Central Pacific
An earring lost between a Manuel Antonio hotel and the sand at Espadilla Norte
Jacó, Quepos and Manuel Antonio, then Santa Teresa and Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula, and Dominical and Uvita in the South Pacific.
An earring that went missing on a day at Manuel Antonio can be looked for, on the sand at Playa Espadilla Norte and along the road you took down to it. The odds rest on two things you can tell us: where your towels were on the sand, and the way you walked down from the hotel.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in the Central Pacific with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Lower on this page you will find Jacó and Herradura, the Quepos seafront, Santa Teresa and Mal País, Montezuma, and Dominical with Uvita.
Between the hotel and Espadilla Norte
Shake out the towels, the beach bag and the clothes you wore over your swimsuit, and look in the car if you drove. If the earring is still missing, what is left is the sand at Espadilla Norte and the road between it and your hotel. If your phone keeps a location history, a screenshot of that day's route shows us which way you went and where you stopped.
From Puntarenas the ferry crosses to Paquera, and from there the road heads toward Santa Teresa; Cóbano is where people set off for Montezuma and Mal País. If your day took in the ferry and more than one town, list them in order.
Places we cover in the Central Pacific
- Jacó
- Playa Herradura
- Esterillos
- Quepos
- The Quepos Malecón
- Playa Boca Vieja
- Punta Quepos
- Manuel Antonio
- Playa Espadilla Norte
- Manuel Antonio National Park beaches
- Playa Espadilla Sur and Playa Manuel Antonio
- Santa Teresa
- Playa Carmen
- Mal País
- Montezuma
- Cóbano
- Tambor
- Paquera
- Puntarenas and the Paseo de los Turistas
- Dominical
- Dominicalito
- Uvita
- Punta Uvita, the Whale's Tail
- Playa Ballena
Town by town along the Central Pacific
Landmarks you can pin a spot to: hills at the ends of a bay, a marina, a giant sign, a rock at the end of a beach.
Jacó
Jacó is the urban and commercial center of the Garabito canton, with a booming nightlife. About 4 kilometers of dark sand curve between a hill at each end, and people surf and ride horses along the beach. South of Jacó, Esterillos Oeste has a rocky coast at its north end and waves for surfing.
Playa Herradura
Playa Herradura is named for its horseshoe-shaped bay, with hills at both ends and a marina at the north end. The sand is dark, and people come to swim and for water sports.
Quepos and Punta Quepos
Quepos is the seat of the canton, and sport-fishing and recreational boat trips leave from its wharf. On the Malecón seafront, the giant Quepos sign is one of its photo spots, and a picture taken there fixes where and when you were. Playa Boca Vieja, between the mouth of the Paquita River and the Boca Vieja, is the beach the city's residents use. Punta Quepos is a rocky, forested point with light-sand beaches and hotels on its higher ground.
Manuel Antonio and Playa Espadilla Norte
The town of Manuel Antonio sits in the coastal mountains, with a wide choice of hotels and restaurants. Playa Espadilla Norte is very popular, with visitor services along it. Where your towels lay, and the path you took onto the sand, are what we ask about first. At one end of town, Manuel Antonio National Park has trails and beaches of white sand and turquoise water, Espadilla Sur and Playa Manuel Antonio among them.
Santa Teresa, Playa Carmen and Mal País
Santa Teresa is a lively surf town with sandy beaches and nightlife. Its beach is very long, with waves suited to surfing and a rock formation called Peñón de Ario at the north end. Playa Carmen, between Santa Teresa and Mal País, is also popular with surfers. Mal País is a quieter village with rocky beaches and an irregular shoreline, and Punta Barrigona stands in the central part of its beach.
Montezuma, Cóbano and Tambor
Montezuma is a small town on a coast of rocky stretches and white-sand beaches. Its center beach is a small inlet, and north of it the main beach runs up to the rocks where a path leads on to Playa Cocal. Cóbano has many commercial services, so for a loss there give us the street. Tambor has a long beach used for swimming, on a horseshoe-shaped bay in the Gulf of Nicoya.
Dominical, Dominicalito and Uvita
Dominical has big waves for surfing, shops and services, and a beach popular with campers. Dominicalito is calmer, with moderate surf for swimming, light brown sand and forest along the shore, and Punta Dominical rises at the south end. At Uvita the beach has estuaries and mangroves at its north end, and at low tide people walk out along the sandbar at Punta Uvita, the Whale's Tail, which goes under as the tide rises. Playa Ballena, to the south, has little surf and fine sand.
What happens on our side
One number, one person
You write to one WhatsApp number and get replies from one person. A detail you remember two days later goes straight into the same brief.
A brief that stands in for you
The detectorist never saw the beach that day, so the brief carries it: the map pin, the photos, and the route in your own words, sent as one message.
Straight answers on the odds
When the details point to a poor chance of a find, our first reply tells you, before you spend time gathering photos.
Nothing booked on a guess
We explain the costs before any search is booked, in writing, in the same chat.
In the water or on the wharf
Your activity at the moment it went decides where a detectorist starts.
On a surfboard
Jacó, Santa Teresa, Playa Carmen and Dominical are surfing beaches. Say where you carried the board down, how much time you spent in the water, and whether you noticed the loss in the water or only once you were back on the sand.
Swimming beaches
Dominicalito has moderate surf for swimming, the center beach at Montezuma is a small inlet, and people swim at Tambor and in the bay at Herradura. Say how deep you were, measured on your own body: knee, waist or chest.
The Quepos wharf
Sport-fishing and recreational boat trips leave from the wharf in Quepos. Keys or a phone dropped on the wharf, or between it and the boat, can be pinned to where you stepped aboard. If it went during the trip itself, away from the wharf, that is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Questions about the Central Pacific
I only noticed the earring was missing back at our Manuel Antonio hotel. How do I describe where we sat on Playa Espadilla Norte?
Espadilla Norte is a very popular beach with visitor services along it, so tell us which service was nearest your towels. Add the road you came down from the hotel and anywhere you stopped on the way, since the earring may have gone before you reached the sand. Say whether it was a stud, a hoop or a drop, and whether the back is missing too.
Where do we start if the wedding band was gone the morning after a night out in Jacó?
Name the street where the evening started and the street you used to reach the sand, if you went down to it at all. Say whether you found the band missing when you woke or only later, and whether it had felt loose that week. The messages in your group chat from that night show when you moved on from each place. A picture of the band on your hand shows us its width and color.
Santa Teresa beach is very long. How do I say where the phone went missing?
Use the rock formation at the north end, Peñón de Ario, as your reference, and tell us whether you were close to it or well along toward Playa Carmen. If you reached the beach by a side road, drop a pin where it meets the sand. Give us the model, and say whether the phone went while you were in the water or sitting on the sand.
A bracelet went missing on the walk from Montezuma toward Playa Cocal. What helps?
Montezuma's main beach runs up to a rocky area, and the path to Playa Cocal begins there. Tell us whether you had reached the rocks or were still on the sand the last time you felt it on your wrist, and how far along the path you went. Say too whether it closed with a clasp or slid over your hand.
What should I say about car keys lost somewhere on the Quepos Malecón?
The Malecón is the seafront walk with the giant Quepos sign on it. Say which end you parked at and whether you stopped at the sign; a photo taken there carries a time that helps put the walk in order. Tell us whether the key belongs to a rental car and whether it has a remote.
Which beach do I name for a lost watch, Dominical or Dominicalito?
Name the one you were on, because they are separate beaches. Dominical has big waves and is a surfing beach. Dominicalito has moderate surf, light brown sand and forest along the shore, with Punta Dominical at its southern end. Name the beach, say whether you wore the watch into the sea or left it with your towel, and say what the watch looks like: brand, strap and face.
Our cruise ship has already left Puntarenas. Can anything still be done about a necklace lost on the Paseo de los Turistas?
Yes. The Paseo runs along the main beach in Puntarenas, and there are many kiosks around the pier where the cruise ships dock. Say where along the Paseo you walked relative to the pier, whether you stepped off the promenade onto the beach, and which kiosks you stopped at. Describe the chain and the clasp, and say what metal it is.
How do I describe a spot on Playa Herradura for an Oura ring lost during a swim?
Use the marina at the north end of the bay as your starting point, and say roughly how far along the sand from it you were. Say whether you stayed level with your towels in the water or moved along the shore. Tell us which Oura model it is and its color.
Central Pacific
A first message about the Central Pacific can be short
Photos, times and the rest come later.
Send a WhatsApp message naming the town, the beach or street, and the item that is missing. A map pin helps if you have one, but you can send it after.