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Beach townsCosta Rica2026

Costa Rica Beach Towns

Cahuita, Jacó and Quepos were the most booked of the 28 beach towns in Costa Rica on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 43,698, 37,976 and 32,795 stays. January is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 5.3 nights.

Source: AirROI Reviewed by Jun Zhou, Founder @ AirROI Updated November 4, 2026

Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made

Among the 20 towns with 200+ homes

Most booked of these 20: Cahuita 43,698 stays
Highest revenue per home of these 20: Tamarindo ₡23.9M a year
Highest rated of these 20: Savegre 4.87 out of 5
Lowest nightly rate of these 20: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca ₡73,305 a night
Longest typical stay of these 20: Nosara 7.0 nights

Ranking

Costa Rica Beach Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays

Every one of the beach and coastal towns in Costa Rica with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.

Costa Rica Beach Towns ranked by Airbnb stays, with homes, typical stay, busiest month, nightly rate, occupancy, revenue per home and guest rating

1	Cahuita, Limón	43,698	1,852	4.4 nights	January	₡75,611	35%	₡8,415,363	4.75
2	Jacó, Puntarenas	37,976	2,243	5.2 nights	January	₡145,689	33%	₡12.7M	4.84
3	Quepos, Puntarenas	32,795	1,215	4.0 nights	March	₡124,481	40%	₡16.4M	4.81
4	Tamarindo, Guanacaste	29,571	1,458	5.9 nights	March	₡190,410	42%	₡23.9M	4.84
5	Cóbano, Puntarenas. Includes Santa Teresa, Montezuma and Malpais.	28,014	1,530	6.2 nights	January	₡140,617	38%	₡15.5M	4.81
6	Bahía Ballena, Puntarenas	22,850	1,127	5.1 nights	January	₡123,559	37%	₡13.6M	4.85
7	Sardinal, Guanacaste	18,856	1,233	6.2 nights	January	₡121,254	37%	₡13.6M	4.80
8	Cabo Velas, Guanacaste	14,964	778	5.8 nights	March	₡193,176	40%	₡22.6M	4.83
9	Nosara, Guanacaste	13,410	924	7.0 nights	March	₡208,390	41%	₡21M	4.84
10	Tempate, Guanacaste. Includes Playa Potrero and Las Catalinas.	10,810	614	5.5 nights	January	₡201,936	36%	₡19.6M	4.82
11	Sámara, Guanacaste	10,271	626	6.9 nights	February	₡94,052	42%	₡10.9M	4.80
12	Parrita, Puntarenas	9,200	544	4.7 nights	January	₡101,890	31%	₡9,105,540	4.81
13	Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón	7,131	304	4.0 nights	June	₡73,305	38%	₡7,480,835	4.72
14	Tárcoles, Puntarenas	5,609	277	3.6 nights	January	₡127,708	29%	₡11.8M	4.80
15	Veintisiete de Abril, Guanacaste	4,881	393	6.0 nights	March	₡119,409	31%	₡9,547,677	4.84
16	Uvita, Puntarenas	4,211	218	4.9 nights	December	₡98,663	39%	₡9,918,815	4.83
17	Puerto Jiménez, Puntarenas	3,987	293	4.6 nights	March	₡76,072	29%	₡6,588,262	4.83
18	Puntarenas	3,450	230	4.8 nights	February	₡87,137	33%	₡8,128,596	4.72
19	Bahía Drake, Puntarenas	3,288	151	3.8 nights	March	₡61,318	34%	₡6,261,845	4.83
20	Coco, Guanacaste	3,212	198	6.2 nights	January	₡87,598	40%	₡9,078,800	4.79
21	Paquera, Puntarenas	3,084	226	4.9 nights	February	₡85,753	30%	₡6,952,022	4.82
22	Savegre, Puntarenas	2,986	203	6.2 nights	February	₡135,085	35%	₡13.4M	4.87
23	Playa Langosta, Guanacaste	2,874	176	6.3 nights	January	₡249,423	41%	₡28.3M	4.88
24	Puerto Carrillo, Guanacaste	2,718	169	5.4 nights	January	₡107,422	35%	₡11.7M	4.81
25	Cuajiniquil, Guanacaste	2,220	172	5.6 nights	January	₡106,961	31%	₡9,262,755	4.84
26	Pinilla, Guanacaste	2,147	127	4.7 nights	March	₡262,793	35%	₡31.1M	4.86
27	Pavón, Puntarenas	1,710	178	6.8 nights	May	₡80,221	31%	₡5,499,746	4.87
28	La Cruz, Guanacaste	1,307	103	3.9 nights	December	₡67,312	26%	₡4,021,652	4.67

Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5. Airbnb data files some places as one district or township, so Cóbano and rows like it cover several towns.

Money figures on this page are in Costa Rican colóns, converted from US dollars at ₡461 per US$, the typical rate from November 2025 to October 2026.

By region

Stays and Top Town by Region

Costa Rica Beach Towns by region: towns, Airbnb stays and the top town in each
Region	Towns	Stays	Top town
Puntarenas	13	159,160	Jacó
Guanacaste	13	117,241	Tamarindo
Limón	2	50,829	Cahuita

Town by town

Where the Top Towns Stand Out

5 of 8 are busiest in January. Quepos, Tamarindo and Cabo Velas peak in March. Among guests who left a review, the United States is the top home country in 7 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in 6 of the 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.

Cahuita, Limón
In the 12 months to October 2026, among guests who left a review, Costa Rica was the top home country for Cahuita, Limón, at 37%.
Jacó, Puntarenas
Of the 20 beach towns in Costa Rica with 200 or more homes, Jacó (Puntarenas) had the most Airbnb homes, at 2,243, and had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 57%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
7
Sardinal, Guanacaste
In the 12 months to October 2026, apartments and condos were the largest home type in Sardinal, Guanacaste, at 54% of homes.

When to go

Busiest and Quietest Months

January, March and February rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the beach towns in Costa Rica, and October and September as the quietest. January is the busiest month in 12 of the 28, while Quepos, Tamarindo and Cabo Velas peak in March. Across the 28 towns, nightly rates run lowest in September, at about ₡111,111, and highest in December, at about ₡148,455. Across the 28 towns, stays run longest in January, at 6.8 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.6 nights.

January ranks first, September last

Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.

Three busiest months
Other months

Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate

Months in Costa Rica by rank
Rank	Month	Typical stay	Nightly rate
1	January	6.8 nights	₡147,533
2	March	5.0 nights	₡143,383
3	February	6.3 nights	₡143,844
4	December	5.4 nights	₡148,455
5	July	5.1 nights	₡124,481
6	April	4.3 nights	₡136,007
7	June	5.1 nights	₡124,481
8	November	5.3 nights	₡125,403
9	May	4.5 nights	₡126,325
10	August	3.9 nights	₡118,948
11	October	4.7 nights	₡113,877
12	September	3.6 nights	₡111,111

Who comes

Where Guests Come From

Among guests who left a review, 73% come from abroad. Among those guests, the largest groups from abroad come from the United States, Canada and Germany. The top home cities among those guests are San José, Heredia and New York. Sámara (Guanacaste) draws the most from abroad, at 91%, among towns with 200 or more homes.

Top countries abroad

Among guests who left a review

United States 38%
Canada 13%
Germany 4.5%
France 2.6%

Top home cities

Among guests who left a review

73% from abroad

San José 7%
Heredia 2.9%
New York 2%
Toronto 1.2%
Alajuela 1.1%
Cartago 1%

The money view

Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate

Among the 20 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Tamarindo has the highest estimated revenue per home, at ₡23.9M a year. Of those 20, Tamarindo and Sámara share the highest occupancy, at 42%, and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at ₡73,305. The most booked of the 28, Cahuita, earns about ₡8,415,363 per home.

Highest revenue per home of these 20

A year, AirROI estimate

Tamarindo ₡23.9M
Guanacaste
Cabo Velas ₡22.6M
Guanacaste
Nosara ₡21M
Guanacaste
Tempate ₡19.6M
Guanacaste
Quepos ₡16.4M
Puntarenas

Highest occupancy of these 20

Nights booked, AirROI estimate

Tamarindo 42%
Guanacaste
Sámara 42%
Guanacaste
Nosara 41%
Guanacaste
Quepos 40%
Puntarenas
Cabo Velas 40%
Guanacaste

Lowest nightly rate of these 20

On Airbnb, AirROI estimate

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca ₡73,305
Limón
Cahuita ₡75,611
Limón
Puerto Jiménez ₡76,072
Puntarenas
Paquera ₡85,753
Puntarenas
Puntarenas ₡87,137

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular beach town in Costa Rica?

By AirROI's estimates, Cahuita (Limón) is the most booked of the 28 beach towns in Costa Rica, with 43,698 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Jacó is second, with 37,976. This counts Airbnb bookings only.

What is the most affordable beach town in Costa Rica?

By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Costa Rica with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (Limón) (₡73,305), Cahuita (Limón) (₡75,611) and Puerto Jiménez (Puntarenas) (₡76,072). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.

What are some small beach towns in Costa Rica?

By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 28 beach towns it lists in Costa Rica are La Cruz (Guanacaste) (103), Pinilla (Guanacaste) (127) and Bahía Drake (Puntarenas) (151). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.

What beach towns in Costa Rica offer the strongest Airbnb returns?

Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Costa Rica with 200 or more homes, the highest are Tamarindo (Guanacaste) (₡23.9M), Cabo Velas (Guanacaste) (₡22.6M) and Nosara (Guanacaste) (₡21M). Among the same towns, Tamarindo (Guanacaste) and Sámara (Guanacaste) share the highest occupancy, at 42%.

Method

How These Lists and Numbers Are Made

How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.

How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 888,056 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.