sunset· Sunset· Romantic· Waves

Playa Santa Teresa

Bohemian surf village with the finest sunsets on the Nicoya Peninsula

4.5(2 reviews)

Santa Teresa

Best Time to Go

“Best just before sunset”

About this place

Santa Teresa occupies the northwest tip of the Nicoya Peninsula where the land runs out and the Pacific takes over. The village is sun-bleached, unhurried, and has been discovered by enough people to have excellent restaurants, yoga studios, and juice bars alongside the surf camps and loncheras that were there first. The beach itself is one of the longest on the coast — a broad golden sweep that catches the evening light more dramatically than almost anywhere else in Costa Rica.

What People Say

4.5· 2

Carlos B.

March 2025

The sunset here is the best I have seen in Costa Rica, possibly in Central America. The beach faces due west and the sky goes through gold, orange, pink, and deep red over about 45 minutes. The whole village gathers. Even the restaurants and bars orient themselves toward it. The place has earned its reputation.

✦ Sunset faces due west — arrives daily without fail✦ Whole village gathers for it — bring a drink

Lucia F.

January 2025

Wonderfully unhurried. We spent four days and felt genuinely rested for the first time in weeks. The surf is good in the mornings and the food scene has genuinely excellent restaurants now alongside the old-school places. The road in from Cobano is rough but manageable. The beach is long enough that it never feels crowded.

✦ Rough road from Cobano — high clearance better✦ Morning surf, evening sunset — very specific daily rhythm