Everyone who visits this corner of Guanacaste eventually asks us the same question: which beach is better? And after years here, our honest answer is — better for what? Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa sit minutes apart, and they could not be more different in personality. That contrast is exactly why we love living between them.
Coco is a real town, not a resort strip. It has beachfront restaurants, bars with live music, shops, and a working bay where fishing boats, dive boats, and sunset sails come and go all day. If you want dinner with your toes in the sand, a place to watch the game, or a boat leaving at 7am for a snorkeling trip, Coco is your beach.
It's also one of Costa Rica's main diving hubs. The dive shops here run trips year-round to nearby islands and reefs, and the marine life on this stretch of the Pacific is the kind people fly across continents for.
Hermosa is the exhale. A calm, gently curved bay with warm, swimmable water — the ocean here runs 82–84°F most of the year — and a fraction of the foot traffic. It's where we send guests who want to swim, paddle, read under a tree, and remember what an unscheduled afternoon feels like.
Here's the thing — you don't have to pick. Cacique Retreat sits between the two, a few minutes from each. Our guests settle into a rhythm fast: quiet mornings at Hermosa, lively evenings at Coco, and the pool at the house in between. Two beaches, two moods, one home base.
If you're planning a trip and wondering which end of the day belongs at which beach, message us — we'll tell you exactly how we'd do it in whatever month you're coming.