Playa Barrigona: the empty one at the end of a steep dirt track

Why is Barrigona so quiet?#

The track. It leaves the coast road at a signed turn and drops two kilometres to the sea, steep and unpaved, and that filters out most of the day-trip traffic on its own. A normal car manages it in the dry season if it is driven slowly; a low one scrapes, and after heavy rain the whole thing is a poor idea.

The beach at the bottom is short, pale and closed at both ends by rock, with jungle behind it instead of a road. It has a reputation from a period when a well-known actor owned land above it, which is why it appears in more searches than a 600-metre beach otherwise would — the land is private, the beach, like every beach in Costa Rica, is not.

Is it safe to swim at Playa Barrigona?#

Less so than it looks. There is no reef in front of this one, so the Pacific arrives with its full swell, and the beach is short enough that the currents at either end are never far away. The middle is fine on a calm day. On any other day it is a beach to walk rather than to swim, and there is no lifeguard, no phone signal to speak of, and usually nobody else there.

What should you bring?#

Everything. There is no water, no shade structure, no toilet, no soda, no attendant on the parking clearing. The tree line gives real shade in the afternoon, which is some compensation. Take valuables with you rather than leaving them in the car, which is the standard advice for any unattended parking area on this coast.

Both rock shelves are only passable around low tide, so check the tide before planning to walk to the far end and back.