Last Updated on March 25, 2024
My wife and my vacation rental home is located in Ojochal, near the Parque Nacional Marino Ballena in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica. Ballena National Park is a part of the Osa Conservation Area and a marine conservation park running from the southernmost point of Playa Hermosa down to Punta Piñuela in the Puntarenas Province. The national park is about nine miles long and easily accessible.
We have owned our home in Ojochal for a year now, but our spring 2024 visit is only the second time we’ve been able to bring guests. We invited my wife’s best friend and her daughter to come stay for a week.
Making sure they had the best time, we asked what they wanted to do. Their answer was a resounding, “relax, go to the beach, watch as many sunsets as possible, and see the local wildlife – especially monkeys and sloths.”
Can do.
Playa Uvita
Playa Uvita was the first beach we explored. Arriving 30 minutes before sunset, we found parking just outside the entrance and paid our $10 entry fee. Note, only credit cards are accepted as payment to enter the park.
We were lucky to choose Uvita for our first stop as the cashier advised us to hang onto our tickets and we’d be able to use them the following day – convenient given we had booked a whale-watching tour in the morning departing from this same spot.
We walked down the beach without giving a thought to the famed “whale tail” peninsula we’d heard so much about. Lucky for us, we were there at low tide and walked onto the tail just as the sun was setting.
Drawing closer to the surf, the rolling waves sluiced over the sand and as the sun set deep on the horizon, I could feel the pulse of the waves, their gentle thrum a white noise in my head.
The day’s heat waned slightly and was accompanied by a gentle breeze, but I still wiped sweat from my brow before stepping into the warm waters of the cove. The ocean was as welcoming as a perfect bath with soft sand underfoot.
The whale tail itself was full of people walking its length. Clouds floated overhead and the evening sun settting on a slightly overcast night created a soft glow with hues of red and orange burnishing the sky, darkening into a lustrous coppery color.
Playa Ventanas
After a morning of whale-watching, we headed to the beach closest to our vacation villa: Playa Ventanas (Windows to the Pacific). The name comes from the caves looking out onto the Pacific Ocean.
Having rained all afternoon, we weren’t sure we’d make it to Ventanas. Nearing sunset, however, the rain slowed, and we set out to the beach. Getting to Ventanas is tricky as you make your way down a steep hill and then cross a small stream. Once on the other side, you just follow a path to the beach.
If you go during the day, there are food vendors set up near the parking area. There was no entrance fee, though if we’d arrived earlier, we may have had to pay for parking.
Playa Ventanas was nearly deserted for our visit, possibly because of the rain. We were again in luck as the low tide gave us easy access to the caves.
I entered one and made my way forward to the point that the bottom dropped out from under me. I worked my way back out of the cave to the soft sands of the beach and watched another sunset through low-hanging clouds, a hazy and beautiful site appearing past the crashing waves over the rock formations of the caves.
Aracari Restaurant at La Cusinga Lodge above Playa Arco
Live and learn is the story of our lives. We had heard about Playa Arco and spotted it on our whale-watching tour two days prior. Though it sounded like a challenge to get to the playa, it was supposed to be more secluded than other beaches, providing an opportunity to possibly have the stretch of sand all to ourselves.
The tide, however, was not low enough to get to the beach and by the time it was, it would be too late to go first-time exploring. A visit to Playa Arco is in our future plans though, especially after hearing about the hidden waterfall located there.
We were going to turn around when I spotted the sign for La Cusinga Lodge and on a whim, headed up the driveway. An attendant directed us to the parking, and as we spilled out of the car toward the restaurant, we noticed a trail leading to a deck.
We walked around the grassy area, admiring the incredible view, the ocean, and the sun, and we laughed and took silly photos to spark our memory and remind us of the joy we were feeling at that moment.
There were many times we had to set our cameras down to take in the breathtaking sight of the sun setting off the horizon. This was no ordinary sunset by any means. Oranges and gold filled the entire sky, without a spot of blue, “the true delight of a sailor” as my mother-in-law would say.
This was a sky to spark my imagination and introduce me to the endless possibilities and beauty surrounding us.
As the sun set, we enjoyed a drink at the restaurant bar with some light bites knowing we’d be back to learn about the trails to the beach from La Cusinga.
Playa Colonia
On our fourth night in Costa Rica, we headed to Playa Colonia, a secondary entrance to the park and a bit more hidden than the main entrance at Uvita.
A $10 parking fee is payable by credit or with a debit card. Playa Colonia is a great beach for children to swim and for beginning surfers with its gentle waves and absence of riptides. Just outside of the beach, you’ll find food stalls and ice cream. There are also showers and toilets available, and lifeguards are on duty from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
We found Playa Colonia by accident as it is quite secluded. We were looking for a spot to watch the sunset and as we drove down a side road, we ended up at the beach entrance. Normally, they would collect a fee, but we told the ticketing agent we would only be there for a few minutes for the sunset and he let us in for free.
We arrived with moments to spare on a beach a little less crowded than Uvita proper. Colonia’s sunset emitted soft hues of gold and orange, the blue of the sky darkening as we went from the golden to the blue hour with purples and grays representing a perfect periwinkle sunset.
Playa Hermosa
On our last day in Ojochal before heading to the airport we decided to stay at our casa, finish laundry, lounge out by the pool, and watch for our hummingbird.
Suddenly, we all decided to hit one final beach to see one final sunset and take one more stroll in the soft sands and welcoming Costa Rican water.
Of the beaches we visited, Playa Hermosa was the furthest away from our villa. This stretch of sand is located five minutes north of Ballena National Park, but still within the Osa Conservation Area. We made the 45-minute drive on a beautiful Saturday evening and, noting cars parking along each side of the roadway, decided to stop and see what the draw of this beach was.
We pulled into the parking lot and I let the ladies out and circled back around to find parking. Luck was with me as I drove to the other side of the parking area and found a perfect spot. I made my way to the beach, along with a dozen or so other people who had just arrived, and found my group staring at the horizon, enthralled as the sun went down on this our final gorgeous day.
Perhaps it was the energy of the beach and the people, or perhaps because the day had been so stunningly beautiful, but the sunset at Playa Hermosa was spectacular – the most sublime setting sun we witnessed during the entire trip.
As with the other beaches, the soft sand, warm waves lapping around our feet, and the brilliant allure of the sky wished us farewell and an invitation to come back again – all at the same time.
