Marino Ballena National Park

Information

It is a national park located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It includes a land portion with 12 kilometres of beach and a sea portion.

You can go hiking, snorkelling, whale and dolphin watching, bird watching or just enjoy the beaches. It is advisable to ask the park rangers about the tide schedules and the beaches that are authorised for bathing.

It has 4 sectors, each with an information office, toilets, showers, beach access and picnic area:
a) Uvita Sector:
- This is the most common entry point, where most tourists enter. To enter you have to pay a ticket.
- Before entering the park, along the access road there are several agencies offering excursions for diving, snorkelling, whale and dolphin watching, and for trips around the Ballena Island and the Tres Hermanas islets. There are also food stalls and parking along this street.
- On entering the park, a few metres walk will take you to the coast. Once there, to the left is the extensive Uvita beach and to the right is the area of Uvita Point.
- Tombolo or Whale's Tail: this is an area that juts out into the sea from Uvita Point, which can be reached from the park entrance by walking 1.5 km along the beach. It is a portion of land that joins the mainland at low tide, and takes the shape of a whale's tail. On both sides the sea takes the appearance of huge pools, excellent for swimming and snorkelling. Many species of coastal birds frequent and can be observed here.
b) Colonia Sector: it has a long beach with an excellent part for surfing.
c) Ballena Sector: it has a sandy beach that is usually solitary. At low tide you can walk northwest to Arco beach, passing through a cave.
d) Piñuela Sector: there is a 1.5 km long beach, which has stones and is usually solitary. There is parking space and a shady spot.