Destination content © Christopher P. Baker, used from Moon Handbooks Costa Rica, 5th edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
PLAYA CONCHAL
The hamlet of Brasilito, about four km south of Flamingo and three km north of Huacas, is a popular tourist spot drawing an incongruous mix of offbeat budget travelers and the packaged all-inclusive resort set, drawn to the massive Paradisus Playa Conchal Beach & Golf Resort (formerly the Melía Conchal Resort), owned by Spain’s Sol Meliá corporation.
The light-gray sand beach at Brasilito melds westward into the more mesmerizing Playa Conchal, one of Costa Rica’s finest beaches. The beach lies in the cusp of a scalloped bay with turquoise waters, a rarity in Costa Rica. The beach is composed, uniquely, of zillions of tiny seashells that move with soft rustling sounds as you walk; the waters are of crystalline Caribbean quality perfect for snorkeling. It’s illegal to remove shells. Please leave them for future generations to enjoy.
The land behind the beach comprises the Paradisus resort, whose guests spill onto the beach, which has water sports concessions. You can buy day (8 a.m.–5 p.m.) and/or night (6 p.m.–1 a.m.) passes ($65) that permit nonguests to use the resort facilities. Its highlight is an 18-hole golf course designed by the king of designers, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (Locals claim that the company twisted elbows to have Brasilito’s delightfully funky beachfront homes and restaurants bulldozed so as to grant it exclusive beach access. When bulldozers and a squad of police showed up to demolish one such cantina, the local community arrived en masse to occupy the restaurant and save it from demolition.)
Conchal can also be accessed by road from the west via the hamlet of Matapalo, three km west of Huacas, where a rough dirt road leads from the northwest corner of the soccer field to the west end of Playa Conchal (four km). A side road on the Matapalo-Conchal road leads west to Playa Real, a stunning little beauty of a beach nestled in a sculpted bay with a tiny tombolo leading to a rocky island. Venerable fishing boats make good resting spots for pelicans. It’s the only place in Costa Rica where I can recall exclaiming, “Aah! This is where I want to build my home!”
Sports and Recreation
Brasilito Excursiones (tel. 506/654-4237, fax 506/654-4247, www.brasilito.com or www.ridingcostarica.com) offers horseback riding on the beach ($30 two hours) and at Finca Montejicar, two km south of Brasilito. It also rents kayaks ($15/20 half-/full-day) and 250cc Yamaha dirt bikes ($30/40 half-/full-day). And it offers scuba diving ($70 two tanks), sailing ($30 sunset cruise, $75 full-day cruise), boogie board and snorkel rental ($5/10 half-/full-day), and snorkeling trips ($35).
Costa Rica Temptations (tel. 506/654-4585, fax 506/654-4130, guanacaste@costarica4u.com, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri. and 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Sat.–Sun.), 100 meters south of the soccer field, offers tours throughout Nicoya and Guanacaste. It also acts as an agent for Nacional Rent-a-Car and SANSA, and offers transfers to Tamarindo and beyond.
Brasilito Sport Adventure (tel. 506/654-4087), opposite Hotel Conchal, offers ATV (all-terrain vehicle) tours by quadricycle.
At Paradisus Playa Conchal Beach & Golf Resort, Tio Sports offers water sports plus scuba diving ($72 two tanks), and Cocodrilo Safari (tel. 506/654-4123, ext. 8913, elcocosafari@yahoo.es) offers Land Rover safaris to Palo Verde National Park.
Maratonga Sailing Trips (tel. 506/653-8341) offers sailing half-day ($60), full-day ($85), and sunset trips ($45).
Greens fees at the Paradisus Playa Conchal Beach & Golf Resort golf course cost $80 including cart.
Information and Services
There’s an international telephone and tourist information center at Bar y Restaurante Camaron Dorado.
Hotel Brasilito offers Internet access for $3 per half-hour.
The police station (tel. 506/654-4425) is on the main road, facing the soccer field.
Getting There
Brasilito Excursiones has airport transfers between Brasilito and San José ($25).
The Flamingo-bound buses from San José and Santa Cruz stop in Matapalo and Brasilito. Buses depart Matapalo for Santa Cruz at 5 a.m., 8 a.m., and 4:30 p.m.; and for Santa Rosa and Tamarindo at 12:30 p.m.
You can call a taxi (tel. 506/836-1739).
A gas station is one km north of Brasilito.
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