The best beaches in Costa Rica
From the golden sweep of Tamarindo's Playa Grande up north to rugged Mal Pais down south, the hook-shaped Nicoya Peninsula has a beach for every taste.
Starting in mid-December and going through through April, hardly any rain falls in this part of northwest Costa Rica, a boon for those up to their turtlenecks in the northern hemisphere’s winter.
One hundred and fifty kilometers (93 miles) long and about 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide, the peninsula lies almost entirely within the province of Guanacaste; the southernmost tip is part of Puntarenas Province and is accessible by two ferry lines and a bridge. But provincial boundaries don't mean much here; the Nicoya Peninsula is all of a piece, though the northern part, dubbed the Gold Coast, is experiencing a building boom that is making it look a lot different from the more laid-back towns farther south.
Driving the peninsula’s potholed back roads (most of the area's roads qualify as back roads), you'll see barbed wire looped around gnarled and crooked tree trunks, improvised fences that keep the pale, hump-backed Brahmin cattle from wandering off. In the dry season, trees blaze with bright yellow and orange blossoms made even more dramatic because they grace bare branches, before the trees leaf out.
The most bustling towns are inland, strung along Highway 21, which runs from Liberia through Filadelfia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya, Costa Rica's oldest colonial city. From the inland cities, a web of roads--some paved, most not--extends to remote beaches and coastal towns so laid back that each day seems to last a week. Twelve kilometers (7.5 miles) from Santa Cruz in the tiny town of Guatíl, where pre-Colombian pottery designs are making a comeback.
Those heading for northern peninsula beaches will want to consider flying in to Daniel Obodur Airport in Liberia rather than Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose; opting for the former cuts about 5 hours off your travel time (if you’re going by car or bus; small planes will get you their much faster).
The southern peninsula can be reached via car ferry from Puntarenas or over the Taiwan Friendship Bridge, built in 2003 across the Tempisque River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.
The name of the bridge became somewhat ironic when in 2007 Costa Rica abandoned its ally Taiwan in favor of China.
Around Nicoya Peninsula...
Starting in mid-December and going through through April, hardly any rain falls in this part of northwest Costa Rica, a boon for those up to their turtlenecks in the northern hemisphere’s winter.
One hundred and fifty kilometers (93 miles) long and about 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide, the peninsula lies almost entirely within the province of Guanacaste; the southernmost tip is part of Puntarenas Province and is accessible by two ferry lines and a bridge. But provincial boundaries don't mean much here; the Nicoya Peninsula is all of a piece, though the northern part, dubbed the Gold Coast, is experiencing a building boom that is making it look a lot different from the more laid-back towns farther south.
Driving the peninsula’s potholed back roads (most of the area's roads qualify as back roads), you'll see barbed wire looped around gnarled and crooked tree trunks, improvised fences that keep the pale, hump-backed Brahmin cattle from wandering off. In the dry season, trees blaze with bright yellow and orange blossoms made even more dramatic because they grace bare branches, before the trees leaf out.
The most bustling towns are inland, strung along Highway 21, which runs from Liberia through Filadelfia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya, Costa Rica's oldest colonial city. From the inland cities, a web of roads--some paved, most not--extends to remote beaches and coastal towns so laid back that each day seems to last a week. Twelve kilometers (7.5 miles) from Santa Cruz in the tiny town of Guatíl, where pre-Colombian pottery designs are making a comeback.
Those heading for northern peninsula beaches will want to consider flying in to Daniel Obodur Airport in Liberia rather than Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose; opting for the former cuts about 5 hours off your travel time (if you’re going by car or bus; small planes will get you their much faster).
The southern peninsula can be reached via car ferry from Puntarenas or over the Taiwan Friendship Bridge, built in 2003 across the Tempisque River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.
The name of the bridge became somewhat ironic when in 2007 Costa Rica abandoned its ally Taiwan in favor of China.
Around Nicoya Peninsula...
Anamaya Resort
Yoga, teacher traiing & detox
Perched on a hill above the beach town of Montezuma is Anamaya Mind Body & Spirit Resort, a lovely place with sweeping views of the coastline, healthy food, and an infinity saltwater pool.
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Cabo Blanco National Reserve
Pristine beaches and old growth forest
Eleven kilometers (8 miles) from Montezuma, at the southwestern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve (founded in 1963) is Costa Rica's oldest preserve.
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Crocodile Hunt, Easter Week
El Lagarteada
During Holy Week every year, in the town of Ortega (about 15 miles/25 km northwest of Santa Cruz, on the Nicoya Peninsula) locals make a festival out of capturing a crocodile in a nearby river cave. Townspeople accompany the men on their hunt or stay closer to town to enjoy a festival atmosphere.
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Flor Blanca
Splurge-worthy beachside villas
Just north of the surf towns of Mal Pais and Santa Teresa is Flor Blanca, the place to go for a high-quality splurge at the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula.
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Guatíl
Pre-Columbian pottery makes a comeback
A handful of family clans make up the village of Guatíl, the epicenter of a renaissance in Chorotega ceramics that draws tourists and locals interested in the area's pre-Columbian past and its indigenous present.
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Hacienda del Sol
Yoga and juice fasts near the beach
In the beach town of San Juanillo, north of Nosara on the Nicoya Peninsula, Hacienda del Sol is a small retreat center (capacity is 40) that offers raw food and juice ‘cleanses’ with daily meditation and yoga.
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Hotel Puerta de Sol
Italian-run boutique hotel with excellent food
In Playas del Coco, Hotel Puerta del Sol is in town but far enough off the main drag to be quiet.
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Las Baulas National Park
Nesting ground of the largest living sea turtle
Just north of Tamarindo on the Nicoya Peninsula, Las Baules National Marine Park attracts the largest nesting colony of leatherback sea turtles (baulas) on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, with hundreds of female turtles flippering ashore each year.
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Mal País/Santa Teresa
Laid-back surf towns
Southwest of Montezuma, on the Pacific ocean side of the Nicoya Peninsula, Mal País (Bad Country) and Santa Teresa draw people who want a laid-back vacation and who appreciate the great surfing on both beaches.
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Montezuma
Chill in a funky beach town
A beach town on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula, Montezuma is a charming little place tucked into the folds of overgrown hills.
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Montezuma Yoga
Oceanside yoga at Los Mangos Hotel
Hatha-vinyasa classes (and some week-long retreats) are taught in a thatch-roofed, open-air pavilion on the grounds of Hotel Los Mangos.
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Nosara
Yoga and surfing on the Pacific
Nosara is a quiet, appealing place halfway down the Nicoya Peninsula. The Nosara Yoga Institute up on the hill casts a benevolent eye over the community, and the town attracts visitors whose idea of heaven is to perfect their headstand, amble along one of the three pristine beaches, or paddle out to surf when the waves are big.
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Nosara Yoga Institute
Serious yoga at the beach
In the small beach town of Nosara, halfway down the Nicoya Peninsula, is a yoga teacher training institute that also gives drop-in classes for tourists and locals, including a popular “Yoga for Surfers” class.
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Ostional Wildlife Refuge
Nesting site for olive ridley turtles
Just north of Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, Ostional National Wildlife Refuge protects 180 acres of one of the world's most important nesting beaches for the olive ridley sea turtle (lora in Spanish).
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Pachamama
Eco-village with yoga and detox fasts
Pachamama is a secluded eco-village near Nosara on the Nicoya Peninsula (a 6-hour drive from San José) that draws people from around the world.
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Playas del Coco & environs
Easy-access Gold Coast
At the southern end of the sweeping Golfo de Papagayo lies Playas del Coco, a small but lively Nicoya Peninsula town that that runs a few kilometers from the beach inland.
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Pranamar Oceanfront Villas
Beachfront yoga, surfing, and hanging out
In the Nicoya Peninsula surf town of Santa Teresa you'll find Pranamar Oceanfront Villas, founded by the folks who started uber-lux Flor Blanca.
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Rancho Armadillo
Lazy comfort above the fray
In Playas del Coco, check out Rancho Armadillo, a laid-back boutique hotel on 25 landscaped acres above the fray of the actual town.
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Sámara
Dig your toes in the sand
Samara is set on a beautiful half-moon of a protected bay, with palm trees and vines acting as a green fringe to the gray-sand beach.
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SER Om Shanti
Yoga and Tai Chi in Tamarindo
A small yoga studio in the heart of Tamarindo, SER Om Shanti offers several bilingual yoga and pilates classes daily, as well as weekly Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Kung classes.
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Tamarindo
Surf town experiencing a loud and fast boom
This Nicoya Peninsula beach town's old identity was as a fishing village and surfer haven. Its new identity seems to be up for grabs, as it struggles with its own popularity.
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