Photos of twenty one amazing beaches within 30 minutes drive of Anamaya, located in Montezuma, Cabuya, Mal Pais, Santa Teresa, and other nearby areas of the Southern Nicoya Peninsula. If you visited a different one each day, it would take three weeks to see them all!
All photos were taken by Anamaya CEO Geoff McCabe between years 2004 and 2013.
Yoga on the beach at Playa Mar Azul in Mal Pais. This beach has a great left-hand point break.
Sunset at the beach in Montezuma, just a short walk north of town.
Playa Grande north of Montezuma. This is the beach where most of Anamaya’s surf lessons happen. There’s no development here and is part of the Romelia National Wildlife Refuge.
Playa Los Cedros (The Cedars) is just south of Montezuma and is one of the area’s best left-hand point breaks in addition to being one of the peninsula’s most beautiful beaches. This is a 6 minute drive from Anamaya.
North Santa Teresa’s La Lora beach is one of the prettiest, and has a great beach break and the famous “suck rock” point break for surfers.
Playa Los Suecos, at the southern-most end of the road in Mal Pais is also known as “The Secret Beach” and is one of the area’s best snorkeling spots as it’s next to Cabo Blanco National Park and Marine Reserve
This is one of the large beautiful tidepools at Punta Barigona, next to Mar Azul, and a little-known area worth exploring.
Playa Mal Pais is also known as the Fishermen’s Beach. Here you can buy fresh fish and lobster for bargain prices directly from those who caught them this morning.
Las Rocas is midway between Montezuma and Cabuya, about 8-9 minutes drive from Anamaya. It has a rivermouth, and a great snorkeling spot, plus lots of fun rocks to scamper around on.
Barigona Bay (Bahia Barigona) is one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful beaches at high tide. It’s located in the middle of Mal Pais and is nearly deserted most of the time.
The Tango Mar beach between Montezuma and Tambor has beautiful white sand and even can be surfed or great for boogie boarding.
Playa Santa Teresa goes for miles of beautiful white sand and perfect surfing waves year round.
Playa Hermosa north of Santa Teresa, is great for surfers, boogie boarding, and swimming. It’s the broadest, flattest, and most beautiful beach. We usually bring our guests at Anamaya here on Wednesdays for a sunset beach excursion.
This is the beautiful beach in the bay in the center of Montezuma, part of what made our town such a memorable place for ocean lovers.
The largest tidepool in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula is between Playa Hermosa and Santa Teresa, and is a great spot to snorkel or explore.
At high tide, a path appears in the ocean out to Cabuya Island, where there’s a cemetery and one of the peninsula’s best snorkeling spots. There’s also a great “big wave” for surfers off this island when large swells come in, but usually surfers get their by boat rather than walking out to it.
The beautiful Playa Las Manchas has incredibly snorkeling and is one of the prettiest white sand beaches in the Peninsula.
Piedra Colorado is a small freshwater pool, waterfall, and white sand cove north of Montezuma. You’ll pass by it on the way to Playa Grande to go surfing. It’s a favorite spot for people in Montezuma to walk to (15 min or so.)
People who think that Cabuya doesn’t have white sand beaches are wrong, as you an see in this photo. There’s a protective rocky reef in front, making this a great spot for people who don’t want to get pounded by bigger waves. Great for kids!
Playa Carmen in the center of the Santa Teresa / Mal Pais side of the peninsula, and has one of whitest sand beaches and the best beach break for surfers. It’s also the area’s most popular beach.
“Reyes” surf spot, also known as the Rio Lajas Rivermouth, is in Cabuya and has a nice wave, but you have to walk across a lot of rocks to get there.