Depends on what you're looking for. Do you want a swimmable beach? Do you want a great surfing beach? Are you intent on snorkeling? Do you want to walk the beach for miles or would you be happy with a beautiful isolated cove hidden in the trees? Do you need a swimming pool and AC or just a gorgeous beach? There are so many great beaches in Costa Rica it's hard to respond without knowing a little more about what you are looking for. Not trying to be difficult - just help you to find exactly what you're looking for.

Depends on what you are looking for in a beach. Off the beaten path or lots of shopping and dining options? Nightlife? Animals? Surfing? Fishing? All-Inclusive?

The most common airport is San Jose and in most cases it's a little cheaper to fly into than Liberia, but you can check both.

Thank you so much for the quick and helpful replies! We will probably be trading a timeshare, so where we stay kind of depends on what we can get.

We do a lot of body boarding, but I love finding a secluded beach off the beaten path as well. We will have two small kids, so we can't do much hiking though, if that's required to get to a hidden beach.

Also check out Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side, just South of town there are some incredible beautiful beaches most of the time, you'll be almost alone.

Punta Uva has some beautiful peaceful beaches for swimming, and there are some beaches near by for boogie boarding. also beautiful Cahuita National Park and the Gandoca Manzanilo Refuge for easy nature hikes, your kids will love the Jaguar Rescue Center as well as all the wildlife in the Caribe Sur.

I don't think you;re going to find any timeshares on the Caribbean coast, although I agree it's got some of the prettiest beaches in the country. You are likely to be looking at northern Pacific beaches or the Central Pacific (Jaco and Manuel Antonio/Quepos). Jaco is a surfing destination and does not have swimmable beaches so I'd give it a pass with young children. Manuel Antonio has a small national park with lots of wildlife, and a beautiful swimmable beach inside the park as well as a large public beach with waves (and occasional riptides) right outside the park entrance. This might be your best bet if you can find a timeshare nearby.

The northern Pacific beaches from Samara north include both surfing beaches and some beautiful swimmable ones. The best are Playa Conchal or Playa Pan de Azucar (no timeshares and only 1 hotel) or Playa Carillo near Samara.

Suggest you sort out the 2-3 options that sound best to you and then ask for more feedback here.

I don't know what I was thinking, nope, not the Caribbean Coast for time share, Thank God.

May it ever be so!

I would suggest Manuel Antonio as well beautiful place with great beaches. For Manuel Antonio you would need to fly into San Jose

My God Mike that is a hard question to answer..let me try!

Nice to check..Santa Tereza and Mal Pais...

Ta Central Pacific, Manuel Antonio and UVITA check Tikivillas great place perfect for a family...the hotel is run by a young couple and the lovely kids..

Tamarindo great for surfing the Southern point great for kids...most of the time is like a huge pool!

Of course 100% with Cubanon...some great beaches at the Caribbean side of the country!

roadadvisor