Playa Blanca (Punta Leona)
Swimming spot · Jacó & Herradura
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A rare white-sand cove on this dark-sand coast, with clear water and rocky points that make it one of the best snorkeling spots near Jacó.
Temporarily closed: a court suspended access on Sept 23, 2026 (reported Sept 25, 2026). Check before going.
- Cost
- Free
- Time there
- 2 h
- Best time
- morning
- Kids
- 7 / 10
- View
- 8 / 10
- Crowds
- 5 / 10
- Swimming
- 9 / 10
- Effort
- 3 / 10
- Location
- 9.70281, -84.66803 — Google Maps
Before you go
- Swimming
- Only when the water is calm
- Checked
- 2026-10
Tip
Bring your own mask and snorkel. Visibility is best in the dry season (December to April).
Be careful
Stay close to shore when snorkeling, since currents pick up around the rocky points, and don't stand on coral or rocks.
Getting there
Access is temporarily closed: on Sept 23, 2026 a court suspended entry to the beach. Check the latest news before you go. Before that, only Punta Leona guests drove in and everyone else walked along the sand from Playa Mantas at low tide.
Places nearby
- Hotel Villa Caletas — Anfiteatro sunset bar & El Mirador restaurantFood & CoffeeClifftop hotel 350 m above the Gulf of Nicoya, north of Herradura, famous for its Greek-style amphitheater where people gather for sunset with a cocktail from the martini bar.
- Serenity Spa at Hotel Villa CaletasDay Passes & Hot Springs · takes 2 h–2.5 h · from $90A cliff-top spa at Hotel Villa Caletas, about 300 m above the Pacific near Herradura, where treatment rooms look out over rainforest and ocean.
- Kayak JacoSurf, Boats & Diving · takes 3 h–4 hA paddling outfitter based at Playa Agujas, north of Jacó near Punta Leona, offering half-day sea kayak trips with a beach snorkel when the sea allows.
- Restaurante La OstraSodas & Local FoodWell-known seafood house in Quebrada Ganado on the highway north of Jacó, a little pricier than a soda, for fresh fish done carefully.
- Los GuarumosFood & CoffeeOpen-air restaurant set in leafy forest on the Costanera.
- Punta Leona Beach ClubDay Passes & Hot Springs · takes 9 h · from $47.50A big beach-club resort on a private forest reserve just north of Jacó, where a day pass gets you buffet breakfast and lunch, pools and the beach.
Sources: OpenStreetMap way/250255620 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/250255620 · https://twoweeksincostarica.com/playa-mantas · https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Jac%C3%B3