Playitas Beach

The resort property's small secluded beach we call Playitas (little beach) is used for swimming, snorkeling and kayaking. The properties trails bring you the short distance to the overlook called Vista Bahia (view of bay) and Playitas is found by taking our gently sloping switch-back trails down to the waters edge.

The Pacific wave energy enters the bay between the Four Season's property and the Pacheco Point which we are on. That point protects the beach as you can see in the picture from the surging Pacific Waves. The result is a very gentle slope of mocha colored sand out to the bay.

On either side of the beach are volcanic rock outcroppings which allow for beginner snorkeling with more experienced participants moving along the Pacheco Point out to open waters of the bay.

The small peninsula of Punta Vista Bahia creates an impediment for the tidal waters flowing out of the bay and this forces the water to pick up velocity (having to go around the peninsula) which then picks up and carries the sand out into the bay. This natural phenomena cleans the shoreline on our Playa Panama side but leaves the gentle sandy bottom on the peninsula's Playitas Beach.

Since the Pacific wave energy is spread out around the bay from when waves enter the bay, the size of the waves are less than a foot high by the time they reach our small beach creating this very gently child friendly swimming site. The day progresses from a water that is mirror calm and foot high waves build as the day's breeze increasing due to a phenomena call the Papagayo winds. The Papagayo winds are created by the four volcanoes behind us which funnel the winds from the east flowing across the bay and directly into the property during the day. The mornings are completely calm, excellent kayaking and then as the day progresses and the sun's energy creates thermal wind, the winds pick up and we face directly into this refreshing breeze.

Our trails to the beach are built of crystalline basalt quarried locally and covered with crushed fine basalt rock. This allows for water infiltration but a completely natural component. The first 50 meters of beach frontage is always open to the public but because our resort sits at a 20-30 meter elevation above the water (seven stories), we needed to build these walkways, bridges, perches and switchbacks in the dry tropical jungle to gain access to the calm bay waters.

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