Life’s A Beach In Costa Rica!

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) has awarded its Blue Flag status to a total of 107 beaches for 2018 – three more than last year.

The list recognises the cleanest and most sustainable beaches in the country, each evaluated against strict criteria in order to become part of Costa Rica’s prestigious Blue Flag Ecology Programme (PBAE).

Founded in 2004, the Blue Flag Ecology Programme is a joint venture of several Costa Rican authorities – including the ICT, the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers. On an annual basis, the programme designates the country’s blue flag beaches, rating them from one to five stars, depending on the points achieved in the three evaluations carried out throughout the year.

Four Costa Rican beaches have been given five stars in this year’s list: Matapalo (Osa Peninsula), Punta El Madero (North Guanacaste), Blanca (Central Pacific) and Playitas (new for 2018, in Manuel Antonio) – all of them located on the Pacific coast.

Esterillos Oeste Beach, in Puntarenas (Caribbean) has been awarded four stars. The rest of the list gives three stars to nine beaches with; two stars to six beaches; and one star to 87 beaches.
Beaches included in the country’s Blue Flag Ecology Programme feature clean sands, excellent sea water quality, waste disposal programmes, accessibility to showers and toilets and availability of lifeguards and emergency staff throughout the year.

Costa Rica features close to 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) of pristine coastline distributed along the coasts of the Caribbean Sea (east) and the Pacific Ocean (west).

For more information about Costa Rica, please visit:
www.visitcostarica.com