FOR YOU, FOR FREE: 17 years' worth of firsthand Costa Rica trip planning and travel advice compiled into hundreds of articles, plus exclusive discounts. Created by a Costa Rican and a four-time published Costa Rica guidebook author. Welcome, amigos, and as we say in Costa Rica, pura vida!
Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️
Get the Costa Rica info you need by browsing our article's TABLE OF CONTENTS:
north end of Playa Preciosasouth end of Playa Preciosanorth end of Playa Preciosasouth end of Playa Preciosawaves at Playa PreciosaRicky; Playa Preciosadriftwood at Playa Preciosahammocks at Playa Preciosa
Note: The Playa Preciosa referred to in this article is actually named Playa Platanares. We opted to use the beach’s nickname, Playa Preciosa, in the article below to address the beach as locals do.
Playa Preciosa fast facts
English name: Preciosa Beach (Preciosa translates to “Precious”)
Distance from San Jose: 380km (approximately 6 hours and 15 minutes)
Closest Town: Puerto Jimenez
Beach Status: Public beach
Playa Preciosa beach details
Sand, shade, scenery, and unique features
Playa Preciosa is a long beach with medium grey-brown sand that’s often awash with driftwood and other debris. The beach has long, unbroken waves you can surf. A variety of trees at the back of the beach, including tall ceiba barrigona trees, almendro (almond) trees, and leafy palms, provide cooling shade. Scarlet macaws can regularly be seen flying around the trees that back Playa Preciosa.
Crowds and noise
On any given day, Playa Preciosa receives only a handful of visitors, mainly guests of the few accommodations that are spread out along the beach. You’re more likely to share this section of the coast on weekends and holidays with locals that reside in nearby Puerto Jimenez. Fortunately, the multi-kilometer-long beach provides plenty of room for spacing out and rarely feels full. Noise is kept to a minimum, save for the sound of crashing waves and squawking macaws.
Cleanliness and Ecological Blue Flag rating
Costa Rica’s Programa Bandera Azul Ecológica (Ecological Blue Flag Program) promotes sustainability and public health. Every year, beaches in Costa Rica strive for top honors, which are bestowed annually according to strict ecological criteria. Beaches that participate in the program and meet 90-100% of the eligibility criteria achieve a 1-star rating. Further efforts invite beaches to earn additional stars (5 stars is the highest rating), including special colored stars. (To learn more about the program and discover what each blue flag rating means, see our related blog post: Award-Winning Blue Flag Beaches In Costa Rica: Photos & Map; Most-Recent Winners.)
Playa Preciosa is not currently participating in the Programa Bandera Azul Ecológica. Therefore, it does not have a star rating.
Development at Playa Preciosa
Hotels, restaurants, tours, bathrooms, etc.
Playa Preciosa is separated from the town of Puerto Jimenez and most commercial development by mangroves and an estuary. A few establishments, most notably the accommodation Iguana Lodge, are spaced out along the back of the long beach.
Playa Preciosa safety
Swimming and water safety
Swimming is allowed at Playa Preciosa. However, the beach can be ridden with rough waves. As always, exercise caution in and around the water, especially if you plan to visit with children or inexperienced swimmers.
General safety
Never bring items of value with you to the beach and always keep an eye on your belongings. Remember to lock your rental car if you have one. Do not visit the beach before sunrise or after sunset. If possible, visit the beach as part of a group to avoid being at this remote-feeling beach alone.
Playa Preciosa location and road conditions
Access to Playa Preciosa and 4×4 requirement
Playa Preciosa is located on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. It occupies a part of the coast east of the town of Puerto Jimenez and is the town’s principal beach.
Playa Preciosa is an approximate 5.5-kilometer, 15-minute drive away from Puerto Jimenez. Part of the drive is over an unpaved, bumpy section of road (Calle Platanares). A 4×4 vehicle is recommended to reach Playa Preciosa.
Map of Playa Preciosa Costa Rica
Parking at Playa Preciosa
There is no official parking at Playa Preciosa, save for the private parking spaces available at area establishments. You can park along the beach’s main access road (Calle Platanares), however, spaces aren’t secure. Don’t park far from where you plan to visit; the beach area is remote, and the nearby mangroves and estuary are home to crocodiles. Walks between vehicles and the beach should be kept to a minimum.
Best reason(s) to visit Playa Preciosa
Playa Preciosa isn’t worth traveling to purely to experience the beach. However, it’s a beautiful beach that you can easily stretch out on and relax at if you plan to station yourself in the Puerto Jimenez area of Costa Rica for a particular reason, such as to tour the region’s Corcovado National Park.
From Puerto Jimenez center, Playa Preciosa is a worthwhile day trip, but the beach is best enjoyed by guests of the Iguana Lodge and neighboring accommodations that are steps away from the water.
Beach-hopping from Playa Preciosa (or alternative beach options in the region)
Playa Preciosa is the best beach in the Puerto Jimenez area. There are few other beaches to choose from along the eastern half of the Osa Peninsula, but if you must go someplace else, check out the sandy spots off Road 245 between Puerto Jimenez and Matapalo.
Not sure which Costa Rica beaches are the best to visit? Let the beaches in this article inspire you:
Do you have questions about Playa Preciosa, want to know more about the area surrounding the beach, or need help incorporating a visit to the beach into your vacation? No problem! When you’re ready, make an appointment here to communicate with me (Nikki) privately and we can discuss these and other topics to get your questions answered fast and your Costa Rica trip poised for success. Pura vida, amigos! 🙂
Hey, Costa Rica Travel Blog reader, thank you for visiting and reading our blog! We're truly grateful for your time and preference.
Do you know that your spam-free reading experience is most important to us? Unlike some other Costa Rica blogs, we do not to sell your personal information, and we choose not to display ads, sponsored content, or affiliate marketing on our blog so we can keep your visit as distraction- and junk-free as possible. Because we prioritize your privacy, we don't earn money when you visit us, when you sign up for our e-course, or when you click on our links, which means the time and work we put into this blog—including its 300+ articles—is entirely voluntary! If you find our content valuable, and you'd like to thank us for making the trip-planning process easier and your Costa Rica vacation more enjoyable, please consider making a small donation ($1, $2, $3, or an amount of your choosing) to our blog. Doing so is a great way to pat us on the back if you feel we deserve it. 😊 Pura vida, amigos!
Click on the button above to donate through PayPal. (If you cannot see the PayPal button above, click here.) A PayPal account is not required to make a donation; credit and debit cards are also accepted. PayPal donations are confidential; we never see your payment details.
Love our blog? Check out our other Costa Rica-related projects, too:
Summary
Article Name
Photos of Playa Preciosa Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula) From Our Personal Collection
Description
We provide photos of Playa Preciosa Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula), plus info about beach features, safety, location, parking, and more!
The comment section of this article has moved! If you have a question or comment about our article above or Costa Rica travel in general, please post it in our Questions and Answers Forum on DIY Costa Rica, our sister website, where you can also access our private Costa Rica recommendations, our Costa Rica Destination Tool, and our Costa Rica Recommendations Map. See you there, amigos! 🙂
Author
Posts
Viewing 0 reply threads
The forum ‘Costa Rica Travel Blog Forum’ is closed to new topics and replies.
Short on time? Use our FREE electronic quick guide to instantly locate the exact Costa Rica advice or information you need among the hundreds of articles on our blog. No email or personal information required.
This website uses cookies to operate and provide you with the best user experience possible. To ensure you're aware of and okay with this and our other privacy-related practices, please review our Privacy Policy, then click the button below to accept it.
If you do not accept the policy, we respect your choice 100%. Unfortunately, several of our website’s features, including our Questions and Answers Forum, rely on cookies to operate. Most are also run by themes, plugins, and other add-ons to our website that we do not and cannot control, which means the cookies you receive are mainly provided by third parties. Because simple actions like reading our articles, asking a question, and even visiting our website’s homepage require the use of cookies, it is not possible to explore or use our website without them. If you would prefer not to receive cookies, we kindly (and sadly) ask that you do not visit our website. (Alternatively, you can try setting your browser to remove or reject browser cookies before visiting our website, but you may find that our website doesn’t function properly without them.) By visiting or submitting information through our website, you acknowledge and accept our use of cookies, and the use of third-party cookies. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.
Thank you for understanding!
Remember my preference
In order for our site to remember that you accept our policy, please enable the Strictly Necessary Cookie.
If you leave the Strictly Necessary Cookie disabled, we will not be able to save your preference. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to accept the policy again.
Tagged: beach, beaches, costa rican beaches, playa, playas