Playa Grande is a beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica just north of Tamarindo. Playa Grande is internationally popular as one of Costa Rica’s best surfing spots as well as being home to Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, the nesting ground of the largest marine reptile, the Leatherback Turtle; the second largest nesting area for the Leatherback and Ridley Turtles in the world. It is convenient to everything but remains relatively quiet at night. There is rarely any traffic to speak of, and the atmosphere is a little more laid back than in other areas. Due its geographical location between Tamarindo and Flamingo, there is no doubt that Grande is due to experience some rapid changes, as development has already taken off here. It also is only an hour away from the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Costa Rica.[1]
Aside from its breathtaking beauty, Playa Grande offers a bohemian lifestyle while surrounded by largely developed neighboring beaches. Salinas is actually the name of the little town at Playa Grande, but this name is rarely used anymore. There are a number of small hotels, surf camps and restaurants of varying culinary styles and quality including El Huerto, Secret Spot, Kike's, Mar Bar, Playa Grande Inn, Rip Jack Inn, Kike's, Sushi Surf Hotel, La Cantarana and others. A micro mini-market can be found next to Kike's as well.[2]
On the southern end of Playa Grande, Palm Beach Estates is a gated community with its own amenities. Palm Beach has a small supermarket, restaurants and a couple hotels. It also has a panga dock that allows quick boat rides up and down the estuary so that one can reach Tamarindo in five minutes for shopping or other necessities. The Great Waltini's at Hotel Bula Bula is a nice restaurant for dinner with boat taxi service to Tamarindo. Cantarana is another good choice in Palm Beach.
Playa Grande Costa Rica boasts a sandy bottom and waves big enough to surf, but not big enough to prevent a comfortable swim. There are multiple surf breaks starting at the river mouth and running towards Hotel Las Tortugas. The beach is also long enough that you never feel crowded. Multiple beach accesses slice through the foliage, but they can be a little bit difficult to spot from the beach due to the lack of visible buildings in the area. Playa Grande is considered to have some of the most consistent surf in Northern Costa Rica.[3]