In your Costa Rica adventure, you’ll most likely be able to choose between a lot of big touristic complexes. From unique all-inclusive hotels to big National Parks or reserves. But there is another option, another option that tourists usually never take advantage of. I am talking about a smaller scale of tourism, more sustainable, family-owned in most cases. In this article, I’ll show you a please just like that; I’ll show you Poza Los Coyotes in Guanacaste.
As I continued my two weeks working remotely from Guanacaste, I decided to go with a friend to the natural pools “Poza Los Coyotes,” a place I have heard of for a while. A site rounded by a clean river that came from the mountains next to Rincón de la Vieja volcano.
I consider this place a genuinely secret gem. When we visited this place, there were few Costa Ricans and almost no foreign tourists. But this could also be because of the Costa Rica travel ban in some countries due to Covid. Hopefully, everything improves soon, and they’ll remove all bans, so more people will come to enjoy their Costa Rica vacation here.
How to get to Los Coyotes Natural Pools?
My friend and I were in Liberia buying some things when we decided to go to “Poza Los Coyotes,” so it took us just a 20 minutes drive to get there.
The best way to visit this place is the same way I described in Llanos del Cortés Waterfall’s article. It would be best to visit this place on your way to the beaches of Guanacaste or on your way back to San José. I am telling you this cause once you get to the beaches, it’s tough to get out of there! I mean, who wants to get away from the beautiful Costa Rican beaches?
So, going back to “how to get to the natural pools”. Take the Panamerican Highway and drive for around ten minutes, and then deviate right. Keep driving for another 10 minutes on an unpaved road (accessible to all vehicles), and then you’ll get there.
But since nowadays no one actually drives to new places without technology, here is your google maps location: Poza Los Coyotes natural pools.
Facilities
Once you get to the place, you’ll be charged 1,000 colones (almost $2). Can you believe it? Neither do I! This is another good reason for visiting this place during your Costa Rica vacation.
Unfortunately, you will hardly be offered to visit these kinds of places in Costa Rica vacation packages or Costa Rica travel agencies. This is mainly because of two reasons. One, this is a very new place. I talked to one of the owners, and he told me they opened for the public at the end of 2020. Almost just locals know about the place. The second reason is because of its lack of facilities. Unlike what you read in Llanos del Cortés Waterfall’s article, this place just has a couple of portable toilets.
But don’t worry! One of the owners also told us that they know about this issue, which they are working on. They are also working on new trails so you could do hikes in the beautiful tropical dry forest of Guanacaste. So, expect good things from this place soon!
Los Coyotes Natural Pools
After parking our car (a big parking lot, by the way), we stretched for a while and started walking. After a couple of minutes, we saw a sign mentioning the three attractions of the place (the cave, the canyon and waterfall, and the natural pools). The distance to get to each of these places wasn’t much, so for now, don’t expect a hike. This place is more for taking a bath and chill in the outstanding natural pools.
The cave was the furthest place (just 400m/1330 ft), so we decided to go there first. (This attraction is the cover image of this article).
Cueva del Coyote (Cave)
One mistake we did, was not renting a tire for another extra 1,000 colones. Once we reached the natural pools that had a cave, it would have been cool to have it. The trail to get to this natural pool was short but very beautiful, full of nature all around. After less than a 10-minute walk, we arrived at the natural pool.
When we arrived, some locals were enjoying the natural pool. But there’s always plenty of space for everyone! I recommend taking a blanket or a tent so you could sit somewhere since down there it’s just nature. (for me, this is what makes the place a lot nicer and an actual hidden gem of Costa Rica and the Guanacaste region).
After we found a place to leave our things, we dived into the natural pool! The water was at a great temperature, perfect to freshen up from the warm weather. The unique color of the water is caused by the high volume of minerals in the water. This water comes from the mountains around Rincón de la Vieja volcano, so this is why it’s so high in minerals. This is similar to what you can see at Bajos del Toro.
Related Post: Waterfall Town of Bajos del Toro
You can go into the cave and reach the other side, where you’ll find another natural pool. But this is a lot easier with the tire. That’s why I recommend renting one in the parking lot.
Canyon and Waterfall
After spending some time in the first natural pool, we went to discover the other attractions of the place. The canyon is another lovely spot for taking your Instagram photos or making your TikTok videos (please avoid any TikTok trend that includes jumping!). The waterfall is a small waterfall that you can see from the top of the canyon. But since the river flow is stronger there, you can’t go in.
Las Pocitas (The Natural Pools)
Since there wasn’t much to do at the canyon, we just took some photos and went to the last attraction of the place, “Las Pocitas.” This translates to “small natural pools,” this part is the best place to stay for a longer time. There is a lot more space for doing a picnic or even setting up a barbecue.
Even though these natural pools are named “Pocitas” these are bigger than the natural pools with the cave. So you’ll also have plenty of space to have fun with your rented tire here.
After spending around 3 hours in this place, we went to our two-week headquarter in Tamarindo beach. The next day was Monday and we both had to work!
Poza Los Coyotes Natural Pools Recap:
- Location: Liberia, Guanacaste (Drive there)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Access: Any car
- Contact: +506 8486-5410
- Cost: 1,000 colones ($2) residents and non-residents.
- Parking: Yes
- More info about the place: Poza Los Coyotes FB and Poza Los Coyotes IG
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
