Herradura Beach
Herradura Beach
3.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
118 reviews
Excellent
32
Very good
32
Average
40
Poor
11
Terrible
3
CraigH08
Cincinnati, OH67 contributions
Great beach for walking (especially south toward Jaco), watching waves, and finding rocks and shells
Feb 2020
I was staying at the Marriott Los Suenos February 21 and 22, 2020. This beach is just a few hundred meters from the hotel. If you like walking you can walk north towards the Marriott and the Marina and check out the yachts, and continue on a short distance to a small beach with very few people. If you go south (toward Jaco), you can walk for about an hour and get all the way up to where the large island is (Isla Palma). In low tide it is very easy walking. In high tide you can still do it easily, but you may have to step on my rocks to get there. Once you get to the "point" where the island is, if low tide you can walk around a pointed rock. If high tide you may decide to turn back, wade through the water, or climb the rock (I climbed the rock - not to bad). But once around the corner the waves crashing and splashing on even larger rocks is even more breath taking than what you just saw earlier, plus there is a little beach there. I kept walking on sand, and hopping on rocks for another several hundred meters before pretty much ran out of room to walk and had to turn back. No people in this area at all - very quite and secluded. I spent a lot of time watching the pelicans diving for fish, watching the waves, and the sunset - beautiful. Decent amount of small unique shells and pebbles if you like collecting those as well. Again, this is a good hour one way depending on hour fast or slow you walk. I had on hiking shoes to protect my feet from the rocks, and keep from slipping. There is parking at the end of the road (Calle Herradura). On Friday afternoon / evening there was lots of parking, on Saturday evening it was very full with lots of families and friends watching the sunset. Enjoy your time at the beach.
Written February 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ronald H
1 contribution
Oct 2023 • Couples
We stayed in Los Suenos and decided to support the locals a walk's way to Herradura Beach. It was initially a nice change of pace. However the area itself was just moderately nice. We ate breakfast and dinner there at different days. We finally took out one of the fishing boats from Estaban of JacoGuides. This is a potential full blown scam as a different person sells the fishing tour. Points at the boat... then you get on a different boat the next day. Our boat broke completely down. We lost the day out in the ocean and were told we would get a refund. The next day Estaban said he had no money. We tried to work with him over the next two months of promises etc. then he stopped communicating.... seemed like the intention all along. Los Suenos is beautiful though with customer service at a high level.
Written January 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
flsurfer
Grecia, Costa Rica426 contributions
Aug 2020
Large public access beach and parking. This is not a pretty white sand beach, but is worth a visit. It is in a cove, therefore the day we were there the water was calm. Might consider making this the beach we visit for a nearby beach day. It is close to Jaco where there are plenty of restaurants. Did not visit any of them, but there are several restaurants right on the beach here as well.
Written August 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shaun C
Edinburgh, UK13 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
Lovely clean beach where everyone was at ease. Wear was a bit rough. Children should be supervised while in the water.
had a really lively day
had a really lively day
Written July 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pirate828
Ventnor City, NJ488 contributions
Feb 2020
Very nice beach, clean, about 2 miles including the bay, no waves, good swimming, not great. Couple low keys fun bars/restaurants on beach.
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony E
Nanaimo, Canada597 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
Not too many people use this beach - they tend to use the resort pools. Brown sand and a bit stony in places. Gently sloping - did’nt see anyone swimming.. Can be accessed by car - parking lot at beach.
Written November 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mandi F
Bristol, UK19 contributions
Feb 2016 • Friends
I love this beach. There is always very small waves to play in, on big days I learn to surf here, on average days the kids all splash in the very small waves. I would advise to drive South along the sand road (when the bitumen finishes), there is a tree in the middle of the track for turning...South of there are rocks but North of there is rock free.
Very popular locals beach at the weekends but mid week is relatively empty.
Many people say it is dirty, the sand is black and there are (small) waves so it looks dirty but its just the sand, which is a pain as it gets everywhere and doesn't rinse out easily. There are nice shade trees on the beach and many large pieces of driftwood to sit on.
The sunset here is phenomenal.
Very popular locals beach at the weekends but mid week is relatively empty.
Many people say it is dirty, the sand is black and there are (small) waves so it looks dirty but its just the sand, which is a pain as it gets everywhere and doesn't rinse out easily. There are nice shade trees on the beach and many large pieces of driftwood to sit on.
The sunset here is phenomenal.
Written March 30, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
California Travlz
San Luis Obispo, CA43 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Many beaches in Costa Rica are dark and muddy, unfortunately. Herradura Beach is beautiful to look out upon or for water sports and fishing. The sand and many times the water can look dirty and unappealing to visitors expecting white sand beaches. They do exist, however you will need to take a tour guide to find the truly pristine beaches. Take the day trip to Manuel Antonio national park for impressive picture perfect beach memories.
Written September 3, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
crazygrammybert
Sellersville, PA19 contributions
Jan 2023
There is literally nothing to recommend about this beach. My title says it all, except that the worms WERE pretty, as worms go.
Written January 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ArtPhemister
Chattanooga, TN383 contributions
Oct 2021
Herradura Beach is a nice swimmable beach with great views. This a local beach that was visited mostly by local families the day we were there. We really enjoyed swimming here.
Written October 11, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are going on a Costa Rican tour in December. Our tour ends in San Jose but we are considering jumping off the day before (near Manuel Antonio Nat'l Park) and doing a few days on our own before coming home.
I have never been there. Am looking for either an all inclusive somewhere close to San Jose (I know there aren't a lot there it seems) or else just a really nice resort/hotel with great swimming and lots to do.
Recommendations on town/city to stay in and/or hotel/resort?
TIA!
Written May 12, 2024
Hola, planeo ir el 29 de enero del 2022, ¿alguien que haya visitado me puede decir que tal está la playa y si hay lugares en donde hospedarse cerca?
Written January 3, 2022
someone mentioned crocodiles in the water...what's up with that and how real of an occurrence is this? I will be traveling with small children who love the water...
Written June 19, 2019
No to worry crocodile hate salty water, Tarcoles river though, need a guide and you would be better to rent in Jaco Beach :)
Written June 20, 2019
someone mentioned crocodiles in the water...what's up with that and how real of an occurrence is this? I will be traveling with small children who love the water...
Written June 19, 2019
PS, there are No Private Beaches in CR. All are available to the Public if you can get to them. It’s the law.
Written June 19, 2019
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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