As Sonny said, along the coast, you can go down toward Montezuma. Make sure you check out some of the beaches along the way, such as Camaronal, Islita, Coyote, and Miguel.

If you want to do something "different," head toward Nicoya and proceed all the way to Barra Honda National Park. There, you can hike up to a viewpoint over the Tempisque valley and go spelunking with a park ranger. Please be aware that there is a long ladder to be climbed - so make sure you are of appropriate age and in fair physical shape.

You can also easily make day trips to some of the very popular beaches up north. Tamarindo, Flamingo, Coco, etc. are all about two hours away.

For something shorter, head up to Nosara and Ostional - perhaps you are in time for the Arribada in Ostional, which would certainly a worthwhile experience.

For really close trips, make sure you don't miss Playa Carrillo (especially for sunset at the far end), and check out Playa Buena Vista.

A nice ride to Ostional beach to see hundreds of turtles...almost every day or every night....lovely ride...to see a great side of mother nature...

roadadvisor

Would it be ok to go to ostional beach to see the turtles during the afternoon or would we have to go at night?

Is it worth driving down to Mal Pas /Santa Theresa? Or should we go check out Nicoya/Barra Honda instead? What is the best way to see Tempisque river?

thanks!!

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It's really up to you and what you prefer to do.

Yes, you can go to Ostional in the afternoon and see plenty of turtles. However, if you want to do so, make sure you enquire locally what the situation is. Sometimes, there are thousands of turtles, sometimes just a few.

The drive back is alright although you will likely have to cross a few rivers - thus, make sure you know what you are doing and where you are going. Things can look fundamentally different in the dark.

Mal Pais/Santa Theresa would require that you leave early in the morning in order to make it worthwhile - otherwise you are going to spend a lot of time driving and not enjoying the area.

Barra Honda is roughly an hour from Samara (could be up to 1 1/2 hours depending on conditions and how well you find the road). Generally speaking, I find it alright to be at the park around noon or so. That still gives me plenty of time to hike up and go down into the caves with the ranger and still make it back to Nicoya before dark. From there, it's an easy drive back to Samara.

There are some tour operators that offer boat tours of the Tempisque. However, I have never used one and thus, can't really recommend one. I keep seeing one just a few miles from the bridge, but I don't remember their name or what they specifically offer.

You could also contact some of the local operators and see what they offer:

http://carrilloadventures.com

http://carrillotours.com

http://www.samarabeach.com/skynet/index.html

We booked a tour to Ostional with Samara Adventure Tours. Left around 3:30 PM, put us there around 5. The road is rough and we did have to ford some rivers. The turtles were so cool and the added bonus was the amazing sunset. The best sunset pictures we got all week!

You can try going to Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park, active volcano, lots of volcanic activity to see, lots of nature, hot springs and adventure in the area,

The Park is closed on Mondays and the admission is $10 per person.

As they said, make sure to ask about the turtles. Then the arribada is going on you can see hundreds but when it is not, it is best to do a night tour to Camaronal since it is closer than Ostional.

If you have a car, you can go to Rincon de la Vieja, Arenal, Monteverde, Montezuma, etc. Just depends what you want to see, spend and how much time you have.

Have fun!

Montezuma is excellent so if you work your way down to the bottom of the peninsula, check it out. Beautiful waterfalls that you can hike to and swim in!

Gary