dina4

Considering that we must travel in late June or early July and it's our first trip to Costa Rica, which beach location should we include as part of our itinerary?

Manuel Antonio and areas in Guanacaste have been previously recommended. They all look amazing! How to decide???

Things to consider:
-Travelling as a family of 4 with 2 teens
-enjoy snorkeling, horseback riding, swimming, body surfing, and lounging around on the beach

Thanks a bunch!
Dina

ardie514

We always love Playa Grande. Great surfing and beuatiful beach, near Tamarindo (also a nice beach)where there are lots of activities. I don't think there is snorkeling right there, but just a bit north. Another nice option is Nosara, another beautiful beach and cool town. Anything up in Guanacaste will be drier then the south. Typically it's nice and sunny during the day with afternoon and evening storms. Good luck.

queue

We stayed in MA last year. I can't comment on Guanacaste.

As a beach, it is not the most scenic, but very fun. The sand is not white, more of a brownish, pebbly sort. It is not "resort" manicured, there is some deris, here and there.

As I mentioned, though, it is quite fun. Beach chairs can be had for about $5-$10 per day (some negotiation), surf boards and a young teacher can be had for $10 per hour. The surf for body surfing is fantastic. Local pedllers offer refreshments and the like without you having to go fetch. It is a fun place, but not resort like.

You can get tours of MA park as well. Very nice if you're into the floura and fauna thing. We can hook you up with a good guide if you'd like. Cheaper to negotiate privately.

airwayvz

If you choose Manuel Antonio, I'd recommend Tulemar Bungalows (www.tulemar.com). They have their own private beach on the property, and have sea kayaks, body boards, & snorkeling equipment all free of charge, plus a little bar on the beach for the parents to "recover", haha. The Bungalows will sleep 4 easily.

The snorkeling is not GREAT in the MA area though, but there's plenty of activites for a family of four in the MA area. Horseback riding is readily available from numerous operators, and can be set up through the hotel.

guanacaste

check out my costa rica beaches travelblog:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/costa_...ome/index.html

dina4

Ardie,
I will check out Playa Grande and Nosara. Where do you like to stay there?

Queue and airwayvz,
Manuel Antonio sounds beautiful, too. I;ve been looking at the Tulemar bungalows, as they are often praised on this forum. they look amazing! Really nice to know they have kayaks and other free equipment available.

Guanacaste,
thanks... another travelblog to check out tonight.

Thanks so much for your advice everyone!
Gotta go make dinner now...

ardie514

When in Playa Grande we always stay at Las Tortugas. It's on the beach and a wonderful little place. Just so you know there's not much happening in Playa Grande, so if you want more restaurants, shops, etc. I would stay in Tamarindo, just across the estuary from P. Grande. We love P. Grande because it's so quiet. In Nosara we stayed at the Gilded Iguana and that was nice. The Casa Romantico (I think that's what it's called???) across the street looked very nice, have also heard good things about Sunset Reef. Next spring we are going to try Mal Pais on the southern tip of the Nicoya. Also, if you can fly in and out of Liberia it makes getting to the Guanacaste beaches much easier. It's a wonderful little airport, only 1 hr from P. Grande and Tamarindo. We went to M. Antonio on our last trip, about a 5/6 hr. drive from P. Grande I believe and we loved it down there also. It will be rainier, but we had a great time. Much more touristy then the Guanacaste beaches, but great hiking, surfing, activities, and wildlife viewing. We stayed at Costa Verde and loved it! Good luck and enjoy your trip.

meliss35

We just returned from Tulemar Bungalows. It was great. The view from our room and the infinity pool and restaurant was amazing. the private beach was great with all the stuff to do. My kids loved that. We also went to the Guancaste area. We stayed in Playa Hermosa but my kids loved Playa Tamarindo. I loved Playa Flamingo which is close to Tamarindo. In Manuel Antonio you have both beach and wildlife. I hope this helps. My kids are 11 and 15.

dina4

Very helpful, thank you!

Ardie, I will look into those places.

And I really enjoyed your trip report, Meliss!

dina

surfcitynative

Manual Antonio is close to San Jose and is worth a look but it's very crowded! Have you thought about going to the beaches on the Nicoya Penninsula??

ly5

I would recommend Manuel Antonio and Tamarindo

sean420

Skip Tamarindo.

I was there last week and was horrified with all the changes since my last visit. Lots of LOUD construction and new buildings – mostly 5-6 story luxury condominiums, a pizza hut, subway sandwich, TCBY yogurt and a Burger King! McDonalds is rumored to be coming soon. Walking around town requires dodging the trucks hauling construction equipment and choking on their dust and exhaust fumes. I found that several of my favorite restaurants were either out of business due to higher rents or had toen down been replaced with new buildings.

I met a Tica who had been living in Tamarindo for the past three months working in real estate. Even though she was making a lot of money she said she couldn’t take it anymore and had to move back to Escazu. Other locals told me that they can no longer afford to live in the area and don’t know how they will be able to get to work as their rents keep getting raised and they need to move further and further away.

TAMARINDO IS BABYLON

shillmac

Dina4 hasn't posted for awhile. Maybe she decided to make a quick trip to Costa Rica after she posted for a couple of days in August!

derwood

dina4, just having returned from MA, i can attest to the beauty. It is so lush and tropical and has so many great restaurants (both local cheap eats and higher end fare). There is snorkeling in MA, once inside the park follow the trail to the Main MA beach. It is white sand. No great waves for bodysurfing, but good snorkeling at high tide which is around 9am and 5pm. During the rainy season the water can be a little more murky though. Once inside the park, there are no food vendors, so pack a picnic lunch...enjoy time walking and seeing all the wildlife. I, too, can recommend a good guide. He was actually born in the park and his grandparents were the original owners. A plaque dedicated to his father is right near the main beach. His name is Efrain and if you want his number let me know.

wirelessbitz

I'd like to get recommendations on a guide in MA, as well as the price paid. We are going in November and are staying at the Tulemar Villas.

For a point of clarification, there are Tulemar bungalows (older), tulemar Mot Mot villas (newer) and buena vista villas (perhaps the most upscale, certianly the most expensive, and under separate ownership from Tulemar villas/bungalows). They are all on the same property and have access to the private beach.

dina4

hi everyone...
sorry i haven't responded in so long, and thank you for all your thoughtful and helpful responses.
I'm a teacher and just started school, so I've been swamped this month. Am still planning for a trip next summer, though, and am looking forward to getting back to researching very soon!!!
thanks again!
dina

shillmac

I know what you mean--teaching school can be a "jungle" at times, huh?!