If you come to Costa Rica for one or two weeks, you will most likely visit Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste, Monteverde, or La Fortuna. Usually, in such a short period, you will miss some lovely places. One of those nice places that tourists typically don’t visit on their first trip is Bahía Ballena. This location also has lovely beaches and splendid waterfalls, such as Uvita Waterfall and Nauyaca Waterfall. This time I’ll show you what many people are missing by not going to this location!
Location
Bahía Ballena is located one hour away from Manuel Antonio beach, making this a perfect one-day trip if you are staying there. Take route 34 (also called Costanera Sur) and head south. The road is in excellent condition; you’ll only have to make slight deviations to reach the beaches or waterfalls. Below, I will put the exact locations of each of the main attractions around this zone.
Uvita Waterfall
Summary:
- Location: Uvita, Puntarenas (Drive there)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Access: Any car (Better with SUV/CUV)
- Contact: (+506) 8683-8725
- Cost: 1,500 colones ($4)
- Parking: Yes
- More info about the place: Uvita Waterfall IG
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The main reason to visit this zone is to take tours in Bahía Ballena Beach to watch humpback whales. These whales migrate every year to find warmer waters. The main season of whale watching is between July and November, and the best months to watch them are September and October.
Besides having the chance to see whales and having fun on the beach, there are several waterfalls around the zone. Some of them are well known, like Nauyaca Waterfalls, and some are not that known, like Pavón Waterfall or Uvita Waterfall.
Adventure in Uvita Waterfall
Recently I went with a couple of friends to this zone. We wanted to focus on visiting waterfalls around the area since we already saw the beaches on previous trips. We headed to Uvita’s town center, which is just around 5-10 minutes away from Uvita Waterfall.
The day we visited Uvita Waterfall, it was a bit rainy, so when we arrived, we asked about how safe it was to see the waterfall that day. They told us it was safe, and in case it wasn’t, they wouldn’t let us enter the trails that lead to the waterfall.
The facilities are not as well equipped as others I have visited in Costa Rica, but it had everything you needed. There were showers, restrooms, a small restaurant, and a parking lot for around seven cars. After we paid the 1,500 colones fee, we entered a small trail. After 5-10min walk, we saw the Uvita Waterfall. This waterfall isn’t as big as other waterfalls like Nauyaca or Llanos de Cortés waterfall.
Even though it isn’t a big waterfall, it has a nice natural pool at a perfect temperature. Just five minutes away from this natural pool, there’s another natural pool, only this time it was deeper. So this allowed us to take dives from the top of the trail.
After swimming in this natural pool for a while, we continue the trail, which wasn’t long. The path is in perfect shape, and it’s easygoing. You have two options to access the second natural pool. Option one, take the steps (similar to the steps of a pool). Option two, jump! Yeah, jump from the top of the trail to the natural pool. You can take any of the two options. One of them is a lot more fun than the other one, but I won’t tell you which is which!
El Pavón Waterfall
Summary:
- Location: Puerto Cortés, Puntarenas (Drive there)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Access: Any car (Better with SUV/CUV)
- Cost: Free
- Parking: Yes
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
After we swam in Uvita Waterfall, we headed south to visit a similar waterfall, El Pavón Waterfall. This waterfall is 30 minutes away from Uvita Waterfall; in the middle of the way, there are famous beaches such as Bahía Ballena and Ventanas.
This waterfall doesn’t have a parking lot or facilities; it’s just the waterfall. But there is a restaurant close to the waterfall (the “drive there” link above is headed there). This restaurant offers parking and restrooms. You’ll have to buy something in the place in exchange.
When we visited this waterfall, it was rainy, so the water’s color wasn’t as clear as it always is. The river flow was a bit strong, so we decided no to go for a swim.
Nauyaca Waterfall
This is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Costa Rica. In my next post, I will focus on this waterfall. I feel it deserved a whole post! I added a small text here, so you don’t forget about the waterfall since it’s one of the main attractions around the zone.
Related Post: Poza Los Coyotes
Bahía Ballena Beach
- Location: Bahía Ballena, Puntarenas (Drive there)
- Access: Any car
- Parking: Yes
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bahía Ballena Beach is considered the most famous from the zone. This beach is the starting point of a lot of tours to go whale watching. That is one of the reasons this beach is named Bahía Ballena (in English Whale Bay). The other reason why this beach is called Bahía Ballena, it’s because the beach has the shape of the tale of a whale. You can see this perfectly from above. So, if you have drones, this is a perfect place to use them!
Usually, everyone that visits this beach go walking to the end of the whale’s tail. Since the beach is really wide, you feel like you are on another planet depending on the day’s weather. Something similar to the Bolivian Uyuni’s salt flat (look image below).
Besides taking a. nice walk, taking a lot of photos, don’t forget to swim in the central pacific ocean of Costa Rica!
More about Costa Rica’s Pacific beaches: Top 5 Guanacaste Beaches to Relax
Ventanas Beach
- Location: Ojochal, Puntarenas (Drive there)
- Access: Any car
- Parking: Yes
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ventanas Beach is the second most visited beach from around the zone. This beach wasn’t too visited in previous years. But because of social media, famous caves that lead to the ocean put this beach on the map. Nowadays, people who visit the zone also visit this beach to take the iconic photo in front of the cave with the sea in the back. If you are around the site, don’t forget to visit this beach.
This beach is in the middle of Uvita Waterfall and El Pavon Waterfall. So, if you are passing by the zone to visit other zones like Corcovado or if you are staying in Manuel Antonio or Jacó and have an extra day. Don’t hesitate and visit this great zone!
