Playa Iguanita: Amazing Beach Inside a Wildlife Reserve

Visiting the Guanacaste province and want to explore the coast? Head up north to Playa Iguanita and find some lovely lesser known beaches where you can enjoy crystal clear waters and soft sand to lay in all to yourself.

One such beach in particular is Playa Iguanita, a lovely beach inside the Iguanita Wildlife Refuge in the Gulf of Papagayo.

This is a great beach to visit from Playas del Coco (45 minutes) and the Papagayo Peninsula for those who want to explore and see a lesser known beach.

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Location

Playa Iguanita is 23 kilometers (14 miles) from Guanacaste Airport. It is part of the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Iguanita (Iguanita Wildlife Refuge).

How to Get To Playa Iguanita

The only way to Playa Iguanita is to drive. There are no public buses or shuttles that go to Iguanita. You can use Google Maps or Waze as your GPS and you will need a GPS because there aren’t many signs, just a few on Route 253.

Another way to get there is by boat but only by hiring a private boat. Shared catamaran tours do not go to Playa Iguanita.

If you’re interested in a private beach hop and snorkeling tour, check our post, we work with a local boat captain who can visit Playa Iguanita on a full day tour only (no half day) Upon request only and dependent upon conditions.

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4×4 Required? (Update as of May 2024)

They have asphalted over a vast section of the road to Playa Iguanita, the biggest hill. Before, it was completely unpaved and a 4×4 was required. Now, you can get there in a normal car that is not a 4wd, even a sedan in the dry season.

However, in rainy season, a 4wd is still recommended because the whole road is not asphalted over so in heavy rains, it can still get muddy down near the beach parking area and the road can get some big potholes.

This road has no street lights or anything so we don’t recommend to drive in the dark.

Parking

When you get to the bottom of the mountain to the beach, you’ll see a road to your left and one to the right. The one to the right leads to a parking lot on the beach outside the ranger station, no fee.

The one to the left is to the ranger station and they do have a secure parking lot inside their property which opens at 8 AM.

Services, Camping, Dog Friendly?

The ranger station has bathrooms and showers. They allow camping at the beach. This beach is extremely popular with city Costa Ricans who like to camp there during holidays like Christmas, New Years and Easter. It is VERY CROWDED if you visit Dec 24 – Dec 31. If you go, be prepared for a ton of people. Please also take your trash!

Dogs are not allowed inside the wildlife refuge but they can go on the beach outside the refuge.

What Else to Know About Playa Iguanita

There is an estuary on the south end of the beach so snorkeling is not really good at Playa Iguanita.

Be very careful of your belongings. There is no security if you park outside the secure reserve parking lot, so don’t leave any valuables visible in your car, roll up your windows and lock your doors.

Playa Iguanita used to be more of a secret beach but unfortunately it is not so anymore, especially now that the worst section of the road is now asphalted over. Lots of city locals during the COVID-19 pandemic were looking for beaches like this one so it got “discovered.”

As we mentioned earlier, if you go on the weekend or during a holiday, it gets extremely crazy crowded. If you want the beach with less people, go on a weekday and do not go during Christmas, New Year and Easter Week.

The Iguanita park ranger phone number is 506 8330 4863. We highly recommend to get a prepaid Costa Rican SIM card so you have a local number to call in case of emergencies.

The park rangers aren’t always at the beach either. We didn’t have any Kolbi cell phone service inside the refuge though.

Playa Iguanita beach

Iguanita beach is beautiful and it is a beautiful dark sand beach. During the heart of rainy season (June through November), the enveloping mountains were lush and green. If you visit during the driest months such as February, March and April, the mountains are yellow and bare.

There are many trees, the water is crazy clear and the waves are incredibly gentle and calm. This beach is perfect for families with little ones since the water was so gentle and clear!

I could see all the way down to my toes and spot some fish swimming around.

However, as there is an estuary, the beach isn’t good for snorkeling despite the clear waters. It is perfect for swimming though!

Playa Iguanita is much bigger than it seems, so you can walk up and down the shore to find the perfect spot.

For our first visit, we spent the day swimming at the beach. Then for our second and third visit, we went surfing!

Surfing Playa Iguanita

When there’s a big swell with wind coming from the right direction, you can surf at Playa Iguanita on the very south end in front of the rivermouth. The waves are small, fun and long, perfect for longboarding.

However, the wave only activates when the swell comes from the south/southwest direction and it is best in pure low tide.

The swells are more common in the rainy season, months May – November, particularly May and July. It’s a very gentle wave and only gets to about 2-3 feet with long, open waves.

This wave does not activate often, so many times, it’s word of mouth from locals when it does. Some locals are bringing clients from the nearby resorts such as the Four Seasons and Andaz Papagayo for surf lessons as this beach is extremely calm so they can push clients on the white water, perfect for little kids as it’s shallow.

Visit Playa Iguanita Beach

We hope that this post helps you plan your visit to Playa Iguanita. This beach is amazing and one of our favorites.

We hope you can visit too and if you do, go on a week day to avoid the crowds from long weekends and holidays.

Check Out Other Beaches Like This One!

Playa Mina: Near Conchal and Tamarindo

Playa Cabuyal: Also in the Gulf of Papagayo, a bit further up north than Iguanita

Pelada beach: White sand surf beach down in Nosara

Playa Junquillal: long, dark sand beach in South Guanacaste

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