*** UPDATE *** A helpful reader points out that it is actually illegal to take seashells from the beaches in Costa Rica, and to take them out of the country. We still believe it is a fun activity to look for shells on the beach and take photos, but agree they should be left at the beach when you are done. They provide habitat for little creatures like hermit crabs, and also, believe it or not, those shells will eventually be broken down in nature.
This Tico Times article indicates that over 5 TONS of shells were confiscated at the airports in 2023 alone.
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I’m writing this on my third trip to Costa Rica in just over a year (my first trip was March 2017). Scott and I touched down in Liberia on Sunday shortly after noon. We stopped for a quick German lunch of spätzle and pork schnitzel at Café Europa (you can get all kinds of food in Costa Rica), then we settled into our condo, unpacked, and were at the beach in Tamarindo in time for sunset.
Sunset on the quieter southern side of the beach at Playa Tamarindo
We have just five days on this trip, as it’s tough to get away for longer than that during the school year. Our days are packed with business – opening up a bank account, meeting with our property managers, and I even taped a podcast and sold a piece of business while out here.
Still, we never miss our morning and evening walks on the beach. We easily clock in five miles of walking each day we stay here in Tamarindo, which lends itself to my hobby of collecting things. I have four new seashell collections from our first four days here.
Seashell Collection 1 – Icicles
No, they’re not the cold type of icicle, just my nickname for this seashell that you find in droves on the Tamarindo beach.
One of these days, I want to collect enough small, similarly-sized icicle seashells to use as pegs for one of my favorite puzzle games.
Seashell Collection 2 – Elizabeth Taylor
As my mom reminds me multiple times, Elizabeth Taylor is the only person in the world with violet eyes. So when I noticed seashells with a purple hue, which I haven’t seen elsewhere and didn’t notice during my earlier trips here, of course I scooped them up and refer to them as my Elizabeth Taylors:
The color comes out best when they’re wet, so I plan to get a nice clear bowl, keep it filled with water, and display my collection there. I’ll need to bring it back to New York City with me, as my mom is a big Liz Taylor fan.
Seashell Collection 3 – Pink Ladies
I found just one bright pink seashell by our second day here, and I planned on putting it with my Elizabeth Taylors (pink and purple do go together). But by our third day, I had a large enough collection that these shells warranted their own name – of course, Pink Ladies.
I saw some slick black rocks here and there, but not enough interesting ones to start a T-Bird collection.
Seashell Collection 4 – Michael Jackson
Our fourth day here, I saw several beautiful black and white seashells, which sealed my fourth collection theme, the Michael Jacksons.
This name came to me, not because MJ and Liz Taylor were close friends (remember that odd celebrity pairing?), but actually from my favorite coffee cart vendor in New York City. He has these delicious glazed, black and white doughnut twists, and whenever I point to one to order, he says, “Oh yes, the Michael Jackson!”
Bonus ‘Potential’ Seashell Collection
On our last day walking the beach, we saw a set of spectacular ping seashells, and encountered several others along our walk, but we had already collected enough on this trip and left them alone. Now we have something on the to do list for next time!
Adding to Costume Jewelry Collection
Collecting seashells on our daily walks along the beach is a fun, easy, and cheap hobby to pick up in Costa Rica. Unfortunately for my wallet, it’s not my only collection.
I stopped by Lydia Beech’s shop and picked up a bracelet and ring for my existing costume jewelry collection.
If the ring fits my mom, it will serve double duty as part of her elephant collection too.
We are Scott and Caroline, 50-somethings who spent the first 20+ years of our adult lives in New York City, working traditional careers and raising 2 kids. We left full-time work in our mid-40’s for location-independent, part-time consulting projects and real estate investing, in order to create a more flexible and travel-centric lifestyle. 
Financial independence and early retirement is not something we originally focused on, but over time realized it was possible. Our free report, 
It is illegal to take seashells from the beach here in Costa Rica. There are signs and audio announcements about it all over the Liberia airport. I’ve seen them search tourist luggage and hand out fines. I’ve seen them fine tourists at the beach. Don’t do it!
Thanks so much for pointing this out! We had not noticed signs on the beach or heard announcements in the airport during our trips, but some quick searching in Google of course confirms your statement. We still think it is fun to look at the shells and take photos, but they should be left at the beach. We will update this post with an explanation.
Are permits available for lease/purchase to harvest dead/ empty/ washed up/ fossilized seashells/ sea life from the beaches of Costa Rica? Government resource referral?
Hi David, we don’t have any expertise on the seashell rules in Costa Rica unfortunately. Our interaction with any CR legislation has only been when we purchased our rentals, and that was handled by our real estate attorney out there.