You navigate the unnamed dirt roads that web through coastal jungle, following hand-painted signs until vegetation parts to reveal a small beach framed by volcanic boulders. The shore here refuses to present as a single continuous strand—instead, rocky points divide the coastline into intimate alcoves, each perhaps fifty meters across, each offering slightly different swimming conditions and sand textures. Coconut palms and beach almond trees grow to the edge of the sand, their roots sometimes exposed by erosion.
“The only beach on this coast where volcanic rock architecture creates distinct snorkeling micro-habitats in each protected cove.”
Playa Chiquita — photo by Sheep"R"Us
The snorkeling rewards exploration between the rocks, where sergeant majors, parrotfish, and blue tangs congregate in numbers that seem improbable for such small areas. You'll pull yourself hand-over-hand along submerged boulders, peering into crevices where spiny lobsters retreat from daylight and schools of juveniles shelter from larger predators. The water clarity depends on recent rain and current direction, but on calm mornings you can see straight to the bottom in three meters of depth.
Jungle sounds dominate over wave noise—howler monkeys at dawn, toucans arguing over fruiting trees, the rustle of iguanas through leaf litter. A scattering of small hotels and vacation rentals hide in the rainforest behind the beach, but you might walk an entire stretch without seeing their entrances. Tide pools form in the rocky sections, warming several degrees above ocean temperature by afternoon and hosting hermit crabs the size of tennis balls alongside tiny reef fish trapped by the falling water.
