The purpose of our visit to Playa Hermosa was for a simple, quiet winter getaway. Something that millions of other middle-class North Americans seem to do every winter, but we had not yet managed. (No hiking, no biking, no rushing from one ecotourist hot spot to another--no, no, no!)
That understood, for peace and quiet, stay away from Playa del Coco. Unless you're running out of money or you need some stamps for your postcards, Playa del Coco is a rather tawdry, sprawling tourist town that's best avoided. Larger and noisier than Playa Hermosa, the most noticeable things about Playa del Coco are the concentration of tourist-excursion operators and cheap souvenir shops. Don't say I didn't warn you.