Las Baulas National Marine Park
The reason Playa Grande still looks the way it does. The park protects the beaches, mangrove estuaries and coastal waters around Tamarindo Bay, which keeps the shoreline free of development and full of wildlife.
What the park protects
Las Baulas covers Playa Grande, Playa Ventanas and Playa Langosta, the Tamarindo and San Francisco estuaries with their mangrove forests, and a wide marine zone offshore. Behind the beach, it borders the dry tropical forest that covers the Playa Grande hills.
For visitors, that means a beach with no hotels or bars on the sand, dunes and trees instead of buildings, dark skies at night, and wildlife that you'll see without going looking for it.
Wildlife you're likely to see
Howler monkeys
You will hear them before you see them, usually at dawn. Troops move through the trees around Playa Grande's hillside neighbourhoods.
Birds
Herons, egrets, kingfishers and roseate spoonbills in the mangroves; magpie jays, parakeets and motmots in the forest; pelicans and frigatebirds over the surf.
Crocodiles
American crocodiles live in the estuaries. Best seen from a guided boat, and the reason not to swim or wade across the river mouth.
Iguanas & coatis
Green and black iguanas sun themselves on rocks and rooftops, and white-nosed coatis forage along the forest edges.
Capuchins
White-faced capuchin monkeys are smaller, quicker and bolder than howlers. Enjoy them, but never feed them.
Marine life
Rays, schools of fish and the occasional dolphin offshore. Rock pools at Playa Ventanas are worth exploring at low tide.
Ways to experience the park
Mangrove boat or kayak tour. A slow trip up the Tamarindo estuary with a local guide is the best way into the park. Go early morning or late afternoon for the most birds.
Walk the beach end to end. From the estuary mouth to the rocky point at the north end and over to Playa Ventanas. Time it with low tide.
Surf. The beach break is protected along with everything else, and on most days you'll share it with far fewer people than in Tamarindo.
Sunset. With no buildings on the sand, the view west is open ocean.
Park etiquette
- Keep the beach dark at night; no flashlights or bonfires
- No driving or parking on the sand
- Don't feed or touch wildlife
- Take all rubbish with you
- Follow posted signs at beach access points
What about the turtles?
"Baula" is the Costa Rican word for the leatherback sea turtle, and the park was created to protect what was once one of their most important nesting beaches. The Pacific leatherback population has declined sharply since then. Leatherbacks still come ashore here, but much less often than they used to, so a sighting is a rare and special event rather than something to count on.
Come for the beach, the surf, the monkeys and the mangroves, and keep an eye out. If you're here in nesting season and want to try your luck, local authorised guides can tell you what's been happening on the beach.
