Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

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jimmycan

London, Canada

posts: 45

reviews: 28

Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 13, 2013, 1:18 PM

Hi there. I am planning on visiting guanacate prov in feb and looking to get people's opinion on where the best beach town is to stay at. We are ideally looking for a place where we can spend most of the day doing some type of activities like : snorkelling,kayaking, hiking, learning to surf(maybe). And also a place to enjoy the beach as well. Not looking for any crazy night life but more relaxed undeveloped places that are safe to walk around. From what I have seen I seem to be leaning towards samara but would love your opinions.

Thanks in advance

Jim

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9 replies to this topic

HattieCostaRica

Costa Rica

posts: 13,291

reviews: 19

1. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 13, 2013, 1:25 PM

Playa Hermosa, Playas del Coco, Playa Flamingo, Playa Grande, etc etc. Take a look here for some more options: www.nicoyapeninsula.com

and here: www.guanacastetogo.com

From Playa Hermosa or Playas del Coco, you would be the closest to the four National Parks accessible from northern Pacific beaches: Rincon de la Vieja, Palo Verde, Santa Rosa and Tenorio.

Surfing is good in the Nosara area but from many of the northern Pacific beaches, you could head for Playa Negra or Playa Avellenas which are both very small villages but with excellent surfing.

Playa Samara is a great place and you could go north to Nosara for surfing. Access to the National Parks is not as easy as the more northern beaches. www.samarabeach.com

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jose b

guanacaste

posts: 2,765

reviews: 22

2. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 13, 2013, 10:34 PM

I like Flamingo, Tamarindo and Playa Hermosa and Coco.

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roadadvisor

San Jose, Costa Rica

Destination Expert

for Costa Rica

posts: 36,970

3. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 13, 2013, 11:25 PM

Many good beaches...for you...maybe Tamarindo...Samara...Nosara...and many more...depend on budget and your way to travel around our country...

roadadvisor

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Duncan6

Vancouver Island...

posts: 198

reviews: 36

4. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 14, 2013, 8:29 AM

We just spent two nights in Tamarindo and found it way too busy for us. We like the smaller towns as well. We did have some excellent meals there and the beach is perfect to learn to surf. We rented a car in Tamarindo and are currently staying 25 minutes away in Flamingo and love it. The beach is gorgeous, the town is quite small, had a fantastic meal right on Flamingo beach yesterday at Coco Locos, and from here you can explore other beaches. You could easily drive to Tamarindo and surf and pick up your groceries there, and drive back to Flamingo. The main grocery store in Tamarindo has everything at good prices, while Flamingo only has very small groceries, so keep that in mind if you're cooking yourself. We rented our car with Adobe and they dropped it off at our hotel in Tamarindo and will pick it up at,our villa here in Flamingo. So far we are very happy with them.

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edaviscr

Tamarindo

posts: 90

reviews: 11

5. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 14, 2013, 10:12 AM

Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa do not have surf. I like the suggestion of Playa Grande or Nosara. Going to Playa Negra is not recommended for novice surfers. Very rocky and big waves. You can learn at Avellanas.

No one has mentioned Las Baulas national park, which is where the Leatherback Turle nests. That borders Tamarindo and Playa Grande.

What is your group like? There are lots of vacation rentals in these areas in addition to hotels. Vacation rentals may be better deal for larger groups. Hotels typically better for couples.

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jimmycan

London, Canada

posts: 45

reviews: 28

6. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 14, 2013, 2:24 PM

Thanks everyone - really good suggestions ! let me ask - whats your daily travel costs with hotel food and transportation (excluding any activities) - just curious to compare

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Duncan6

Vancouver Island...

posts: 198

reviews: 36

7. Re: Can you help to decide a beach town to stay? (Favourites)

Jan 14, 2013, 9:22 PM

Our place in Tamarindo was $95 per night including breakfast. In Flamingo we are paying $145 for a one bedroom apartment with kitchen with beautiful ocean views. We usually cook in for dinner, but our lunches average $40 u.s. for two people and that includes two beer and a cocktail. For transportation, we have used Interbus and were very happy with them. The average cost per trip has been $40-45 per person. They pick you up at your hotel and drop you off at our next hotel.. Always been on time and no hassles. We rented a car for 3 days at $45per day, taxes and mandatory insurance included with Adobe.

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