Barra Honda National Park in Costa Rica

National Park Barra Honda is located in the Guanacaste province of Costa Ric, 22 km northeast of the town of Nicoya and with an area of 2.295.5 hectares. The National Park Barra Honda was funded by executive decree of August 20, 1974. The Barra Honda hill with 300 meters high consists of lime stones of reef type, that’s mean by former reefs that emerged because of an uprising led by on tectonic faults, developed some 60 million years. These reef formations were formed by calcareous algae blue and green, plus foraminifera, tiny marine protozoa covered by a shell limestone, sponges and sea urchins.

Another important element of this area of Costa Ric is its capacity as a water reserve for the towns that are located around him. The hill of Barra Honda contains an extensive cave system independent of each other, of which 19 have been explored. The cave of Santa Ana reaches 240 meters deep, making it one of the most profound. The most attractive and interesting are La Terciopelo, the Tampa and Santa Ana, with a profusion of stalagmites, stalactites, columns, pearls, flowers, gypsum needles, helicitas, mushrooms, shark teeth and other formations.

La Terciopelo is the cavern that contains formations in greater abundance. One of these is called EL Organo and has the characteristic of giving different sounds, when it was hit softly.  La Trampa is the one that presents the deepest abyss, from the entrance to the first decline there is a perfectly vertical height of 52 meters. This cave also has the larger rooms that have been found, one of which is composed of white calcite, which gives an effect of dazzling beauty. In the Nicoa cave, were found a large quantity of human remains in 1970, and later, indigenous pre-Columbian artifacts.

The vegetation of this park in Costa Ric is in most deciduous; some of the most common species are Ron-Ron, Tempisque, El Jobo, the Indian naked, the poroporo, the gallinazo, the soncoya, the guanacaste, the carao, the madroño and peine de mico. The fauna is not very varied: the monkey white faced, coyotes, the cusuco or armadillo, deer, the mapachín, the pizote, skunk, magpie, the zapayol, and the red head vulture are some of the species that can be observed in different areas of the Barra Honda National Park in Costa Rica.

Marino las Baulas National Park in Costa Rica

The Leatherback National Marine Park of Guanacaste is another of the major sites of Costa Rica where the sea turtles nest. It is located on the south side of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in Guanacaste province, near the tourist town of Tamarindo. This national park is considered one of the most important points in the world where the Leatherback sea turtles nest every year. It was founded in 1990 with the aim of protecting these turtles that come every year to nest on the beautiful beaches of Playa Grande.

Surrounded by 445 hectares of mangrove forests and rugged coastlines, the Leatherback National Marine Park has four beaches, Playa Grande, Playa Langosta, Playa Playa Ventanas and Carbon. The two estuaries park’s mangroves are the Tamarindo Estero and the San Francisco Estero that is considered the largest mangrove estuary in Latin America. The park extends 12 miles to the beach and also protects sea turtles from hunters and tourists.

Las Baulas National Park in Guanacaste - Costa Rica

Besides being the land of thousands of Leatherback turtles that travels every year to this national park, the Leatherback National Marine Park also protects 174 species of birds and a number of animals living in the estuaries. This place is home of white ibises, herons of the livestock, the blue wing teal and the Moscow duck. It also protects the capuchin monkey, the raccoon, the crocodiles, pacas and gray squirrels.

The world’s largest reptile, the Leatherback turtle comes here to the park every year to lay their eggs. The Leatherback turtle is the world’s largest turtle and can weigh up to 500 kilograms and is considered a delicacy in the East. Unlike other species of turtles that have a hard shell, the turtle has a black skin suede.

La Cruz

La Cruz is an important part of the province of Guanacaste. It is a beautiful area with typical landscapes of the north pacific of Costa Rica. Near La Cruz there are multiple points of tourist interest such as beautiful beaches and national parks.

La Cruz is the tenth region of Guanacaste, constituted as such since 1969. Approximately 70% of its economically active population works in animal husbandry, agriculture, fisheries and tourism. Its high economic development is due to the opening of the Inter American Highway and the arrival of tourist attracted to the beauty of the area.

The southeast limit of La Cruz, is made up of the dividing line of the Cordillera de Guanacaste, where there are located the Orosi Volcano, Rincon de La Vieja Volcano Miravalles Volcano and the Arenal Volcano. La Cruz has a complete supply of public and private services, especially in the area of health and education.

The town of La Cruz in Guanacaste - Costa Rica

This border region, it is located on the limits of what is known as Mirador La Cruz, from where the tourists can see beautiful and stunning sunsets, with the sun hiding in the Pacific Ocean, under the breadth of the horizon.

This beautiful landscape and the Santa Rosa National Park are their greatest tourist attractions, where the Casona de Santa Rosa, preserved since mid-nineteenth century, is a monument to the country’s history. The park protects a wide variety of flora and fauna of the tropical dry forest making it extremely attractive for ecotourism.
The beaches at La Cruz are wonderful and are quite known to the local and external tourism and overseas. The best known beaches near La Cruz are: Cuajiniquil, Bahia Salinas and Manzanillo. In this region is located also the biological reserve Isla Bolaños.

The development of tourism with the rest of the region has helped generously to the population of La Cruz, as many are working occupations related to tourism and others have turned their homes into small hotels and restaurants. The arrival of tourists (domestic and foreign) to the beaches of this region has been growing steadily, generating demand for luxury hotels and houses that have been developed across the coastal zone. This has caused a significant increase in the prices of real estate

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.