Playa Garza (Isla Garza)
Beach · Central Pacific · hidden gem
Kilometers of nearly empty beach on Isla Garza, a shifting sandbar island at the mouth of the Térraba river, a 10-minute boat hop from the mainland south of Ojochal. Locals describe it as Costa Rica the way it was 20 years ago.
- Cost
- about $12
- Time there
- 4 h
- Best time
- low to mid tide, weekdays
- Kids
- 6 / 10
- View
- 7 / 10
- Crowds
- 1 / 10
- Swimming
- 6 / 10
- Effort
- 3 / 10
- Location
- 9.00689, -83.63931 — Google Maps
Before you go
- Entry
- parking about ₡3,000 per car and a boat about ₡3,000 per person round trip (2025)
- Tickets
- Pay at the entrance
- Parking
- Paid
- Road
- Gravel — a regular car is fine
- Walk
- 5 min
- Swimming
- Only when the water is calm
- Bring
- shade, food and drinks, cash, sunscreen
- Fewer people
- even on busy weekends only a handful of people
- Checked
- 2026-10
Tip
Ask at the bar by the boat launch for a boatman and agree on a pickup time (or a call) before he leaves you on the island; bring shade, food and drinks.
Be careful
Crocodiles live in the estuary — don't swim on the river side. The island's tip has been eroded by storms, so the beach shape changes.
Getting there
Turn right off Highway 34 just past Ojochal and Playa Tortuga toward the Mica Linda bar and restaurant next to the boat launch; park in the field and cross by local boat, then walk a few minutes across the island.
Places nearby
- Mica Linda Bar & RestaurantFood & CoffeeA small open-air bar and restaurant at the water's edge next to the boat launch for Isla Garza, south of Ojochal.
- Citrus RestauranteFood & CoffeeChef-run creative cuisine in Plaza Tangara, Ojochal, with a modern dining room and a menu built around local seafood, crispy pork belly and house cocktails.
- Reserva Playa Tortuga (sea turtle hatcheries and releases)Parks & WildlifeA local non-profit that protects sea-turtle nests on the beaches around Ojochal and Uvita from July to December, moving eggs to hatcheries.
- Heliconia RestauranteFood & CoffeeA jungle restaurant in Ojochal set on the bank of a small river, with trees growing right through the patio and capuchin monkeys sometimes watching the lunch crowd.
- Restaurante ExóticaFood & CoffeeOpen-air fine dining under a thatched roof in the Ojochal jungle since 1998: French technique with Asian, Polynesian and Mediterranean touches, from sea bass carpaccio to duck breast and a chocolate dessert.
- Osa Canopy TourTours & Adventure · from $80Family-run zipline in primary rainforest above the Costanera, 15 minutes north of Palmar Sur: seven cables up to 1.1 km, three rappels and two hanging bridges, with monkeys and sloths often seen.
Sources: OpenStreetMap relation/13470675 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/13470675 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1295391656 · https://we-sell-paradise.com/garza-beach-on-garza-island/