Tamarindo

Tamarindo is a popular and resort beach town located in the Guancaste district in Costa Rica. this is a very popular tourist destination and the are is filled with lots of tour operators, resorts, and surf shops. This area is famous for its surfing and wide breaks. However, the area is more expensive than other parts of the country because of all the resorts and I wouldn’t spend a lot of time here. It makes for a good major town to stop at before you head to other parts of the Nicoya peninsular.

Typical Costs

• Hostel Prices: Expect to pay $10 USD for a dorm room with a shared bathroom and $15 USD for a room with a private bathroom.
• Budget Hotel Prices: Budget hotels begin at $30 USD per night for a double room with bathroom and air conditioning. There are a lot of expensive resorts here that cost $100 USD or more per night.
• Average Cost of Food: Casados (meals of the day) will typically cost around $4 USD at the local street stalls. For more Americanized or Western food, you can expect to pay about $7 USD. Sit down meals will cost about $10-15 USD. Food prices here tend to be higher than elsewhere in the country because of all the high end resorts in town.
• Transportation Costs: The public bus from San José takes 6 hours and costs around $6 USD. In and around the area, you can walk. The town is very small so skip the taxis.

Top Things to Do

• Nightlife – Nightlife in Tamarindo is pretty good. Go to Monkey Bar on Friday nights for some great local bands and Yucca Bar on Tuesdays for their open mic nights. Both nights will be packed with locals and tourists, making for an excellent atmosphere! There is usually someone on every night of the week so ask locals where the best spots to go are.
• Horseback riding – Take a horseback riding tour on the beach as the sun sets for a cool way to enjoy the view. After trotting along the beach you’ll head towards the forests trail where you get the chance to see the local wildlife which includes iguanas, howler monkeys and various species of bird.
• Turtle watching – The turtle watching here isn’t as good as here as in Tortuguero, but they are still good to see. Night tours to the Baula National Park are the best place to see the turtles laying their eggs on the beach. You’ll likely see Ridley or Leatherback turtles on this two hour walking tour.
• Las Baulas National Marine Park – Baulas are leatherback turtles and this national park is the nesting spot for about 800 females, the largest number on the Pacific coast. Aside from turtle spotting, the park offers the perfect place to spend an afternoon wildlife spotting from a kayak as it also has mangroves and an estuary.
• Surfing - Surfers travel here for its mix of breaks at Playa Negra, Witch’s Rock and Ollie’s Point, all famous spots for their excellent surf. If you’re not much of a surfer, lessons are available at dozens of places in the village and the beach itself is perfect for beginners. If you want to learn to surf, try it here. The waves aren’t too crazy.
• Hit the beach - The obvious choice for a day of relaxation is Playa Tamarindo. Sunbathe, read, swim, relax in a hammock and just generally unwind. If the beach is too crowded for you, consider taking a trip along the coastline to nearby Playa Avellanas.
• Sunset Sailing – For this you head out on a catamaran for a sunset sailing trip. The boats are stocked with a bar and provide snacks as you take in the amazing North Pacific sunset.
• ATV riding – There are a few ATV tour operators in town and you’ll ride your quad bike into the hills above town along paths dotted with iguanas. There are various routes including mountainous terrain, beaches and forest and also that all important sunset tour.

Budget Tips

• Take the public bus – There are plenty of private shuttle services that run from San José and Tamarindo as well as around the region, but instead choose the public bus service, which although less luxurious is about one tenth of the price.
• Combine tours - You can often get discounted rates for activities if you are combining two in the one day.
• Surfing - As there are so many places offering surf lessons, shop around for the best price as it’s normal for there to be up for $15 USD difference between surf companies just for two hours of lessons.
• Eat local – Food in Tamarindo is pretty expensive because of all the resorts and it’s better to eat at the local restaurants. You can eat a casado very cheaply. Walk off the main road towards the back end of town for more local fares and reasonable prices.

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