The 14 best beaches in Central America

31.07.2024 - 08:37 / lonelyplanet.com / Manuel Antonio

Jul 30, 2024 • 8 min read

Ah, Central America – that great S-bend of land joining Colombia to Mexico. With two coastlines squiggling up the Caribbean Sea and the wild Pacific in a 1770km (1100-mile) medley of coral gardens, frothing waves and emerald-coast jungles laden with howler monkeys, there's hardly a more beach-heavy region on earth. 

No matter whether you're searching for a laid-back surf town where you can chase barrels, a remote isle to channel your inner castaway, or a beer-sloshing party place on the Pacific Ocean, this corner of Latin America has you covered.

This guide searches out the crème-de-la-crème of coves and bays, narrowing down the best beaches in Central America to just 14 picks.

Best beach you have to hike to 

Manuel Antonio is the pièce de résistance of its namesake national park, a bijou bit of tropical forest roughly midway up the Pacific shores of Puntarenas province.

The beach sits completely within the reserve, which means you'll need to earn your taste of paradise by hiking 30 minutes amid jungles crawling with sloths and howler monkeys.

Facing south, the beige-tinged sand can be surveyed from the Mirador Playa Gemelas on the distant headland. The park opens at 7am, so get in early to beat the crowds.

Best beach for peace and quiet

With a croc-filled lagoon on one side and the kaleidoscopic corals of the Belize Barrier Reef – part of the second-largest coral reef system on the planet, no less – on the other, Placencia is righteously hailed as one of the best beaches in Central America.

It's quiet compared to the likes of Ambergris Caye, despite being more accessible (no seaplanes needed!). The area is peppered with traditional Garifuna fishing shacks and fronted by soft sands that sprout twisted sabal palms and sea oats.

Best hidden-gem beach

Mainly on the map for the rifling right-hand point break of La Punta that delights surfers from April to October, Santa Catalina is one of the long-lost fishing towns on the Panamanian Pacific.

It's still little more than a clutch of ramshackle fishing huts and surf villas, but there's growing interest, not least of all because it's enfolded by two sweeps of unbusy, coffee-hued sand – Playa Arrimadero and Playa Santa Catalina.

Oh, and be sure to check out Coiba Island just across the strait, where you can swim with mantas and whale sharks at certain times of the year.

Best beach for pretending you’re a castaway

You don't get a moniker like Isla Robeson (Isla Robinson Crusoe in English) without some top-quality beaches in the bank.

Although the actual place where Defoe's hero is thought to have been stranded is some 4830km (3000 miles) away in Chile, this speck in Panama's spectacular San Blas chain still has all the hallmarks of a castaway