Jaco Beach
Steven Hollstein

With only 2.5 hours (approx 117 km) drive from the capitol, San
José, Jacó beach or playa Jacó is one of the most visited
beaches in Costa Rica.

The long sandy beach has a shape and ocean floor that promotes
big waves, very much to the delight of most surfers visiting
Costa Rica.

The most common route to take when going from San José down to
Jacó is to drive via Alajuela, continue to Atenas and further
down the dark green slopes of the west side of Costa Rica until
reaching San Mateo. Continue from there to Orotina and take
highway 34 straight down to Jacó.

Also make sure to peek through the car windows when passing el
rio tarcoles (tarcoles river) where you can see the natural
habitat of the enormous crocodiles of the Tarcoles River and
the mangroves.

The Beach
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The playa is a bit over 3km in length from one end to the
other. It makes a nice walk and if your legs give up on you,
the local taxis will be more then happy to help you out. You
can also rent cars and bikes.

For reading, keep your eyes open and look for Jacó News, a
monthly English language publication.

The surf is best in the rainy season from May to November, but
depending on what you crave in size of waves; Jacó really can
offer an all year surfing experience.

Sights of Jacó
------------------
Jacó is really the kind of place where doers go. Not to much to
see locally. Things you can do are rent kayaks, go deep sea
fishing or take a sunset cruise. Horse riding is also very
popular and most hotels can arrange that for you.

The latest craze to emerge in Jaco is paragliding and you can
even go with a boat-plane to private beaches.

Places to go when in Jacó
------------------------------
You can go with local tours to Carara National Park, La
Catarata (waterfalls) and Tarcoles crocodile tours. You should
also plan for a visit to playa Hermosa south of Jacó where you
can take the canopy tour.

Some places to sleep in Jacó are, Jacó Fiesta, Club del Mar,
Copacabana, Best Western Jacó Beach Resort and Apartotel
Gaviotas.

Eating
--------
As Jacó is a quite big beach and a lot of tourism, you'll find
a lot of places serving food. Visit Bananas, Chatty Cathy's,
Emily's to the north. La Fragata with pasta and fish. La
Hacienda with mid priced snacks and La Ostra with fish as a
specialty.

Bars & Nightclubs
-----------------------
They come and go on almost a day to day basis. Two of the best
are Central and Los Tucanes.

Shopping as what you expect on a tourist beach and if you run
out of money, then visit Banco Nacional in the centre of town.

Finally, a warning
----------------------
Jacó has a bit too strong surf to really be a good place for
small kids. Big waves, rip tides and under currents can be
dangerous for someone young or unaccustomed to the sea.

And as always, when dealing the sea, be careful. The tide in
Costa Rica changes the sea level many meters and can pull
anyone out into the open sea.


About The Author: Steven always spends his vacations in Costa
Rica. His favourite places are the beaches. Visit
http://www.beaches-in-costa-rica.com/ for more info.