Manzanillo, Santa Teresa

• Santa Teresa
• Manzanillo
• Map Manzanillo to Playa Coyote

The beach of Manzanillo is shaded by stocky palms and beautiful almendro trees bending far out over the sand. Swimming is possible at mid to hight tide. During low tide however you should take care of rocks underwater.

At low tide you can walk over the rocks to a large lagoon which is protected by a rocky reef. It's the perfect place for snorkeling. The light underwater is best during morning hours.

Manzanillo is not yet too much troubled by tourism. It has the relaxed ambience of a small Costa Rican pueblo with only a few places to stay. The small bars and restaurants here serve traditional, though delicious, Tico fare.
Rampant development, as in nearby Santa Teresa, has so far spared Manzanillo as there isn't enough water for large scale projects and still no phone lines or internet.

The area north of Manzanillo is one of the last uninterrupted stretches of pristine beach wilderness on the Nicoya Peninsula. Sea turtles come to lay their eggs in the sand and birds breed in the thickets by the river estuaries. The beaches are part of a huge hacienda whose owner, thankfully, doesn't allow any development on his property.

A day-long hiking tour takes you to the estuary of the Rio Bongo, 7 km from Manzanillo.

Before leaving Manzanillo pack enough water, take sun protection, and check on the tides because you have to ford two rivers. Shortly after Manzanillo is the Rio Manzanillo and 2 km further is another, smaller river to cross.
On your trip you will rarely encounter any humans; instead, you find seclusion on lonely beaches littered with driftwood and shells.

The Rio Bongo is one of the biggest rivers on the Nicoya Peninsula. It forms the border between the provinces of Guanacaste and Puntarenas.

Before you arrive at the river mouth you wander along an extended spit of land which the river has formed over the years. Here you have the pounding ocean on the one side, while on the other side is the idyllic and calm life of the majestic river.

You can cross the Rio Bongo at low tide by wading through waist-high water at the outer edge of the river mouth. Locals use to scare people with reports of huge crocodiles in the Rio Bongo. Maybe there are some of these animals but they seem to be rare.

From the Rio Bongo you can continue along beautiful, undeveloped beaches until Playa Coyote which is another 8 km from the Rio Bongo.