Off The Beaten Path | Playa Negra

Playa Negra

About twice as far from Tamarindo as Avellanas, Playa Negra is easily twice as much fun to get to and promises even better surfing. You may have already heard of it and didn’t know it. This spot was made famous by the film Endless Summer II.

Welcome to another Off The Beaten Path. Today we are headed south. Playa Negra is the best surf spot you will struggle to find in Guanacaste. It’s also a great place to get away from the bustle of more developed towns like Tamarindo or Flamingo, where you can get some good food too if you so desire.

The town that makes up the population of Play Negra is Los Pargos. That’s Spanish for “The Snappers,” a type of local, pink-colored fish. To get to Los Pargos you have to pass through the town of Paraiso. That’s pretty much where the paved road ends. From there out it’s all bets off with road conditions. Don’t worry, you’ll probably be fine.

Unlike our last feature on Playa Minas, you don’t need to mule in food to Negra. Los Pargos and the beach are home to a disproportionate amount of food options for such a small town. Of course, you can have pizza, but there are also Peruvian, Mexican, and Continental options. If you’re not a surfer, you can always do a self-guided beer-pairing while your friends surf: see which Costa Rican beers go best with each cuisine.

On the shore, you’ll likely find the rich sand of Negra to be relatively unadulterated. Costa Rica has three types of sand: black, brown, and white. Tamarindo, for instance, is considered a white sand beach, even though some of us would call it tan. Don’t let the actual colors of the sand throw you. If you’re familiar with beaches in the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico, you may have a different version of white.

Playa Negra is a black sand beach. This means you probably won’t be spending as much time digging your feet in the sand as you may in Tamarindo. You may also find that if you run around too much you get sprays of brown up your calves. It rinses off. The color comes from soil mixing with the sand. Whatever you do, don’t miss the chance to walk the beach in Negra.

But you didn’t come to dig your toes and build sandcastles. You came to surf. You came to the right beach. Negra services most levels of surfer, and even provides a left, which is a little tight depending on the tide. This time of year you will find more surfers in the water than you would when the green season starts. That’s to be expected for the super-star surf spot.

Plan time to eat before you leave town. You won’t forget the day you spend in Playa Negra. Any good conquest deserves a feast to celebrate its end. Huzzah.

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Horizon Pacific Management & Rentals is located in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Horizon Pacific offers vacation rentals, property management, long-term rentals, as well as a complete concierge service. Providing you with a local contact during your stay, Horizon Pacific is a company you can trust, with the experience you need.