khac323

Has anyone driven from tamarindo to punta islita? We are trying to figure a way to get to punta islita without having to fly back to san jose? If so how was the drive and the distance time wise.

shillmac

Haven't done this drive, but have driven all over the N. Peninsula otherwise. You would drive back east to Santa Cruz, then highway 21 south. I believe Jicaral is the town where you turn back west and head to the beach and Punta Islita. It wouldn't be a short drive. Basically, you are crossing over to the other side of the N. Peninsula where there is a decent road (most of the way), then heading down to a place where you can turn and make the direct drive into Punta Islita. Not advisable to do the coastal route from Playa Samara this time of year. I am estimating your travel time will be about 4-5 hours. You will certainly see a good portion of the peninsula!

rogerb

If you don't mind gravel roads and some serious ruts, the coastal road is just fine. My wife and I drove from Playa Azul to Tamarindo in about an hour and a half, and from Playa Azul to Punta Islita in about the same time.

Places to see along the way include the Buddha Bar in San Juanillo [great food!], Playa Ostionnal [stop to see turtles if it is a dark moon night], Playa Carrillo [prettiest in Nicoya].

The only place you might have trouble is crossing river between Playa Carrillo and Punta Islita - it was fine 2 weeks ago, but could be more interesting if it has rained a lot since - I doubt the latter, cause it was just starting to sprinkle occasionally when we left Playa Azul

ctkathy

Have you driven in Costa Rica before? If not, you may not realize the challenges, including really bad roads. The flights are pretty cheap. Please look into this before rejecting the idea of flying to Punta Islita.