Playa Montezuma

Playa Montezuma is what it’s all about here… the rugged glory and white sand have been bringing adventurous travelers to the Southern Nicoya Peninsula for decades.

The beach start just outside of town, to the north, and is the recommended location for swimming and beach-loafing, because of the pollution potential in Montezuma Bay. This beach is the gateway to many of Montezuma’s best places, such as the string of gorgeous beaches that follow it, which are listed in order of when you’ll encounter them if you start walking north from here:

Ylang Ylang – Restaurant and Hotel
Piedra Colorada – Small cove and waterfall
Nicolas Wessberg – National Wildlife Refuge
Playa Grande – Great Beach for Surfing and Swimming
Romelia – Wildlife Refuge and Turtle Sanctuary
Playa Cocolito – Large remote beach with no one there
El Chorro – Epic waterfall and white sand cove

About the Beach

This is really a beautiful spot, and a very fun area to explore. I doubt there’s any place in Costa Rica with so much diversity of natural beauty in such a small area. At the end of the beach you’ll find a trail going up into the jungle to cross the rocky point. This will come down at Piedra Colorado, which is a great 15 minute hike and a favorite spot for many people, both tourists and locals, to walk out to with their kids to play in the small waterfall there.

This whole area has been inhabited for hundreds, if not thousands of years, because it has several sources of fresh water and it’s ridiculously gorgeous. Primitive people would have seen and appreciated the area just as we do today. The result is that there are many rumors and legends about grave sites, ancient cemeteries, native artifacts, ghosts, gold treasures, etc to be found hidden in the hills and caves of this area.

The beach itself is steep and can have very large waves crashing down on it. There are a lot of rocks too, and it’s dangerous when the waves are big. Be very cautious here. A much safer beach is Playa Grande, but it’s a 30-40 minute walk to the north.

Beachfront Lodging on Playa Montezuma

Besides Ylang Ylang resort, there are several beachfront rental houses:

Beach Chalet – 4 BR – $150-225/night
Beach Chalet Cottage – 1 BR – $550/week
Montezuma “Tree” House – 2 BR – $115-135/night
Montezuma Beach Villa – 3 BR – $125-375/night
Montezuma Beach Cottage – 2 BR – $175-275/night