Punta Leona

Why stay in Punta Leona?

Punta Leona is where you go when you want a real beach without a long drive: about 90 km and one and a half hours from San José airport per the resort’s own FAQ, on paved highway the whole way. Playa Blanca, the white-sand cove at the end of the road, holds the top five-star rating in Costa Rica’s Bandera Azul beach program as of July 2026, and scarlet macaws nest behind it. All three of our houses here have a pool.

Families and groups get the most from it. Every house sleeps eight, and you can book Lapas Paradise and Natural Leona together as Lapas Leona Home, with four bedrooms and two kitchens for up to 16. Couples use it as a first or last night with sand instead of an airport hotel. If you want a village with restaurants at walking distance, Sámara fits better; Punta Leona is a place you drive into and stay put.

How do you get to Punta Leona?

Drive Route 27 west from the airport to the Costanera (Route 34), then south past the Tárcoles bridge. Shuttle operators quote 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on traffic, and a standard car is enough; no 4x4. Route 27 is a toll road: the full San José to Caldera run cost 2,510 colones per direction for a light vehicle from January 2026 per El Financiero, and from the airport you skip the first booth. Keep a few thousand colones or a card handy.

Without a car, Easy Ride runs a shared shuttle from San José to the Jacó and Herradura area for $45 per person, with departures at 6:30, 9:00, 13:30 and 18:30, and private transfers to Jacó start around $130 per vehicle for up to four people. Two Weeks in Costa Rica puts shared shuttles across the country at about $50 to $75 per person. Ask us on WhatsApp for the driver our guests use; the price comes from the provider.

How many nights do you need?

Two nights is the sweet spot for a first or last stop, three if you want Carara and a full beach day. One night still works because the drive is short: land in the early afternoon, swim before dark, leave after breakfast and be at the terminal in about two hours with a margin for traffic. Groups stay longer.

What is there to do?

Playa Blanca. The white-sand cove that gives the area its reputation, about a 15-minute walk south of Playa Mantas along the sand and over the rocky point, easiest at low tide. Since 4 June 2026 the entrance gate has been removed by court order and access is free around the clock, though the resort is contesting this in court. The full access notes are in our Punta Leona beaches guide.

Playa Mantas. The beach you walk to from all three houses, a cove with gentle waves that Two Weeks in Costa Rica calls good for swimming even with young kids. The public parking lot charges 10,000 colones per car on weekdays and 20,000 on weekends and holidays (about $20 and $40) and is open 8:00 to 16:30, per the same guide in February 2026.

Carara National Park. About 2 km south of the Tárcoles bridge, so a short drive north of the houses. Open 8:00 to 16:00 from May to November and 7:00 to 16:00 from December to April; foreign adults pay $10 plus tax, children 2 to 12 $5, and since September 2023 tickets are sold only online at the SINAC portal. The 1.2 km universal access trail is the first of its kind in a Costa Rican national park, and the park holds 420 bird species, including the second largest wild scarlet macaw population in the country.

The Tárcoles crocodile bridge. On Route 34 about 20 minutes north of Jacó, where dozens of American crocodiles bask below the road; Two Weeks in Costa Rica has seen animals up to 6 m. Take turns on the bridge so someone stays with the car, because break-ins are reported here.

Scarlet macaws from the terrace. Punta Leona has run an artificial nest program since 1994, and the 2026 field guides name the coast between Tárcoles and Herradura as the best macaw area in the country. Look up between 6 and 8 in the morning and again before sunset.

Jacó for an evening. About 15 minutes south by car: restaurants, surf schools, banks and the big supermarkets, with the Los Sueños marina at Herradura on the way for fishing charters.

When should you go?

December to March is the dry season on the central Pacific per the tourism board, with rain returning from May to October and November as a transition month; September and October are the wettest. Costa Rica Vibes puts Jacó highs at 28 to 30 °C and lows at 24 to 26 °C all year, with green-season rain arriving in the afternoon after sunny mornings. The beach and the pool work in either season; in the green season, plan the beach for the morning.

Where do you eat, and what about cash and groceries?

Casa Azul is 75 meters from the Arenas supermarket, the Pops ice cream shop and the Hotel Arenas restaurant, which is open to the public. The other two houses are within walking distance of restaurants, a small convenience store and the ice cream place. For a full shop, Jacó has Más x Menos and Super Trust Mart on the main street, a Maxi Palí at the back of town and an Automercado at Plaza Herradura, per Mytanfeet in June 2025. Banks and ATMs (Banco Nacional, BAC, BCR) are on Jacó’s main avenue. Bring some colones from the airport for the tolls and the Mantas parking lot.

What Tres Mares does differently here

Every house has a pool and a walk to Playa Mantas, and we send tide times and macaw hours before you arrive. Casa Azul in the Barlovento neighborhood has a private pool, a workspace and the supermarket next door. Natural Leona and Lapas Paradise each sleep eight, with a salt water pool and rancho shared between the two when both are booked. Book both together as Lapas Leona Home and your group of up to 16 has the pool and rancho to itself. Self check-in is set up at all three, and the club day pass is optional. If you are coming from Escazú on the first night or heading up to Monteverde afterward, tell us and we will help with the transfer.