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Playa Cocal

Santa Cruz, Guanacaste · Costa Rica

What have people found?

Thorn latirus, pacific mottled shore crab and green spiny lobster turn up here more than at our other tide pools. Ecuadorian hermit crab, halloween crab and nicaragua sea hare are the usual finds. ~51 distinct species have been recorded here.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Playa Cocal for the next three days
  1. Sun, Nov 15~12:30 PM
  2. Mon, Nov 16in the dark~12:30 AM~1:00 PM
  3. Tue, Nov 17in the dark~1:30 AM~2:00 PM

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from June and July.

What should you know before visiting?

Parking is about 0.3 miles away.
Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Tide pool safety
A tide pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The tidepooling code

What lives at Playa Cocal?

Species records from iNaturalist

Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCoenobita compressus
Halloween CrabHartnollius quadratus
Nicaragua sea hareDolabrifera nicaraguana
Pacific Mottled Shore CrabPachygrapsus socius
Rough-ribbed NeriteNerita scabricosta
Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsus
Stokes's ChitonChiton stokesii
Giant False LimpetSiphonaria gigas
Gourd Rock SnailVasula melones
Green Spiny LobsterPanulirus gracilis
Painted Ghost CrabOcypode gaudichaudii
Calcinus obscurusCalcinus obscurus
Nerita funiculataNerita funiculata
Thorn LatirusOpeatostoma pseudodon
Lumpy Claw CrabEriphia squamata
Scan this tide pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.