Costa Rica has many beautiful beaches that attract local and foreign tourists alike; they are without a doubt one of the many treasures this country has, however, some of these beaches suffer from a certain level of pollution, like it happens in every country, naturally some of the most polluted beaches tend to be some of the most visited ones.

Costa Rica makes big efforts in implementing different mechanisms to clean the beaches and educate the population to avoid further contamination; tourism companies are also part of this effort, and as a result, today, 11 beaches proudly display the Ecological Blue Flag with 3, 4 or 5 stars, which means they comply with high cleaning standards, environmental educational programs, security and touristic services. In total 110 Costa Rican beaches have received the flag with one or more stars, which means they are still in the process of achieving a higher standard.

There are, however, three that stand out with a perfect score of 5 stars and therefore are considered the cleanest beaches in Costa Rica:

Matapalo: Located in Guanacaste
Playa Blanca: In Punta Leona, Puntarenas.
Punta el Madero: Guanacaste, between Tamarindo and Langosta beaches

Playa Playitas, located in Puntarenas, next to Manuel Antonio, was the only beach to earn 4 stars.

The following beaches received the Ecological Blue Flag with 3 stars:

Puerto Vargas: Located in Limon.
Esterillos Oeste: In Parrita, Puntarenas
Tortuguero: Limon (protected area)
Bejuco: Parrita, Puntarenas
Manuel Antonio: National Park in Quepos, Puntarenas
Espadilla Sur: Quepos, Puntarenas
Junquillal: Santa Cruz, Guanacaste

During 2016, many volunteers also took active part in cleaning different beaches. The organization of biologists, The Leatherback Trust (TLT) for instance, which works in turtle nesting sites in Guanacaste, together with local forest rangers, organized 12 cleaning sessions in Playa Grande and Ventanas in Guanacaste, during which they collected 225 kilograms of solid waste which included especially different plastic items.