Playa Coyote and San Miguel

The beaches of Playa Coyote are bisected by the Rio Jabillo and its mangrove estuary. To get from the southern (Punta Coyote) to the northern Playa Coyote, you must drive 5 km inland via San Francisco de Coyote.

Beach at the Southern Playa Coyote

The southern Playa Coyote is a soft-sanded beach, fringed by a palm grove. The bay's water is so shallow that at low tide the beach becomes 200 meters wide while at high tide it is only a 20 m strip.

The tranquil waters are perfect for children and non-swimmers, and sometimes you can even see Costa Rican families sitting in the shallow water with their cooler and stuff, having a picnic in the water.

Map of Coyote to San Miguel:

To the south the rocky promontory of Punta Coyote closes off the adjacent beach of Playa Caletas, one of the turtle nesting sites in the area.
In front of Punta Coyote experienced surfers find a good break for surfing. For surf information ask Tanga in the small beach bar.

At the northern end of the beach is the estuary of the Rio Jabillo where you can watch waterfowl like egrets and herons.

Five kilometer on the road inland, San Francisco de Coyote is a small, traditional village with some restaurants and cabinas, a grocery store, a gasoline seller with workshop and a place to hook up to the Internet.

Despite the small size of the village there is a daily bus to San Jose. Closer destinations like Jicaral and the ferry in Playa Naranjo are served as well, but there is no public transportation to Mal Pais and Santa Teresa.

Five km after San Francisco a road goes down to the northern part of Playa Coyote which residents have renamed to the more appealing name of Costa de Oro.
See » Map from Playa Coyote to Carrillo

Looking south across Playa San Miguel

A bit further on the main road another side road leads to Playa San Miguel. In both beach villages, Playa San Miguel and Playa Coyote, one single road parallels the beach. There are just some vacation houses whose owners are absent for most of the year, and only few hotels and restaurants are available.

The beaches of Playa Coyote and San Miguel are one uninterrupted ribbon of white sand which stretches for miles and is blissfully crowd-free. The sleepy mood of this area might change however, as real estate signs are ubiquitous.

Surfing in San Miguel and Playa Coyote can be quite good, albeit it is a bit tricky as waves tend to close out. You should also be careful of rip tides.

and: » Driving from Playa Coyote/San Miguel to Manzanillo, Malpais and Santa Teresa

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