Drive from SJO to Playa Grande
 

We'll be arriving Fri & just wondering about the drive from SJO to Playa Grande. Anything along the way we shouldn't miss or perhaps make sure we avoid? We drove to monteverde last year & boy was that an experience. (We did have fun but some points were a little terrifying) I'm hoping the drive to Playa Grande is a little less exciting. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks.

The drive to Playa Grande is not as “bad” as to Montaverde, but you still will have to go through unpaved roads and some paved roads that you will have to get off to the shoulder in order to avoid wide potholes. It’s actually fun to see when you have a few cars going behind each other and doing slalom maneuvers on the roadJ
When are you going there and where you are planning to stay? Are you going there soon to see the turtles?

Thanks for the description..I feel a little better now. I don't mind potholes but am not too thrilled about being up high on winding dirt mountain roads without guardrails. We arrive Friday & are staying at Las Tortugas. I hope we'll be able to see some turtles I'm sure my kids would really like that.

I remember this route as all paved, but narrow especially as you approached PG. Basically you are heading to Tamarindo but instead of going into town you head toward Huacas and then follow the signs toward your PG and your hotel. This long beautiful stretch of beach is anchored at the south end by the hotel Villa Baula (just across the estuary from Tamarindo) and at the north end by the Hotel Tortuga. In between are many private homes, some restuarants and possibly some more hotels. The entire area is a protected turtle nesting ground but this is only during a few weeks of the year. Good luck and have fun!

The leatherback turtles have declined drastically in the past several years, but I hope you get lucky and see one.

Playa Grande is a beautiful beach. Be cautious of riptides -this beach is known to have some nasty ones.

Your kids will love the 'zillions' of land crabs and other creatures that inhabit the estuary. Try to take a guided estuary boat tour -good for some exotic birds and usually howler monkeys.

Another fun thing to do is to walk the little path beyond Villa Baula and take a 'panga' water taxi across to Tamarindo for some exploration there.

The drive, as noted above, is flat and paved until you are a few miles from Playa Grande. A year ago the road down toward Tamarindo had some giant potholes, so caution is advised.

Hope you have a fun trip.

Jerry

The turtle-nesting season runs from sometime in November and up till March. This season has been exceptionally good (at least it was up till New Year). They were getting up to 10 turtles I believe a night.
If you planning to see the turtles, keep in mind that they only allow 60 people per night to see only 2 turtles (30 per turtle). Out of those 60 people 40 spaces are reserved I think 8 days in advance. The remaining 20 spaces are reserved at 8 am the same day in person. They adhere to those rules. When we were there before New Year we didn’t know all those details in advance so the first night we couldn’t get in. Next morning when we showed up at 7:45am we were forth in line.
Those same day reservations have to be in person with all members of your party present, including kids!! And you need to have your passports with you because they record the passport number when making reservation. You could not bring somebody else’s passport to sign!! We saw them refusing reservation for a few people who wanted to sign up the kid who was not present in person!
Granted we were there at the busy tourist season, so may be now they don’t have so many people trying to do the turtle watching.
Also, the turtle come out at night at high tides. Depending on the day and the number of turtles that come out it might be a very long night – something to consider if your kids are young.

Thanks so much for the info. I had no idea it was done that way. I will make sure I try to make reservations in advance. Who is it exactly that you need to make reservations with?

Do-it-yourselfers can drive over to Playa Grande and book a tour directly with either El Mundo de la Tortuga (tel./fax 653-0471; cost $25) or the National Parks Service (tel. 653-0470; $13)

This info is from Frommer book/website. The prices are not entirely accurate. Back in December the park was charging $16pp and museum was doing reservation for $23pp, which included turtle watch, museum entrance ($5) and I guess they were keeping $2 just for making a reservation.
Also the description in the Frommers site is somewhat misleading (or maybe outdated) as it leads you to believe that if you don't get a reservation fast enough you might have to wait till late at night. However, as I posted earlier, if they have 60 people already then you wouldn't be able to see the turtle that night. Park service people are now allowing only 60 people per night.
One thing I forgot to mention is that if you are pressed in time and struck out with reservation, you can try to come in the evening before the tours 8pm and put yourself on the waiting list in case of no shows.
Good luck.