The Gold Coast of Costa Rica begins in the province of Guanacaste and continues down to the Central Pacific Coast in the province of Puntarenas. Jaco Beach is one of the best-known tourism hotspots of Costa Rica for many reasons, and the most important is that this coastal town has undergone considerable development for quite a few decades.

 

First-time visitors to Costa Rica do not usually know that what the area they think of as Jaco Beach is actually comprised of three separate beaches. There’s Playa Jaco, Playa Hermosa and Playa Herradura. An easy way to remember these three beaches is to keep in mind that Jaco Beach is nestled between Playa Herradura to the north and Playa Hermosa to the south. Jaco Beach is the most touristy of the three beaches; this is where you can find major attractions such as the new Croc’s Casino Resort. Playa Herradura consists of a horseshoe-shaped bay and is home to one of the most upscale resorts in Central America. Playa Hermosa is perhaps the prettiest and most expansive of the three beaches, and it is not as developed as its sister beaches (at least for now).

 

To learn more about this part of Costa Rica, please enjoy the video below, which was shared by a GoPro videographer who thoughtfully filmed all three beaches: