If you follow our adventures, this may come as a surprise to some of you…BUT we didn’t have much planned for Playa Hermosa. We figured we’d just enjoy some relaxation by the beach, which is exactly what we did.
Playa Hermosa is a beautiful little beach town with calm waters and a quiet local presence. After a morning of relaxing by the beach, we decided to venture off to some other nearby beach towns. Playa Hermosa is a bay of sorts (Bahia in Spanish) in the Gulf of Papagayo and surrounded by rocky peninsulas to the north and south.
Our first stop was Playa Penca on the tip of the southern peninsula. It had a more vibrant local presence…especially on a weekend, and had beautiful blue waters and some really unique fish if you’re interested in snorkeling. The roads on this southern peninsula are unpaved and so we do recommend having a 4×4 (you could probably make it in a sedan, but it would be tricky). You actually have to park at the top of the hill and walk down a pretty steep and rocky slope to reach the beach itself…but it’s worth it! We could immediately tell it was a pretty local beach and it was fun to see everyone enjoying a weekend at the beach with family and friends.
We set up our beach towel, put our snorkel gear on, and headed out to sea! We saw many different species of fish…some we’ve never seen before! Some were even bold enough to swim right up to us to check us out.
After a couple hours at Playa Penca, it was time for lunch. This area is pretty desolate, so we decided to pack up our things and slowly make our way back uphill to our car to head out. Just south of this peninsula is a more populous town called Playa del Coco. This beach is a popular spot to get beach hopping and diving/snorkeling day tours, but that’s not on our agenda here, so we actually opted to skip Playa del Coco for the quieter beach about 5 minutes south…Playa Ocotal. Playa Ocotal is known for its black volcanic sand beach, which was as soft as ever under our aching feet.
There’s a small handful of restaurants in this sleepy beach town, but Father Rooster’s caught our eye right off the beach, so we grabbed a few comfy chairs with beautiful beach views for lunch. We ordered Patacones (plantains with black bean paste, local salsa, and guacamole) and Dedos de Pascados del dia (fish fingers of the day) with red snapper. Both dishes were so delicious and we can’t recommend them enough!
We had every intention of snorkeling Playa Ocotal, but after that lunch filled us up…we decided it wasn’t our best idea to be in the water with a full stomach. We plan on doing a big snorkeling trip further down the coast, so we wanted to maximize our relaxing time while at Playa Hermosa….after all, that’s why we’re here!
We made our way back to our hotel to take a much-needed break…the sun and ocean can really get to you! We walked along the beach for sunset and decided to grab a small dinner at Aquasport…again! I guess that shows just much we like it.
We have one more day in Playa Hermosa…so stay posted for what’s next!