About Us

Playa Hermosa is a small community that has become known in some circles as “The Jewel of Guanacaste”. Though small, it boasts a diverse community made up of fisherman, hotel and tour operators, restaurant and retail owners, other business owners, part-time and full time residents, retirees, and both long and short term visitors – local/national and “expat” alike.

The Playa Hermosa Association is a group of volunteers, living and/or working in Playa Hermosa that strives for the betterment of the community by promoting sustainability and focusing on enhancing the community environment. Its mission statement is straightforward and to the point:

“Cultivate an organization to improve and sustain the community of Playa Hermosa.”

The PHA’s priorities with respect to fulfilling its mission relate to community safety, road and bridge maintenance, keeping it’s Ecological Blue Flag beach clean and free of trash, protecting and enhancing its native monkey population, enhancing its near shore marine environment through the CondoFish artificial reef project, promoting recycling throughout the community, acting as liaison between community residents and the local municipality, supporting local activities/school/church/art, welcoming new residents, overseeing “greenification” projects and conducting fundraisers and charity events.

It’s an ambitious list of initiatives and priorities and all of them are carried out by the PHA’s seven-member Board of Directors and the committees chaired by them, and with the help of community volunteers and paid service providers. But none of it would be possible without the financial backing by the PHA sponsors (businesses, families and individuals) whose sponsorships provide the funding needed to achieve results. Without the generosity and commitment of its sponsors, the PHA’s initiatives for the betterment of the community could not be executed and quantifiable results could not be achieved. Nor could they be achieved without the engagement and support of individuals within the local community at large who benefit from them also.

“The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community.” – William James

The Playa Hermosa Association invigorates the community through thoughtful leadership, inventive initiatives that are financed by its members, and through work supported and implemented by community members, volunteers and paid service providers. This is extremely important in Playa Hermosa, where the cornerstone of the local economy upon which this community thrives is tourism. Without the strong influx of tourism capital the community suffers. And without a strong and vibrant community, tourism suffers.