up to nice mountain viewpoints.

Sunset Sailing

There are some catamaran sailing tours in the area which are very nice. Some recommendations are Panache, Lazy Lizard and Serendipity.

You’ll go on the catamaran in the afternoon and sail back under the sunset.

Private Snorkeling Tour

For a more exclusive experience, book a private snorkeling tour in Flamingo. You’ll have the boat just for your group and your captain will pick the best beaches and snorkel spots during your trip.

Scuba Diving

The Catalina Islands are not too far from Brasilito and they are an excellent place to go scuba diving. You can see sharks, manta rays, turtles and fish. Most scuba diving shops leave from Flamingo.

If you don’t have your certification, it’s OK! Scuba dive shops offer a discovery dive specifically for those who aren’t certified. It’s so worth it if you love the ocean.

Interested in scuba diving? Feel free to contact us to help you arrange it.

Fiestas Civicas

If you are in Brasilito in December or February, you can check out the local parties or fiestas civicas, usually on the two middle weekends.

You can play games, gone on rides, eat Costa Rican fair food and watch the bull riding.

You can read more ideas for things to do in Conchal in this post.

Day trips from Brasilito

Here are some popular day trips from Brasilito. You can visit all these places on your own or you can book with a tour company who will pick you up at your hotel.

Guachipelin adventure tour

Hacienda Guachipelin is a family farm up in the Rincon de la Vieja area (about 1.5 hours away) and they have lots of activities on their property.

The most popular activity is their combo adventure tour where you go ziplining, horseback riding, white water tubing and to the hot springs.

If you have a rental car, you can book park tickets and drive there on your own. If you don’t have transportation, you can book a tour.

Need to book a tour? Contact us and we’ll be happy to assist. We can also help you book park tickets if you have your own transportation.

Rio Celeste

See the amazing sky blue river in the Tenorio Volcano National Park and hike through the tropical jungles of Rio Celeste. About a 2.5 hour drive one way.

Gulf of Papagayo snorkeling and beach hopping

If you want to see some beautiful white sand boat access only beaches, head to the Gulf of Papagayo to go on a beach hopping and snorkeling tour. The best option is to go on a private boating tour in Playas del Coco. A 1 hour drive.

Barra Honda National Park

This national park protects dry tropical forest and caves so you can go hiking and do a cave tour to explore the mysterious caves of Costa Rica. About a 2 hour drive.

Surfing lessons Tamarindo

If you want to learn how to surf, head to Tamarindo beach, the best beach for beginner surfers in the area for a surf lesson.

Palo Verde National Park

If you want to see wildilfe, go on a boat ride down the river in Palo Verde National Park. This river is filled with iguanas, monkeys, birds, crocodiles, caimans and other animals so it’s one of the best places to see wildlife in Guanacaste.

Another option is Hacienda El Viejo which also runs boat tours down the same river as Palo Verde National Park. They also have their own cultural tour, birding tour, traditional house and rum tour so it offers more activities for a full day of Guanacaste fun.

Read more about El Viejo in this post and we also offer a discount for Hacienda El Viejo tours. About a 1.5 hour drive.

Diamante Adventure Park

If you want to do a fun zipline, head to Diamante Eco Adventure Park. They have the longest ocean view zipline in Costa Rica! They also have ATV tours, horseback riding tours and an animal sanctuary so you can see sloths, jaguars, monkeys and toucans up close.

Get 10% off any activity with our discount in this post: Diamante Eco Adventure Park.

You can also do day trips to Arenal Volcano, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Rio Celeste and Ostional Wildlife Refuge.

Read about other beach towns in Costa Rica below!

Jaco, Costa Rica

Mal Pais, Costa Rica

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Montezuma, Costa Rica

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

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