If you’re driving around the southern part of the Nicoya Peninsula, there are a handful of pristine, non-touristy beaches you can visit along the way since this area is not very developed. Playa Coyote between Santa Teresa and Punta Islita is one of them. We visited for the first time in February 2018 and we immediately fell in love with this beautiful dark sand beach.
4×4 required?
As this area is not touristic and fairly remote, it is best to drive. It is difficult to get there via bus but there are two daily buses from San Jose at 6 AM and 3:30 PM that is 5 hours.
We highly recommend a high car for the Nicoya Peninsula. All the roads in that area are dirt unpaved paths if you’re coming from Santa Teresa. We also recommend using Waze for GPS because signage is not that great in the area. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for signs that say “Vuelta a la peninsula” and the easiest way is to drive to San Francisco de Coyote Costa Rica.
Parking
You can park at any of the entrances to the beach. If you use Waze, you can set Playa Coyote as your destination and park on the road there.
Camping
No proper camping facilities but some people wild camp. Just pick up your garbage and clean up your area before you leave.
Location and Directions
Playa Coyote is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Santa Teresa and takes about 2 hours to drive there. The closest airport is Liberia International Airport, 158 kilometers (98 miles) and about a 3 hour drive.
Playa Coyote, Costa Rica map