Los Suecos Beach, Malpais

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Los Suecos means, “The Swedes” because of the Swedish family that lived down by this beach years ago. Los Suecos, also know as “the secret beach” is one of the truly hidden gems of the Malpais / Santa Teresa area, and isn’t visited by many tourists.

People who have lived in the area for years come to this beach because of it’s beautiful white sand, it’s extremely photogenic beauty, the best snorkeling on the southern Nicoya peninsula, and its amazing tidepools. It’s also located next to the epic Sunset Reef surf spot.

To find it, drive past the Fisherman’s beach at the very southern end of Malpais and just keep going off to the left. You’ll know you’ve found it when you see a gate. This is Cabo Blanco National Park, but this entrance to the park isn’t open to the public.

Park near the gate and find a trail winding down to the small beach. It’s a very safe place to swim. A rock reef protects the beach so no large waves make it inside.

On a good day, the water can be very clear here. I’ve seen octopus, several species of eels, a turtle, a gigantic ray, lobsters, giant hermit crabs, and lots of fish species. The proximity to the national park, where there’s (theoretically) no fishing means that there’s more sea life here… at least until the spearfisherman kill them.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll leave you with a set of photos taken from various trips to Los Suecos: