Playa Palo Seco Costa Rica – Undiscovered Location

Playa Palo Seco Costa Rica – A Hidden Jewel of the Central Pacific

If you ever wanted to see a truly unspoiled Costa Rican beach then you must visit Playa Palo Seco Costa Rica. Although hidden away this beach is still only one and half hour away from San Jose.

Beautiful, pristine Palo Seco Costa Rica is perfectly located 30 minutes south of Jaco Beach and 20 minutes north of Manuel Antonio/Quepos on the Central Pacific coast.

Palo Seco’s 5 mile long palm tree lined beach is usually deserted. You can walk for miles along the beach on most days and not see a soul! Every late afternoon offers a chance to see a picture-postcard sunset.

Standing on the beach and looking south, the hills of Manuel Antonio and the port of Quepos, only 8 miles as the crow flies, are clearly visible.

The Playa Palo Seco estuary winds along the backside of Palo Seco for several miles making Palo Seco a peninsula and offering a great opportunity to get on the water and see some incredible wildlife firsthand.

The navigable estuary offers great fishing for snook (robalo), snapper and grouper and is home to crocodiles, toucans, scarlet macaws, monkeys, sloths and more!

The looming mountains of Parrita 10 minutes away rise above the estuary and offer vacationers many delights such as canopy tours, white-water rafting, quad and jungle tours, hot springs, waterfalls and more.

Surfing and surf fishing right off the beach are incredible as well.

Originally subdivided into lots over 40 years ago, Playa Palo Seco Costa Rica was home to numerous “cabinas” that were built by Costa Ricans from San Jose as weekend getaways. Since then a few small hotels and restaurants have been built as well as several larger and medium sized homes built by North Americans and Europeans. The vast majority of lots have not been built on.

Through the foresight of the local Municipality who installed a strict master zoning plan (plan regulador) that allows for a maximum building height of 2 stories, Palo Seco will never become an overdeveloped vertical density beach and will always retain the charm it has today.

The town of Parrita, 10 minutes away, is a medium sized Costa Rican town that offers pretty much of what any homeowner or vacationer might need. It contains 2 national banks, 2 chain grocery stores as well as bakeries, butcher shops, restaurants and bars, small hotels, stores, Dentists’, Doctors’ and Attorneys’ offices, a health clinic and more. A full service hospital is located in Quepos, 25 minutes away.

Since Playa Palo Seco has not been fully discovered yet by the rest of the world there exists many opportunities to acquire beautiful beachfront lots where one can build their dream home, for a fraction of the price of other Costa Rican beaches. It is not uncommon to find 1000 square meter (1/4 acre) beachfront lots for around $70,000 and 2000 square meter (1/2 acre) beachfront lots for around $135,000.

Palo Seco truly is a special place where one feels apart from the hustle and bustle of the larger beach towns yet close enough to them by 20-30 minutes should one want to go.

Palo Seco Costa Rica- a little bit off the beaten track but well worth the effort!

Have you been to Palo Seco Costa Rica? If so, please write about your experience so we can share it with others.