About 8 km south of Puerto Viejo, Punta Uva is the most postcard-perfect beach on the Caribbean coast — a deep horseshoe bay of pale-gold sand backed by tall coconut palms, with calm turquoise water inside the headland. The point at the north end has a small bat cave you can paddle around at low tide, and snorkelling along the rocks turns up reef fish and the occasional ray.
Unlike Playa Cocles, the bay here is sheltered enough for genuinely calm swimming, which is rare on this coast. It's a 30-minute bike ride from town or a short ride in one of the shared minibuses that ply the coast road. Bring water and food: the few small kiosks here close in the late afternoon.
The headland itself takes about twenty minutes to walk, on a path through private land to a viewpoint over the reef, and at low tide you can wade out to a rocky outcrop colonised by crabs. Tall almendro trees lean over the sand, which is what puts this beach on so many posters.