Activities
Playa Tamarindo is located on the northern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It is a popular destination for couples and families looking for sun, sand, sea and surf. With surf shops, surf camps, and restaurants combing the beach, it makes a day at the beach with lunch or dinner very accommodating.
Tamarindo now a days hosts anything one expects from a modern coastal town, including an active night scene. The wider areas of Playa Flamingo and Playa Tamarindo are considered the heart of the "Golden Coast."
Tamarindo has experienced the largest coastal development boom in the last few years in Guanacaste. What was a sand road only a decade before is now a perfectlly tarred road littered with strip malls, restaurants, and convenient stores. The hills inland from the beach continue to experience real estate developments. Tamarindo offers accomodations for every budget type. Tamarindo is also your best bet for a nightlife with discoteques like Aqua and a wide range of beach/cocktail bars. Surfing dominates this town and, that being said, the bars have a laid-back, surfing atmosphere.
This area as a lot of neighboring surf breaks.
- Playa Grande
- Playa Avellanas
- Playa Negra
Surf Tours to world famous Witch's Rock and Ollies Point (the Movie "Endless Summer II") are available by Witch's Rock Surfcamp as well as boats departing out of neighboring Playa Flamingo. A boat ride along this amazing coastline won't disappoint even the most experienced travelers.
For more relaxed swimming the south end of the beach is your best bet. To the north, be aware of riptides that claim approximately 200 lives every year. The problem in most cases is that swimmers caught in a riptide drown form exhaustion from fighting to get back into shore. The best course of action is to relax, let the riptide carry you out, and swim parallel the coast in a fashion that does not drain you energy too much. After a certain point the riptide will stop or you will swim out of it, then you can make your way back to shore. This danger persists mostly at the river mouth that seperates Playa Tamarindo from Playa Grande.
GETTING There
It is recommended to fly into Liberia (capital city of the State of Guanacaste) international airport and take a Taxi from there which lasts a little over 45 minutes. Most airlines fly to Liberia from Houston, Miami, Atlanta or Los Angeles. In addition, the bus ride from San Jose takes about 6 hours, costs $5 dollars, and is comfortable. Tamarindo also has an airport which is approximately a 45 minute flight from San Jose. For those looking to save money, flying into San Jose, and taking a bus the next day to Tamarindo is pretty cheap. The buses leave from Alfaro Station. The bus stops frequently and the trip takes around 6 or 7 hours but there is much to see throughout Costa Rica.
