Guanacaste
After the surf lesson at Sámara, the chain around your neck had gone
The beach at Sámara is one long bay, and the large old strangler fig in the middle of it gives you a point to measure from.
Sámara offers beginner surf lessons in a bay with gentle waves, and a chain that came off during one can be looked for in the shallows and on the sand. The search depends on which stretch of the bay your group used, and whether the chain went while you stood in the water or once you were up on the board.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Guanacaste 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.
This page also covers the calm bays around Playas del Coco and Potrero, the shell sand at Conchal, the surf beaches at Tamarindo and Playa Grande, Playa Carrillo near Sámara, and Nosara with Guiones and Pelada.
While you are still on that beach
Go back to where you were when you noticed, and mark that point on your phone's map while it is still light. Then photograph whatever stands behind you on the beach: a tree, a rock, the path you came down. After a lesson, ask the instructor which part of the beach the group used.
The visitor coast of Guanacaste has two halves. The northern one takes in Papagayo, Playas del Coco, Flamingo, Conchal and Tamarindo. In the southern one, Nicoya is the commercial center and Sámara the tourism center, with Carrillo, Garza and Nosara along the same stretch. Tell us which town you were staying in.
Places we cover in Guanacaste
- Playas del Coco
- Playa Hermosa
- Playa Ocotal
- Playa Panamá
- The Gulf of Papagayo
- Playa Nacascolo
- Playa Monte del Barco
- Playa Huevos
- Playa Potrero
- Playa Flamingo (Playa Blanca)
- Playa Brasilito
- Playa Conchal
- Tamarindo
- The Tamarindo estuary
- Playa Grande
- Nosara
- Playa Guiones
- Playa Pelada
- Playa Garza
- Sámara
- Playa Carrillo
From the Gulf of Papagayo down to Sámara
North to south, with the details that help you say where you were.
Playas del Coco
Playas del Coco sits on a bay with gentle waves, used by swimmers and by boats that dock there. To the south is the Centinela islet, with a white-sand cove. People go sportfishing, diving and on boat excursions from here.
Playa Hermosa, Ocotal and Playa Panamá
Playa Hermosa is a bay of grayish sand between two rocky points, with very small waves. Ocotal is an inlet bordered by hills, also with grayish sand and calm waves, and Punta Cirial at its southern end sits in clear water. Playa Panamá is a wide bay of fine sand with calm water, lined with trees, and boats leave from it for Playa Huevos.
Potrero and Flamingo
Potrero is a bay with calm water where people swim, dive and ride horses. Playa Flamingo, also known as Playa Blanca, is a white-sand cove for swimming, with a wide range of services close by and places to go out at night.
Brasilito and Playa Conchal
At Brasilito the waves go from gentle to moderate, depending on which part of the beach you are on. South of it, past the rocky headland of Punta Conchal, is Playa Conchal, whose beach is made of millions of shell fragments. The water is clear, and people swim, dive and go out on boat trips from it.
Tamarindo
Tamarindo is a surfing beach, and the tourist area around it has many restaurants and a very active nightlife. Out toward the south of the bay you can see a rocky area and Captain Island, useful marks if you were out in the water. Across the estuary, whose mangroves can be toured by boat, Playa Grande stretches away to the north and is popular with surfers.
Nosara, Guiones, Pelada and Playa Garza
Nosara is a district of Nicoya, and the town and the area around it have all kinds of visitor services, including horseback riding and kayaking. The road down to the beach is gravel, a 4x4 is the vehicle to have, and cars and ATVs can be rented. Playa Guiones, the main beach, has miles of bright white sand, surf schools, and waves that beginners try at low tide. Pelada, to the north, runs from Punta Nosara to a rocky point with a view down over Guiones. Playa Garza, between Nosara and Sámara, is a bay with moderate waves beside the small fishing town of Garza.
Sámara and Playa Carrillo
Sámara is a long bay with clear sand and gentle waves, and a large old strangler fig stands in the middle of the beach. People take beginner surf lessons and go kayaking here. Playa Carrillo is a separate bay near Sámara, with calm waves, coconut trees for shade and a rocky hill at its southern end that looks over the whole bay.
How we handle your message
One thread from start to finish
You never explain the loss twice. Whoever picks up your first message stays with it until the case is closed.
The day, in the order it happened
Before anyone reaches the beach, the detectorist knows how your day went, from where the lesson started to where the boat landed. Your map pin and photos go with it.
Poor odds said early
Some losses are unlikely to be found, and when yours looks like one of them, that is the first thing we tell you.
The costs come first
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you can take your time over them.
The kind of water you were in
The northern bays named here have calm water or small waves; Tamarindo and Sámara are where people surf.
Calm water in the north
Playas del Coco has gentle waves, Playa Hermosa very small ones, and Ocotal, Playa Panamá and Potrero have calm water. Before you pack up, photograph the stretch of water you swam in, taken from where you had been sitting.
Surfing at Tamarindo, learning at Sámara
Say whether you were standing in the shallows beside the instructor or already paddling, and at what point in the session you reached for the item and found nothing there.
Boat days out of Coco and Panamá
Boats run from Playas del Coco to Nacascolo and Playa Huevos, and from Playa Panamá to Huevos. Nacascolo has white sand with few stones and a calm sea. The area around it has coral communities and rocky reefs, and people snorkel there and at Monte del Barco. Name the beach where the boat stopped. Something dropped over the side on a sportfishing trip far out at sea is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Questions about Guanacaste
My chain came off during a beginner surf lesson at Sámara. What should I tell you first?
Sámara is a bay about 4 kilometers long, so the part of it your group used comes first. The large old strangler fig in the middle of the beach is the easiest mark to measure from: tell us roughly how far the group was from the tree and on which side of it. Then send a photo of the chain that shows its clasp.
An earring dropped into the shell sand on Playa Conchal.
The beach at Conchal is made of millions of shell fragments, and the inlet is about a mile long, so first tell us which end you were nearer. Punta Conchal, a rocky headland, separates it from Brasilito to the north. A close photo of the earring you still have shows its size and fastening.
On a boat trip from Playas del Coco, my wedding band slipped off at Playa Huevos.
Huevos is a half-moon beach with gentle surf, and it has two caverns in the rocks that people go into at low tide. Tell us whether you were on the sand, in the water off it, or in or near the caverns when you last had the band. Give us the time the boat landed; these trips usually go out in the morning. Send a photo of the band too, with any engraving inside it.
The car keys were in a beach bag at Playa Flamingo and are not there now.
Go through the car and every pocket of the bag first. If they are still missing, pin the spot where the bag sat on the cove and tell us who went into the water with a pocket that zips. Flamingo has plenty of services close by, so list any shop or restaurant you walked to. Then describe the key, the fob and whatever hangs from them.
A phone went into the water from the rocks at one end of Playa Hermosa.
Hermosa lies between two rocky points and its waves are very small. Say which point you were on, whether the phone slid down beside the rocks or you were standing out at their edge, and roughly how deep the water looked there. The Pelonas and Montosa islands lie to the south and help place you. Give us the phone model, the color of the case, and whether it was in a waterproof pouch.
A bracelet came off while I was swimming at Tamarindo.
Tamarindo is a surfing beach, so tell us whether there were boards in the water around you and how deep it was. On the sand, the restaurant or the street you came down from is the simplest thing to pin. If you could see the rocks and Captain Island out toward the south of the bay, say roughly where they were from you.
We are staying in Nosara and my Oura ring went missing somewhere between the house, the rental car and the ATV.
Look under the car seats, in the footwells and around the ATV first. After that, write down every stop of the day in order: the house, the road you took, where you parked and any café or shop in town. The road down to the beach is gravel, so the places where you got in and out of the vehicle are worth a pin each. Give us the ring model, size and finish.
A watch came off while I was swimming at Playa Carrillo.
Carrillo is a bay with calm waves, coconut trees for shade and a rocky hill at its southern end. Tell us which end of the bay you were nearer, whether you swam straight out from where you had left your things, and whether you were in the shade of the palms. Add the make and model of the watch.
Guanacaste
Start with a pin on the Guanacaste coast
You can add details as they come back to you.
Send us a WhatsApp message with a map pin for the beach or the street and a line about the item. Our reply comes back with a few questions about that spot.