3 Best Sights in Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Paquera is the closest city to Tambor, but if you're headed to Montezuma or Malpaís, you'll pass through Cóbano, 12 km (7½ miles) southwest of Tambor. The town has a supermarket, two gas stations, and a large Banco Nacional with the area's only consistently reliable ATM. (Montezuma and Malpaís/Santa Teresa have cash machines, but they tend to run out of money on the weekend.)

Established by former farmer and logger-turned-conservationist Frederico Schutt in 1933, this 106-hectare (262-acre) refuge is named after the indigenous word for the spiky-barked pochote trees that flourish here. The reserve is home to hordes of phantom crabs on the beach, howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys in the trees, red brocket deer grazing in open fields, and plenty of hummingbirds, kingfishers, woodpeckers, trogons, and manakins (including the bird-watcher's coveted long-tailed manakin). The refuge, classified as a Blue Flag project, is working on building an artificial reef. Visitors can stay in very basic beachfront cabins with solar power ($30 per person, including entrance fee); meals are $10 each. Call ahead to arrange for lodging or horseback rides ($15 for one hour; $25 for three-hour tour). Kayaking tours and early-morning bird-watching walks are organized by Turismo Curú. The entrance fee to the reserve is $13.

If you take the ferry from Puntarenas to the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, you'll arrive at a ferry dock 5 km (3 miles) north of the small community of Paquera. You can pick up supplies at the supermarkets, fill up your tank on the way to the beach, and grab a quick bite to eat at a pizza joint en route. The 5 pm ferry from Puntarenas is the last ferry that connects to the public bus services to Montezuma, Malpaís, and Santa Teresa.