Playa Coyote and San Miguel, Costa Rica
The beaches of Playa Coyote are bisected by the Rio Jabillo and its mangrove estuary. To get from the southern (Punta Coyote) to the northern Playa Coyote, you must drive 5 km inland via San Francisco de Coyote.
Beach at Punta Coyote
The southern beach of Punta Coyote is a soft-sanded beach, fringed by a palm grove.
The bay's water is so shallow that at low tide the beach becomes a 200 meter broad expanse of sand
while at high tide it is almost non-existent.
The tranquil waters are perfect for children and non-swimmers, and sometimes you can see Costa Rican families
sitting in the shallow water with their cooler and stuff, having a picnic in the warm water.
To the south the rocky promontory of Punta Coyote closes off the adjacent beach of Playa Caletas,
one of the Costa Rica's most important turtle nesting beaches.
In front of Punta Coyote experienced surfers
find a great reef break. For surf information ask Tanga in the small beach bar.
At the northern end of the beach is the estuary of the Rio Jabillo where you can watch waterfowl like egrets and herons.
With some luck you might also spot one of the crocodiles who live in the river.
Five kilometer on the road inland, San Francisco de Coyote is a small, traditional village with supermarkets, hardware store, a gasoline seller with workshop and a place to hook up to the Internet.
The vast and deserted beach of Playa Coyote
Despite the small size of the village there is a daily bus to San Jose which also serves the beaches of Bejuco and San Miguel. Other busses connect to Jicaral and the ferry in Playa Naranjo, but there is no public transportation to Mal Pais, Santa Teresa or Montezuma.
Five km past San Francisco de Coyote a road goes down to the northern part of Playa Coyote which residents have
renamed to the more appealing name of Costa de Oro.
See » Area Map from Playa Coyote to Carrillo
Sunset on Playa San Miguel
A bit further on the main road another side road leads to Playa San Miguel.
In both beach villages, Playa San Miguel and Playa Coyote, one single
road parallels the beach. There are just some vacation houses whose owners are absent for most
of the year, and only few hotels and restaurants are available.
The beaches of Playa Coyote and San Miguel are one uninterrupted ribbon of powdery sand which stretches for miles and is blissfully crowd-free.
Looking south to Playa San Miguel and Coyote
Surfing in San Miguel and Playa Coyote can be quite good, although it can be a bit tricky with waves tending
to close out.
The beaches are not suitable for swimming as there are strong rip tides.