A small hamlet just 17km south of Dominical, Uvita is a step back in time to what Costa Rica was like 10 years ago. But that’s about to change as developers have discovered the Brunca coast. Rather than a village, this is more a loose collection of farms, houses and sodas. Several of the nearby beaches are part of the Parque Nacional Marino Ballena, a pristine marine reserve renowned for its migrating pods of humpback whales.

At low tide you can walk out along Punta Uvita, but ask the locals first about times as you don’t want to be cut off by rising water.