8 Best Nightlife in Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Local expats meet up at this popular sports bar and grill, which has an all-day happy hour from 9 to 7, TVs for Monday Night Football, a full range of bar food, craft beer, and live music most nights. Tuesday features karaoke at 7:30. There's also free Wi-Fi, but don't expect to be able to focus on work over the noise.

After a sunset surf session, pull up a bar stool in the sand and enjoy a craft beer made at the neighboring Volcano Brewing Company. Happy hour is from 5 to 7, and there’s live music on weekends. If you’ve worked up an appetite, try the chicken wings, jalapeño poppers, hamburgers, and nachos. This is the best place to watch the surfers over a cold one.

The best place to enjoy a quiet sunset margarita—or make that a “rooster-rita”—is at this laid-back bar and restaurant on the beach. You can relax on the wooden deck, or at the tables right on the sand, and enjoy a romantic dinner featuring fresh fish and Tex-Mex favorites. Portions here are huge, and there's free Wi-Fi, a pool table, a big-screen TV, and occasional live music to keep you entertained. It's open 11 to 10, though it does close for private parties so you may want to call ahead. Guests from the Four Seasons often anchor here for a drink before sailing back to Peninsula Papagayo.

This tiny boîte of a bar is the coolest place in town, with an Escher-inspired tile floor and hip lighting. Bellying up to the bar is a pleasure; in fact, practically the entire space is given over to a handsome bar with an old-fashioned bar rail to lean on. A cool soundtrack accompanies your beer tasting. You can try a sample of any of the 16 Costa Rican craft microbrews on tap. Once you find your favorite, a 12-ounce cold brew costs around $5. A few high tables spill out onto the street, surrounded by groups of happy beer drinkers. Happy Hour runs 2–6, boasting two drinks for $9. 

Sunsets, with occasional live music, are the main events in the evening on Playa Pelada, and both locals and tourists gather to watch it here at this beach shack and bar with the best view. Olga's also serves an excellent fried whole red snapper.

Expats come for the microbrews, the satellite TV tuned to football, a game of Ping-Pong or pool, and the live music. Although the bar brings the people in, it’s the food that keeps them there—braised oxtail, pork ribs, tuna poke, and burgers seem to justify another round. If you stay long enough, you’ll find that the sweet homemade cheesecake goes surprising well with a bitter IPA.

This is the biggest, most popular sports bar in town, with huge TV screens showing up to six games at once. After the game, both floors play extremely loud music for dancing. There's live music on Monday, karaoke on Tuesday, and ladies' night Saturday. If sports aren't your thing, the bar food is amazingly good. The action starts at 11:30 am and goes to 2:30 am.