Playa Flamingo, Guanacaste

When you think about a tropical beach with blue crystal waters and sparkling white sand, Playa Flamingo is what you see in your mind’s eye. This stunning beach is one of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast jewels and part of the town of Tamarindo’s charm.

It lies on Costa Rica’s famous Gold Coast and is a popular destination for December or Easter vacations.

One of your vacation highlights is sure to be the amazing sunsets, which you can toast from the pristine sands in your lounge chair.

Book your trip between December and April when the weather is sunny and temperatures are consistently in the 80s to 90s.

Scuba Diving and Water Sports

Playa Flamingo is the starting point of many ocean-going excursions and offers the only marina with a full range of services between Panama and Acapulco.

The water beckons with a variety of options for you to enjoy. Try your hand at surfing, frolic in the water, or get some scuba gear and explore the water beneath the ocean surface.

You can scuba dive here year-round, and it is an experience not to be missed.

The waters off Costa Rica’s shores are teeming with marine life, which makes this country a top destination for scuba diving. Go exploring for starfish, coral reefs, eels, reef sharks and an amazing collection of wildly colored tropical fish.

The nearby island of Plata is a destination spot for diving and sailing expeditions that you can join as well.

Ocean Sportfishing

The waters here are world-famous and the site of more than 40 world fishing ecords. Push off from Playa Flamingo for a day or half-day sportfishing excursion at any time of the year.

You can even book a full week on the water if you wish.

Playa Flamingo

Where to Stay

View Hotels

One sure thing about a fishing trip here is that you won’t be bored. You’ll find tuna, snapper, mahi mahi, marlin, sailfish, rooster and much more offshore.

Playa Flamingo hosts an annual sailfish tournament every July; if you can’t make it here in December, aim for summer instead and join this exciting event.

Championship Golf

Oceanic views are part of the attraction of Costa Rica’s golf resorts, and the Guanacaste region has some gorgeous ones.

Lush and green, area courses are professionally designed and offer high-quality amenities.

Just outside Tamarindo, you’ll find the Hacienda Pinilla, designed by renowned golf course architect Mike Young. It is an 18-hole course with a par 72 over 7,500 yards of greens and roughs. This world-class championship course is one of the country’s best.

Map of the Area

Click to enlarge map - Map of the Area

Santa Rosa National Park

Playa Flamingo is near the Palo Verde natural reserve and Santa Rosa National Park, the country’s first national park and its largest at more than 49,000 hectares.

Oak and deciduous forests, marshlands and savannahs are all part of this unique park, home to more than 115 mammal species, 100 species of amphibians and reptiles and 250 bird species. But they’re outnumbered by the more than 10,000 insect species. Coatimundi, jaguars, leatherback turtles and collared peccary are just a few of the creatures you may glimpse here.

The rains bring lush greenery, but the dry season reveals trails that will take you from beach to waterfalls, dry forest and more.

A historical mansion offers photos, drawings and military equipment from the Hacienda Santa Rosa battle, when Costa Rican volunteers repulsed invading American William Walker and his forces.

Also part of the park are the white sands of Playa Nancite, known for ridley turtle nesting and Playa Naranjo, which offers world-class surfing.