When my business partner Tony and I made the decision to purchase a small ocean view lot in the sleepy fishing village of Playas del Coco a few years back, we chose Coco because…quite frankly, we couldn’t afford ocean view property anywhere else!

Playas del Coco in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Now I´m not saying I don´t like Coco. It is a cute little beach town and certainly has its charms. But to be kind, it has simply never had the uptown reputation of more popular hot spots like Tamarindo or Manuel Antonio. So when we went shopping to buy a luxury home to renovate and convert to a rental Villa, it never occurred to us that we’d end up building (something we swore not to do) on an ocean view lot in Coco.

I first found myself in Playas del Coco over a decade ago as a tourist. I was staying at a new resort, the Blue Bay Village on the Papagayo Peninsula. It has changed hands since, operating as the Fiesta Premier and now purchased by the Hilton hotel chain. But back then, it was among the few all-inclusive resorts operating in a very quiet corner of Costa Rica’s now-booming Guanacaste province. My dad and I got bored of the all-inclusive vibe and decided to sneak out with some staffers “off campus” to get a look at the local nightlife. We wandered down the hill in a beat up minibus and ended up at a shady beach bar in downtown Coco. I swore I’d come back to Costa Rica and a few months later I did…for good.

10+ years later and I’m back in Coco. This time, as a small-time land developer. What happened between then and now is another story, but along with running a travel agency, my business partner and I bought and sold a tiny condo in Tamarindo. We got out of Tamarindo before it became too touristy for our tastes. Unfortunately, when we looked to re-invest into another property, prices in most beach areas had gotten out of control by our standards. We couldn’t find any existing construction that would suit our needs for under $1M. We were shocked.

Then I remembered a good friend and business associate whose boutique hotel in Coco I’d helped promote a few years back. He was in fact, one of my very first marketing clients when I was still young and daring. He had purchased a fantastic ocean view farm above Coco 30 years ago, when Costa Rica was still pirate country. He offered to sell us an ocean view lot in Coco at a reasonable price. Compared to Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio and other properties far off the beaten path, it sure seemed like a good deal. But we had our worries…

Coco has always had the reputation of being a party town where local fishermen raise hell during the few days a month they’re not out to sea. It’s can feel like a rough town, not dissimilar from fishing villages in New England back in the States. The beach itself isn’t anything to write home about. It’s got average brown sand and isn’t terribly picturesque, but the protected bay is why the fishermen chose Coco and there are always nice sailboats anchored there, which does make for nice viewing. Between the roughneck reputation and less than stunning looks, high end tourism had never really made it to Coco. But just like my first experience with this overlooked town, many guests staying at fancier hotels at nearby destinations like Playa Hermosa and Ocotal had often visited Coco to check out the nightlife. So we knew we’d be fighting an uphill image battle by choosing Coco for our project’s location, but we weren’t taking a totally uneducated risk.

Costa Rica has one humongous challenge when it comes to tourism. Okay, there are probably at least three challenges, but one that just about every tourist notices are the LOUSY ROADS. For whatever reason, the government has never invested into connecting the various destinations througout the country with a quality highway system. Most beach towns are terribly difficult to get to and often lead to higher end guests taking flights to avoid the bone jarring, endless rides. Coco has an enormous advantage here. It’s just 20 minutes from the Liberia airport, so guests can take a direct flight and be AT THE BEACH the same morning. If time is money, then monied guests are certainly going to opt to save a day of travel to start their vacation early. Moreover, the roads from Liberia TO Coco are actually in great shape! I’ve made it from the airport to our home site in 17 minutes on a good day, driving at about 50 miles per hour.

What we didn’t predict when we began building our 7,000 square foot mega villa was that other developers would also be hopping on the Coco bandwagon. The most notable is the Jack Parker Group, whose Pacifico Project (www.pacifico-costarica.com ) is one of the largest I’ve ever seen anywhere in Costa Rica. They have already built several four story condos just a short walk from our project. The biggest news to the expats working and residing in Coco is that they’re also bringing Automercado, a high end grocery chain, to the area. The Pacifico is one of many residential real estate and tourism projects raising the bar in Coco. So we’re starting to think that between luck and necessity, we chose right.

Villa being constructed in Coco

Nearly a year into building our rental villa and we are feeling very good about our decision and excited to see what will become of the Coco we once new. Like the Puerta Vallartas and Waikikis of years past, it seems destined to transform into something very different. While it’s certainly good for our little project (www.mycostaricavilla.com) I hope I can still get a beer for under $1 SOMEwhere in Costa Rica.

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Filed under: Travel on November 4th, 2007