Buying Near the Beach in Costa Rica: The Maritime Zone, Explained

In Costa Rica, every beach is public. You won't find private, gated stretches of sand where only hotel guests or homeowners may walk. That's by design. The Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre (Law 6043), passed in 1977, protects the coastline as part of the national heritage.

For anyone living here, that's a real everyday benefit: you can walk the length of Tamarindo beach, paddle out anywhere, and enjoy the coast the same way locals have for generations.

Law 6043 covers a 200-meter strip of land along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, measured inland from the ordinary high-tide line. It is split into two parts:

Everything beyond those 200 meters, and some older properties that were legally titled before the law, can be held as regular titled property.

This is the key distinction for beach buyers.

Titled property is full ownership, registered in Costa Rica's National Registry. Foreign buyers have the same ownership rights as Costa Ricans, so you can buy titled land or a home in your own name or through a Costa Rican company. Most homes, condos and lots you'll see around Tamarindo and the Gold Coast fall into this category.

Concession property is a right to use land in the restricted zone, granted by the municipality. Under Law 6043, concessions are granted for up to 20 years and can be renewed. They come with conditions: an annual fee (canon) to the municipality, use that matches the approved zoning plan, and ownership rules. For example, the law doesn't allow concessions to be held by foreigners with less than five years of residency in Costa Rica, or by companies that are more than 50% foreign-owned.

Concessions are common for beachside hotels and some long-established homes, and they work well when they're set up correctly. They simply call for a different checklist than titled property.

The good news: this is easy to confirm during due diligence. A few things your attorney will typically check:

This is part of the normal buying process here, and an experienced Costa Rican real estate attorney handles it routinely. If you'd like to see where it fits in the bigger picture, the simple guide to the purchase process walks through each step, and the post on the cost to buy a home in Costa Rica covers due diligence and closing costs.

Here's something many buyers find freeing: you don't need a property on the sand to enjoy the beach every day. Because the coast is public, a titled home or condo a short walk or bike ride from the water gives you the same sunsets and the same surf, with straightforward ownership.

Around Tamarindo, that opens up plenty of options, from walkable condos in town to ocean-view homes in the hills above Langosta, Playa Grande and the beaches to the south. You can browse them on the beachfront and near-the-beach page or search all listings.

The Maritime Zone law is one of the things that keeps Costa Rica's beaches beautiful and open to all. For buyers, it comes down to one question: is this property titled or a concession? Once you know the answer, and your attorney has checked the paperwork, you can buy near the beach with confidence.

If you're curious about a specific property or want help understanding what you're looking at, I'm happy to walk you through it.