Costa Rica's 'Swimming Pool in the Ocean' at Santa Teresa Beach

[Shannon Farley]

When I stay at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, on Costa Rica's on the southern Nicoya Peninsula of mid-Pacific coast, one of my favorite things to do is to swim in the giant tide pool down the beach about five minutes from the hotel. This shallow sea water swimming pool - larger-than-Olympic size - is one of the best-kept secrets of the area. It is located between Pranamar Villas and El Peñón ("Big Rock"), where Santa Teresa Beach turns into Hermosa Beach (Playa Hermosa). Since both towns  – rated by TripAdvisor as two of the top ten beaches in Costa Rica and even among the top 10 in all of Central America  – are better known for being some of the CR's best best surfing beaches, this tide pool often gets overlooked in favor of gnarly waves.

 

You can only find the tide pool at low tide, when the long, flat beach widens immensely, therefore when you can go varies on the tides. On my last visit, I got lucky and it was low tide in the early morning around 7 am. I slipped from the rocks into the cool placid water, refreshing even that early compared to the heat and humidity beginning to rise from the beach and rainforest. I couldn’t believe how clear and still the water was, especially when big, frothing waves pounded only a dozen or so yards away.

 

The sun-warmed water ranges from knee-deep to about chest-deep and is filled with all kinds of interesting sea creatures that get trapped when the tide goes out. You can find sea anemones, starfish, crabs, mussels, hermit crabs, and lots of little brightly colored fish. Rocks and volcanic reef create the structure around the tide pool. Since the water is shallow and it’s right off the beach, this is a perfect swimming and snorkeling site for families with little kids.

 

To be able to walk and stand up on the rocks, you'll want to wear water shoes or strap-on beach sandals that can get wet. Keep in mind when you are snorkeling in Costa Rica that the country is located very near the Equator and the tropical sun reflecting off the water will fry your skin faster than a fish over fire. Wear a T-shirt or nylon shirt, a hat, and a generous layer of SPF 30 or 50 waterproof sports sunscreen.

 

 

Next-Door Playa Hermosa

The long, curving beach of Playa Hermosa is widely considered to be the most beautiful in the Santa Teresa area. Actually, its official named is San Martín, but visitors commented so often on how hermosa (beautiful) it was that the name stuck. Several years ago Playa Hermosa was also honored once again with the Costa Rica Ecological Blue Flag Award by the Costa Rican Tourism Board for being one of the cleanest beaches in the country.

 

One of the many nice things about staying at Pranamae Villas is that it's right on the beach at Playa Hermosa. It is wonderful to be able to walk out from your beachfront or garden bungalow or poolside villa a few steps onto the soft sand under a garden of Pacific almond and palm trees, lie in a hammock or on one of the lounge chairs, or walk down the beach. Pranamar mostly specializes in Costa Rica yoga retreats, and holds daily yoga classes for hotel guests as well as non-guests, and if you want to try surfing, Pranamar also offers surf instruction along with surfing vacation packages. This beautiful, Bali-style beachfront hotel has been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and was named one of the Top 5 Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica by Travel+Leisure magazine.