Puntarenas, Gulf of Nicoya
Lots near Playa Blanca, Punta Morales
A gated development of 500 square metre lots minutes from the water, on the calm inner gulf rather than the open Pacific. The cheapest way onto a Costa Rican beach that we know of.
Lot of 0.12 acres (500 m²) in Playa Blanca, Punta Morales
Reference PBL-500-01
Where this actually is
Punta Morales sits on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Nicoya, in the canton of Puntarenas, past Chomes and off the Interamericana. It is a fishing and salt flat coast rather than a surf coast, which is precisely why land here still costs what it costs.
Be careful with the name. There is another Playa Blanca at Punta Leona near Jacó, and a third in Papagayo up in Guanacaste. Neither is this one, and both are priced in a different universe. This is the Punta Morales one.
What the inner gulf is like
Warm, shallow, and calm almost all the time. The water is gulf water rather than open ocean: no surf, little current, and a tide that goes a long way out and exposes flats where the birds feed. If you want to swim, kayak, fish or put a small boat in, this is a better coast than the exposed Pacific. If you want to surf, it is the wrong one entirely.
Playa Blanca itself has been getting attention in Costa Rica as an accessible beach, with ramps and matting put in so it can be used by people with reduced mobility. That is unusual here and it is a genuine reason the area has been getting more visitors.
The 500 square metre question
These are building lots of about an eighth of an acre inside a fenced development with private access, not country parcels. That is enough for a house and a small garden and not much more, and that is deliberate: the point of a beach lot is what is outside it.
Compare it honestly against the inland parcels on this site. In Bagaces or on the Miravalles side the same money buys several times the land, in a cooler climate, with more privacy. What it does not buy is a walk to the water. Which of those you want is the whole decision, and it is worth being clear with yourself about it before you compare prices.
Getting there
It is on the Interamericana corridor, which makes it reachable from both directions: San José and the central valley from the east, and Puntarenas, Bagaces and Liberia from the northwest. That is a genuinely useful position for anybody who wants to be near the coast without being three hours from an airport.
Exact drive times are being verified rather than estimated, and will appear here when they are confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the Playa Blanca near Jacó?
No. That is Punta Leona in the canton of Garabito, further south on the open Pacific, and it is a much more expensive area. This is Playa Blanca at Punta Morales, on the inner Gulf of Nicoya in the canton of Puntarenas.
Can you swim there?
Yes. The inner gulf is calm and shallow. It is not clear turquoise water and nobody should sell it to you as if it were; it is a warm, quiet, usable beach with almost nobody on it during the week.
How big are the lots?
500 square metres, about an eighth of an acre, inside a development with private access and a perimeter wall. Ninety lots in the first phase, with another opening.
What is the price?
Not published yet for the phase now opening. Ask and we will send whatever the developer's current list says, along with the financing terms.
Is it in the maritime zone?
Ask, specifically, and get the folio real. The first 200 metres from the high tide line cannot be owned as titled property anywhere in Costa Rica. A lot that is titled land is fine; anything sold as a concession is a different instrument and should be priced as one.
This is a referral site. The developments belong to their developers; the commission is paid by the developer, not by the buyer.