Location

Uvita is located about 15 kilometers (10 miles) South of Dominical, on the Southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The road from Dominical to Uvita is excellent, and winds along the gorgeous coastline. The drive takes about 15 minutes. The closest big cities are San Isidro, at about 1 hour drive, and Palmar Norte, which is a bit smaller than San Isidro, but with only a 30 minutes drive, also a lot closer. Palmar Sur, also at about 30 minutes, offers an airport with daily flights to and from San Jose. Uvita consists of 2 towns divided by the Uvita River. The Northern part is called Uvita, while the Southern Part is called Bahia. Bahia is also the main entrance to Uvita beach.

Amenities

In Uvita you can find most of the things you will need, but most foreigners who live there go to either San Isidro or Palmar once a week for shopping and banking. Uvita has several hardware stores and supermarkets with a decent inventory, a household appliances store, a CoopeAlianza bank (not our favorite bank in Costa Rica, but something), which is also a Western Union office and gives Credit Card advances on Visa. There are several Internet Cafes, a clinic, car mechanics, cheap hotels and one 4 star hotel. You can eat in several bars and restaurants, of which we highly recommend Balcon de Uvita, a Thai and Indonesian food restaurant with a stunning ocean view.

Attractions

The Ballena National Marine Park starts at a tombolo, locally known as "The Whale's Tail" and ends at Playa Pinuelas about 15 kilometers South. Ballena National Park is created to protect the coral reef that lies off this shore. Nonetheless, the reef has been damaged severely by the runoff caused by the construction of the Coastal Highway and actions of ignorant or non-caring developers. During the dry season, snorkeling is decent around the reef. All beaches within the Marina Park are relatively safe for swimming, since the reef breaks the strong currents that make some other beaches in the area, especially Dominical, great for surfing but dangerous for swimmers. All of the beaches within the park are very beautiful, and some of them are virtually deserted, while others, especially Uvita beach, can get very lively during the weekends and especially during Semana Santa, the week before Easter.

The mountains above Uvita often offer spectacular ocean views that include "The Whale's Tail, Ballena Island, a rock formation called "The Three Sisters", Osa Peninsula and Cano Island. The jungle around Uvita is teeming with wildlife.

Real Estate in Uvita

Considering all the above it is not surprising that many foreigners have discovered Uvita, and prices of Real Estate in the area have really gone up. Properties with great ocean views are becoming rare, and most go for around $100,000 for a few acres and up. Still, good deals can be found but it is becoming more difficult every day. Browse our Real Estate listings to see what is available.