Playa Grande, Costa Rica ’s North Pacific

The beautiful and famous Playa Grande is an important part of Las Baulas National Marine Park, with its pristine coastline and clear blue sea is one of the best beaches on the coast of Guanacaste. Located in the northern region of the Nicoya Peninsula in the province of Guanacaste, Playa Grande is home to the Sea Turtle Baula that is in danger and that comes every year to lay their eggs on the beach.

Playa Grande was incorporated within the national park in the 90s and is open to the public only during the day when the sea turtle arrives to lay their eggs. During the night police patrol the park to secure ant to protect the turtles and their eggs, especially from hunters and tourists too excited and that constitute a threat of the eggs of the giant turtles that are considered aphrodisiacs and a real delight for many people. The season of incubation of the turtles is from October to May and definitely is an interesting to look. If you are in this area around this time, you have to go to this place because you will see thousands of turtles arriving in the dark to lay their eggs on the beach.

Another popular reason to visit Playa Grande is because there are excellent conditions for surfing, which are on the main beach. Playa Grande is a more calm beach than for example Playa Tamarindo, because it has small and gentle waves, despite of that the surfing is equally good. In fact, according to many surfers the surf breaks and the waves are sufficiently robust to qualify among the best points of surfing in the country. The north part of the beach is great for swimming if you’re not a fan of surfing.

Because this beach is part of a protected area, no hotel has rooms overlooking the beach, however, there are close to Playa Grande a good number of hotels that are quite economic. By law is not allowed get around the beach at night especially during the nesting season and is also not allowed any kind of light on the beach. The reason is because the light scares turtles. There is only one hotel nears the beach is that which was built prior to the establishment of the National Marine Park Las Baulas. In fact the owner of this hotel had a very important role in the creation of the park. Playa Grande is a wonderful place to enjoy the wonderful beauty of nature. The tourist also can rent equipment as surfboards, kayaks and snorkeling horses.

Possibly the only problem with Playa Grande is that it is not easy access to the beach. Tamarindo is the nearest beach and it is located a couple of miles from Playa Grande. Because there is no direct way to get to Playa Grande, the visitor has to cross the statuary between Playa Grande and Playa Tamarindo. The shortest way to get there is to fly to Liberia International Airport and from there travel to the beach.

Flamingo Beach in Costa Rica

While Tamarindo may be one of the most developed beaches on the coastline of Guanacaste in the fields of tourism and real estate, Playa Flamingo is considered by many inside and outside the country as one of the most beautiful beaches of Costa Rica. Flamingo Beach is located at Punta Salinas, northwest of Brasilito Bay, 75 kilometers southwest of Liberia. It is located between the beaches of Potrero and Brasilito. Flamingo Beach is basically the sea floor between Acapulco and Panama on the Pacific coast.

With its beautiful white sand, practically virgin beach intact and pristine clear blue water, Playa Flamingo is ideal for an unforgettable vacation. It offers the visitor one of the best deep sea fishing in the world. Away from the coast and throughout the year the tourist can find different kind of fishes, for example marlin, tuna, swordfish and others, marking this beach as a very popular tourist destination. Every year this beach is a fantastic host of international sailfish tournament sponsored by the Amateur Fishermen’s Club Costa Rica.

In addition to fishing deep waters, Flamingo Beach also offers healthy aquatic sports as well as its proximity to the amazing natural reserves of Santa Rosa and Palo Verde. For golf enthusiasts, is also a golf course of 18 holes, designed by the famous Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Throughout the year the tourist can enjoy activities such as scuba diving, providing tourists with the excitement of swimming next to the local marine fauna such as sharks for example.   The adventurous tourist can see the impressive array of beautiful tropical fish and large marine life.  Also the tourist can enjoy of interesting expeditions and tours to the nearby island of Plata for fishing and diving.

Playa Flamingo has the hotels, condos and private homes most expensive of the area. It is also the ideal spot for a holiday if you want to take advantage of one of the best sport fishing in the world or if you simply prefer to make a cruise during the evening. The best time to come is from December to April, when the beaches are bathed in sunshine and the average temperature is around the 27.7 Celsius degrees.  Despite its features, Playa Flamingo is not full of houses, condominium or big hotels which make it attractive for tourists who prefer to enjoy holidays.

Tamarindo Beach

Tamarindo is one of the most desirable beaches by both the local and international tourism. Is located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, more exactly on the Nicoya peninsula, which belongs to the province of Guanacaste. In terms of access, can be done by road and by air as it has a small airport. The trip from San Jose road takes almost 5 hours while the flight time is about 50 minutes. Tamarindo is located near other attractions such as beaches of Playa Langosta, Playa Grande and Playa Avellana among others.

Tamarindo has a typical tropical climate of the Pacific, warm and dry in the dry season and slightly more humid in the rainy season, with lush vegetation since it is part of Tamarindo Wildlife Refuge which serves as a spawn site for sea turtles. For this purpose is complemented by the National Park Las Baulas, created for the protection of spawning sites of the Baula turtle. The area also has mangroves and a variety of birds which contributes to increase the tourist attraction of the area.

As for the tourist part, Tamarindo has hotels of all types, plus cabins, camping areas and cabins which enabled the tourists with accommodations that suit all tastes and budgets.
As for its attractions, Tamarindo offers vast opportunities, tourists can go fishing, visit the wildlife refuges, horseback riding, surfing, diving, kayaking or simply swim in a beach of white sand and blue water.

Sunset in Tamarindo Costa Rica

The variety of bars, cafes and casinos offer a simple but sophisticated nightlife that includes live concerts even as could be enjoyed in larger cities like San Jose. If you are looking for something more indigenous, you can also enjoy the holidays typical celebrations that from town to town which are an interesting attraction for tourists looking for something more than the typical bars.

On the situation of real estate in the area, for several years the land value has increased enormously arriving at exorbitant prices because the area is one of the main targets of investment in Guanacaste. But with the current financial crisis is expected that investment in the property sector will be reduced from this year. For example, a house with three bedrooms that until recently was sold at 650,000 U.S. dollars, now is available at 490,000 U.S. dollars which indicates the extent to which this sector to decline.

Central Valley

• Central Valley or GAM for its initials in spanish (”Gran Area Metropolitana“, which translates to Greater Metropolitan Area)

  • San José: The capital of the country.  Bustling downtown businnes sections, markets and bordering residential towns. Exclusive private houses, condos or apartments. Buy or Lease.

  • Alajuela: Volcan Poas, San Carlos, La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano and more.

  • Heredia. Braulio Carrillo National Park, Sarapiqui

  • Cartago: Irazu Volcano

  • San Gerardo (Providencia-Savegre). Trout Fishing and mountain hotels

Atlantic Coast

The Atlantic coast in Costa Rica is much different from the pacific. It is less irregular and features usually very calm waters that change very little between low and high tide, although the area does feature a lot of freshwater canals and lots of marine related wildlife

• Atlantic Coast

  • Barra del Colorado

  • Parismina

  • Tortuguero

  • Puerto Viejo

  • Uvita

  • Manzanillo

South Pacific - Costa Rica

Costa Rica ’s south pacific coast features some of the more lush and biodiverse land in the country.  Much of the area, specially on the Osa peninsula, has been deemed as National Parks or wildlife refuges.

• Pacifico Sur

  • Dominical

  • Uvita

  • Sierpe

  • Drake

  • Corcovado

  • Puerto Jiménez

  • Golfito

  • Zancudo