This post shares everything you need to know about visiting the Uvita Whale Tail. A unique peninsula shaped like the tail of a whale, inside the Marino Ballena National Park, Costa Rica.
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What is the Uvita Whale Tail?
What came first, the whale or the whale tail?
Situated in the town of Uvita on Costa Rica’s south Pacific Coast lies an unexplained oddity of nature. A peninsula that can only be described as a whale tail.
At low tide, this rocky peninsula and long sandbank appears just off the coast of Playa Uvita, shaped exactly like the tail of a whale. You can walk hundreds of metres into the ocean along a sandbank, with converging currents and waves breaking on either side of you.
A crazy coincidence, given that thousands of humpback whales migrate through these warm waters each year, one must ask themselves – which came first?
Also known as Punta Uvita – meaning Uvita Point – this iconic landmark has become one of the most popular things to do in Costa Rica. Located inside the Marino Ballena National Park, there is some planning required to witness this unique natural feature.
In this post, we’ll tail you (originally a spelling error but shamelessly leaving it) everything you need to know about visiting the Uvita Whale Tail.
👉🏼 Planning a trip to Uvita? Check out all the other great things to do in Uvita
Uvita Whale Tail quick facts
- 🐋 What is it? A naturally occurring peninsula shaped like the tail of a whale
- 📍 Where is it? Inside the Marino Ballena National Park, in the town of Uvita
- 👣 How to get there? Enter the national park via the ‘Uvita’ entrance and walk along Playa Uvita
- 💰 How much does it cost? $6.78 USD per person, payable only on credit card
- ⏰ What time is it open? 7 am – 4 pm daily, you can stay until 6 pm if you are already inside the park
- 🌊 What tide to visit? low tide, the best time is 1 hour before or 1 hour after low tide
Is the Uvita Whale Tail manmade?
I know it seems like a crazy coincidence that a whale tail-shaped peninsula just so happens to exist in an area that is frequented by whales… But the Uvita Whale Tail is all natural and it is not manmade. It’s just one of nature’s weird and wonderful quirks that we may not ever understand!
Where is the Uvita Whale Tail?
The Uvita Whale Tail is located in the Pacific Coast town of Uvita.
More specifically, this uniquely shaped peninsula is located on Playa Uvita (Uvita Beach) inside the Marino Ballena National Park.
You can clearly see the shape of the peninsula on Google Maps.
About the Marino Ballena National Park
Parque Nacional Marino Ballena, or the Marino Ballena National Park, was the first marine park in Costa Rica. Established in 1992, the park spans an area of 5,160 marine hectares and 171 terrestrial hectares. It protects a 15 km / 9.3 mi coastline of wild, golden beaches.
The park was primarily created to protect the humpback whales that migrate through the region at certain times of the year. But it has also ensured that on land, a string of gorgeous beaches has remained wild, untouched and free from development.
Whales aren’t the only wildlife you’ll find inside the park, and it’s not uncommon to see macaws and toucans soaring overhead, sloths and monkeys hanging out in the trees and plenty of other marine life swimming around the offshore reef.
How much does it cost to go to the Marino Ballena National Park
As with all national parks in Costa Rica, there is a fee to enter the Marino Ballena National Park.
For foreigners, this fee is $6 USD + IVA tax which works out to be $6.78 USD.
You don’t need to book your ticket online in advance like you do for Manuel Antonio National Park and Corcovado National Park. You simply turn up at one of the ticket offices on the day and purchase your ticket then.
Although prepare to pay for your ticket via credit card. The ticket offices do not accept cash, so be sure to bring your card.
Your ticket is valid for the day of purchase, and you can leave and re-enter the park. Make sure you hold on to your ticket as you will need to show it to return.
Entrance points to the Marino Ballena National Park
There are four different entrance points and ticket offices to the Marino Ballena National Park – Uvita, Colonia, Ballena and Pinuela.
The ‘Uvita‘ entrance is the most common entrance, as it is the closest to the Uvita Whale Tail and the closest to town. For most people, this is the only entrance that you will use.
If you are staying in the Bahia neighbourhood, you might enter from the ‘Colonia‘ entrance.
Opening hours at the Marino Ballena National Park
The Marino Ballena National Park ticket offices are open daily from 7 am – 4 pm.
However, if you are already inside the park before 4 pm, you can stay on the beach until 6 pm. At this time, police usually come onto the beach with motorbikes and herd everyone out of the park.
It’s important to remember that you can’t just turn up at the Uvita Whale Tail at any time, even if the tides are right. You must adhere to the hours of the national park.
When can you see the Uvita Whale Tail?
It’s important to remember that the Uvita Whale Tail is not always visible. At high tide, the peninsula and sandbank are concealed by water.
Keeping in mind the opening hours of the Marino Ballena National Park (7 am – 4 pm, staying inside until 6 pm), you need to check the tides for the day of your visit and plan your visit around low tide.
The whale tail is not visible at high tide. But, on the flip side, you don’t have to wait until the peak of low tide to see it either.
The Uvita Whale Tail starts to reveal itself a few hours before the peak of low tide. Usually, you’ll be able to see the tail at least 2 – 3 hours before, but it depends on how much water you want to walk through to get out to the point.
Once the tide turns and starts coming in, you still have another hour or two before the peninsula is concealed again, but the water tends to come in quicker on an incoming tide, so don’t get stuck out there!
We would recommend planning your visit for 1 hour before or 1 hour after low tide. That way you will see a thin layer of water along the peninsula, creating some really unique reflections.
Be sure to check the tides in advance to plan your visit accordingly. Use this website to see the daily tide times. You can check a few weeks in advance.
How to get to the Uvita Whale Tail
To visit the Uvita Whale Tail, you’ll first need to get to the town of Uvita. How you arrive depends on where you’re coming from, and how you’re travelling around Costa Rica:
- 🚙 By car – like everywhere in Costa Rica, getting to Uvita is best done with your own rental car. It’s approximately 3.5 hours drive from San Jose.
- 🚌 By bus – if your budget doesn’t allow a car, you can get to Uvita via bus. There are multiple daily departures from San Jose with Tracopa. They have their own terminal in San Jose, located here. There are also buses from Quepos to Uvita if you are coming from Manuel Antonio.
- 🚐 By tourist shuttle – otherwise, you can opt for a tourist shuttle. More expensive than the bus, but far more reliable and stress-free, a shuttle will pick you up from your accommodation and drop you off in Uvita. There are direct shuttles from many different destinations around Costa Rica, like San Jose, Monteverde, Montezuma and Manuel Antonio.
It’s also easy enough to visit the Uvita Whale Tail from neighbouring Dominical, if you’re basing yourself there.
Once you’re in Uvita, you’ll need to make your way to the Marino Ballena National Park. As mentioned, there are multiple entry points to the park. But the closest one to the whale tail is the ‘Uvita’ entrance located here.
Uvita is very spread out and disjointed, so unless you’re staying within walking distance in the Bahia neighbourhood, you’ll have to work out how to get to the national park. It’s approximately 3 km / 1.8 mi from the ‘centre’ of Uvita (the highway area), and even further if you’re staying up towards the Uvita Waterfall.
If you have a rental car, it’s an easy drive but you will most likely need to pay for parking at the national park entrance. There are a couple of free roadside spots, but they get nabbed pretty early. The private lots charge anywhere from 2,000 to 4,0000 Colones ($3 – 6 USD) per day.
If you don’t have a car, it would be a very long walk from town. I would recommend jumping in a taxi somewhere around the supermarket and getting dropped off at the Uvita entrance.
Top activities on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast
Walking to the Uvita Whale Tail
Once you’ve arrived at the Uvita entrance of the Marino Ballena National Park and bought your ticket, you can start the walk to the tip of the whale tail peninsula.
From the entrance of the park, it is approximately 1.8 km / 1.1 mi out to the end of the whale tail. It should take you between 20 – 30 minutes.
Through the ticket office, you will enter the park via a short jungle trail. Within a few minutes, you’ll open out onto the expansive Playa Uvita, one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica.
Assuming it’s around low tide (which it has to be to visit the whale tail!), you are going to be met with an expansive, dark sand beach as far as the eye can see. Hundreds of green and golden palm trees line the shoreline, many leaning precariously towards the water. There are jungle-clad mountains rising up behind the beach with rich greens. It truly feels raw and wild. We were lucky enough to see some scarlet macaws flying overhead, just to further set the scene.
The whale tail is located to your right, and you might be able to see it in the distance if the tide is low enough. We would recommend heading towards the water line so you can walk with your feet in the water to stay cool.
If you’re staying in the Bahia neighbourhood, closer to Playa Chaman or Playa Colonia, you can walk all the way up the beach to the Uvita Whale Tail. We were camping just behind Playa Chaman, and we walked the whole stretch (approx. 3 km / 1.8 mi) in under an hour.
You’ll realise once you’ve reached the start of the peninsula, as the wide sandbank appears and waves will be crashing on both sides of you. It is about 500 metres / 1,600 feet from the start of the sandbank to the rocky tip of the tail.
The converging currents washing ashore are so unique, and it was so cool to feel like you are literally walking out into the middle of the ocean!
Once you’re at the end of the tail, you can admire expansive ocean views all around you. Looking back towards Playa Uvita, the palm trees and mountains are a very special sight. One of our favourite scenes in Costa Rica, it felt like everything that this country represents was laid out in front of us.
It’s good to have shoes with you, so you can walk out a little further onto the edge of the tail. This part is rocky, not sandy, so you’ll need something on your feet. You should be able to spy shallow rock pools as the tide recedes, and if you’re lucky see some crabs, fish and other little critters.
If you’re interested, you can actually jump in the water and go snorkelling around the tail. The reef around this area is the largest on the Pacific Coast of Central America.
You must bring your own mask and snorkel, and fins are not permitted. When we visited it was quite stormy and rough, so swimming didn’t look too appealing, but there is plenty underwater to explore.
What time of the year should you visit the Uvita Whale Tail
There are two factors to consider here: the weather, and the whales!
The dry season is always considered the best time to visit Costa Rica. This is generally from November – April on the Pacific Coast, where Uvita is located.
Of course, the dry season is also peak tourist time so you will have more crowds to contend with. However, Uvita is not as popular or busy as other beach towns around the country.
The wet season in Costa Rica doesn’t mean rain every day, and it often comes with fewer crowds and lower prices. But you do take a chance that you could be very wet and soggy! We visited in mid-May, and it rained almost the entire time we were in Uvita. And when it wasn’t raining, the sky was covered in a thick blanket of grey.
But the most important thing to factor in when planning your visit to the Uvita Whale Tail is the whales! This might make the wet season seem a little more attractive!
It’s a no-brainer to combine a visit to the Uvita Whale Tail with a whale watching tour, to see one of the thousands of humpbacks that migrate to the area to breed and have babies.
There are two whale watching seasons in Uvita. It’s one of the only places in the world that hosts two annual migration events, and you can see whales off the coast of Uvita for up to 10 months a year!
Whales from northern areas like mainland USA and Alaska migrate south during the northern hemisphere winter, from December – mid-April. Whales from Antarctica in the south migrate north during the southern hemisphere winter, from mid-July – November.
The start and end of both seasons have less chance of seeing whales, so it’s best to plan your visit for the peak months of January and February and again during August and September. This is when the highest concentration of whales will be in the area, and you have the best chance of spotting them.
Where is the best place to see the whale tail in Uvita?
The obvious answer is walking out onto the Uvita Whale Tail itself. But you can’t really appreciate the size and shape of the peninsula from ground level.
You really need a drone to get a good aerial view of the whale tail, however, we know not everyone has one.
There is a very small and kind of measly observation platform located just behind the beach here you can check out. Don’t be expecting a sweeping aerial view (they should build a lookout tower for that!) but it’s better than nothing.
Alternatively, the town of Uvita inclines back behind the beach into jungle-clad hills. Many of the hotels and restaurants tucked into the mountains have a good aerial view of the Uvita Whale Tail.
If you’re not staying in this area, there is one spot you can drive to that offers a decent view of the whale tail from above. The Mirador de Ballenas lookout is located north of Uvita, on a steep road. You don’t need a 4×4 to get here, as the road is paved, but please be aware there is no real parking area or pull-out point here. It can be quite dangerous if it’s busy, and the roads around here are very steep.
What to bring with you to the Uvita Whale Tail
Although you can leave the Marino Ballena National Park and re-enter on the same day, you probably want to come prepared for a few hours on the beach, as well as your jaunt to the Uvita Whale Tail. Here’s what you should bring:
- 💧 Water – and lots of it. It is hot on the beach, with no shade on the walk. There aren’t any shops or vendors inside the park either.
- 🧢 Sun protection – we got majorly sunburnt walking to and from the Uvita Whale Tail. Because you’re walking in the water, you don’t necessarily feel hot but bring a hat and a shirt to cover your shoulders.
- 🩴 Shoes – depending on the tide level, your feet might be burning on the hot sand.
- 👙 Swimwear – come wearing your swimmers, or change at the entrance to the park.
- 🧖🏽♀️ Towel – for a swim before, after or during your walk, or to laze on the sand. The beach is so beautiful here!
- 🍍 Snacks – if you’re planning to stay a while, there are no shops or vendors on the beach.
- 🎒 Waterproof bag – theft is very common on the beaches in Uvita, so come with a waterproof bag you’re happy to carry on the walk, and around the water to protect your things.
Other activities to do in the Marino Ballena National Park
Whale watching
If you’re in Uvita during whale season, taking a whale watching tour is a must! Although you may get lucky and spot some whales offshore from the whale tail, the best way to see these gentle giants is via a boat tour.
This tour is highly rated and includes the national park entry fee. You will spend approximately 3 hours looking for whales, as well as other marine life like dolphins and turtles.
Hanging out on Playa Uvita
As I’m sure you can tell by now, Playa Uvita is a seriously beautiful beach!
The wide expanse of dark sand, the jungle practically oozing down onto the beach and palm trees lining the shore. It’s wild, undeveloped and so big it never feels busy.
So in addition to walking out to the whale tail, be sure to dedicate some time to relax on the beach. Bring a book, lay down a towel and relax in a jungle paradise. The water here is quite shallow at low tide, so it’s a calm and safe place for a swim.
Playa Uvita naturally extends into Playa Chaman and Playa Colonia in the south, with no defining boundary. You can go for a beautiful long walk all the way along the sand to Playa Colonia with no interruptions.
There are a couple of other beaches inside the boundary of the park, Playa Ballena and Playa Piñuelas, but unless you’ve got a car, a lot of time or a strong desire to explore further, you’ll most likely hang out on Playa Uvita.
Snorkelling
As mentioned, you can go snorkelling at the end of the whale tail. It’s only really possible at low tide, otherwise, you will have a very long and dangerous swim out to the reef!
It is very dependent on the weather and conditions, and at times can be quite rough. If it has been a particularly big swell, or there has been recent rain the visibility can be very bad in the area.
If you want to snorkel, you’ll have to bring your own mask and snorkel. The national park prohibits the use of fins.
There are some tours that combine kayaking and snorkelling at the whale tail which I’ll share below.
Kayaking
A great tour to see more of the whale tail is a kayak and snorkel combo tour. Unless the tide is out, it’s a long swim out to the end of the tail! Enter, a kayak.
Local tour operator Bahia Aventuras runs a great tour, where you will kayak out to the whale tail, jump in and go snorkelling, before riding some fun waves back to shore on the kayaks and entering a mangrove-filled estuary behind the beach.
At the time of writing, the tour was $78 USD per adult, and you can get in touch via their website. It includes the entrance fee to the national park.
Where to stay near the Uvita Whale Tail
Uvita is a very spread-out and disjointed town. There is great accommodation all over, but if your priority is being close to the national park and beaches, you will want to stay in the ‘Bahia’ neighbourhood.
Here are some of our top picks for accommodation in Bahia:
- 💰 Karandi Hostel – situated close to the beach, Karandi gets rave reviews from travellers. They have modern, simple and spotlessly clean dorms on lovely garden grounds, with plenty of wildlife and birds to spot. Staff are kind and helpful, with a great atmosphere.
- $15 USD + per night check prices here
- 💰 Shipwrecked Hostel – this brand-new hostel is designed with a nautical, ship theme. Rooms are ‘below deck’ with pod-style dorm beds equipped with a privacy curtain, lights, outlets, mirror, shelf and strong air conditioning. The communal kitchen, rooftop and hangout spaces are modern with amazing jungle views.
- $20 USD + per night check prices here
- 💰💰 Ballena Rey Hotel – this new and modern hotel is a fantastic choice for value and convenience. Each room is an apartment-style, with private kitchen facilities. There is a pool on-site, and it is as central as you can be in a town like Uvita. We stayed here and loved it.
- $100 USD + per night check prices here
- 💰💰 Seren Glamping – for a unique and romantic option, Seren Glamping has gorgeous bell tents with all the luxuries and amenities you could dream of. The tents have their own private outdoor bathroom, are air-conditioned, and there is a communal pool with gorgeous gardens.
- $150 USD + per night check prices here
⛺️ If you’re camping in Costa Rica, as we were, Uvita is a trickier place to find a camp spot. Because the beaches are inside the national park, you can’t park right up on the sand. Instead, you’ll need to pick a paid campground, most of which are just behind Playa Uvita.
We highly recommend Camping Casa Viva. This was the cheapest option (some places were pretty pricey!) and had decent amenities. The camping area is nestled into a grove of palm trees and we saw so many macaws and toucans. They offer good WIFI, toilets, cold showers and a direct path to access the beach, Playa Chaman.
I hope this post has explained more about the unique Uvita Whale Tail. This strange natural occurrence is something you can’t miss in Costa Rica, but it does take a bit of coordination with the national park, tides and times.
Our Uvita and Dominical guides
