Stays in Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa curves around a sheltered bay in Guanacaste's Golfo de Papagayo, a few kilometres from Playas del Coco and Marina Papagayo. The dark-sand beach faces calm water most of the year, and the town stays small: family-run hotels, aparthotels and guesthouses cluster around the first and second beach entrances rather than large resort towers. Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia is roughly 20 to 35 minutes away depending on where you stay, and day trips reach Rincón de la Vieja, Santa Rosa, Palo Verde and Diria National Parks inland, or Culebra Bay a short drive south. On the quieter Playa Penca side of the same bay, a newer five-star property adds spa and fitness facilities to the mix. Between beachfront hotels with their own strip of sand, aparthotels built around a kitchen and a pool, and a couple of higher-end options, Playa Hermosa works as a base for a family week by the water, a diving or fishing trip, or a longer stay where having your own kitchen matters.