my husband and i are planning our 1st trip to CR in late july. we are interested in nicoya, particularly spots w/nice beaches and great surfing. i'm torn. i dont know where to settle in; playa negra, avellanas, guiones, pelada or carillo. is it easy to get from one to another? most likely, we will fly from sj.

hello. type in nicoya in the search forum. there is tons of info on it. i know i have posted some. we visited santa teresa and loved it. lots of surf!

Get yourself a good map and you can see which ones are very close together--as are several that you have mentioned. I think Tamarindo or nearby might offer you the best location. And it is true that further south, the surf is excellent at MalPais/Sta. Teresa. There is more to see and do, however, in the northern Nicoya areas--and it's easier to get around.

There is also good surf up further north around Santa Rosa Parque Nacional. Witch's Rock is very popular with surfers. Still, Tamarindo would offer you good base station!

thanks shillmac!

we're trying to soldify our itinerary...it gets tough to choose b/t 2 and 3 great stops. we will probably hit arenal.fortuna after our arrival in sj. i was thinking we could get a transfer/driver from arenal to sj and then fly out the following day to osa. after a few days there, maybe osa to sj and sj to nosara. is this at all possible? i worry about wasting time with too many stops and not being able to get from certain regions to others.
advice?

nuance

Flying does get you around much quicker and this is very doable.

How many nights do you have?

dfarmer

we have 11 nights. i think the most current itinerary is as follows:
arrive SJO 11am
d1 transfer to alajuela
d2 drive alajuela to arenal
d3 arenal
d4 drive through liberia to tamarindo
d5 tamarindo to nosara area beaches
d6 nosara
d7 nosara to sj and on to la selva
d8 la selva
d9 & d10 manzanillo
d11 back to san jose
fly out d12

too much? i'm killing myself making a decision about activities and places.

nuance

It's a lot, but you've selected an excellent itinerary to give you a great overview of the country. I'm glad you are including Manzanillo. It's a fascinating little nothing of a place!

any advice on where to stay in manzanillo? almonda and corals? others? what's there going in there?

JUST CAME FROM NOSARA. IT'S A LONG DRIVE THAT ENDS WITH 30 OR 45 MINUTES OF ROUGH ROAD. PLAYA GUIONES IS PRIMARILY A SURF BEACH: HOT, NO SHADE, NOT TOO SCENIC, BUT GOOD BEACH BREAK. MY KIDS ENJOYED BOOGIE BOARDING AND WE DID SOME SHELLING (ONLY ONE OR TWO SHELL TYPES ARE COMMON). A NASTY GREEN F0AM WAS APPARENT AFTER HIGH TIDE. IF YOU'RE THINKING BROAD WHITE SAND AND PALM TREES YOU'LL BE A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED. SURPRISINGLY IT WAS FAIRLY CROWDED, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING WHEN THE HEAT DIED DOWN. THE TOWN OFFERS LIMITED SERVICES, BUT HAS A FUNKY ATMOSPHERE, THOUGH IT IS OBVIOUSLY DEVELOPING. AND DID I MENTION, IT'S HOT. DON'T GET SLEEPING ACCOM W/OUT A/C UNLESS YOU ARE USED TO HEAVY HEAT & HUMIDITY. WE WERE TOLD THAT PLAYA CARILLO NEAR SAMARA WAS A MORE ATTRACTIVE SWIW BEACH, BUT WEREN'T UP TO DRIVING BACK DOWN THAT DIRT ROAD TO SEE. WE DID SEE A LOT OF HOWLER MONKEYS THERE IN NOSARA AND THAT WAS A KICK. NICOYA IS A BUSSLING LITTLE CITY, WITH LITTLE TOURIST APPEAL.

WHILE DRIVING YOU SHOULD MIND YOUR SPEED. WE ENCOUNTERED NUMEROUS "SPEED TRAPS" ON THE INTER-AMERICAN, AS WELL AS AROUND THE TAMPESQUE BRIDGE. THE INTER-AMERICAN CAN JAM UP ANYWHERE DUE TO ALL THE TRUCKS THAT POKE ALONG BOTH UPHILL AND DOWN! GOT WORSE IN THE HILLS OUTSIDE SAN JOSE. PASSING IS TRICKY AND WE SAW A COUPLE OF CRASH RESULTS. THE I/A ROADWAY IS DECENT THOUGH, ESPECIALLY AFTER BOUNCING OVER THE ARENAL, TILARAN, MONTEVERDE CIRCUIT. BUT EVEN AT 80 KPH SPEED LIMIT IT TAKES A WHILE TO GET ANYWHERE. I THINK OUR AVERAGE SPEED ON THE TRIP WAS LESS THAN 30 KPH.

WE ATE ALL THE FOOD AND DRANK MOST OF THE WATER. MY YOUNGEST HAD A LITTLE BOUT OF ILLNESS, BUT HE MAY HAVE BEEN SLIGHTLY DEHYDRATED.

OVERALL, A GOOD AND INTERESTING TRIP. I WOULD LIKEN IT TO TRAVELLING IN MEXICO 20 YEARS AGO.

HAVE FUN.

Manzanillo is just a great spot to relax and hang out. The hotels are actually all along the road (very few have beachfront property--it is very jungly on this side) between Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo. My daughter and I had a great time renting bikes and riding up and down the road. I hired a fabulous guide, Abel Bustamante, who charged $25 for as much of the day as I could arrange (alas, I only had a couple of hours). We went birding, but he is available to show you whatever as he knows the area very well and has lived there for 20 years or so.

Cahuita Parque Nacional you shouldn't miss. Find out about a place called Rancho Grande near Bri Bri where you can see the jungle home of the Jackson family, of the Bri Bri indigenous group--in spite of the name! Look at the baby sloths at Aviaros (sp?) del Caribe near Cahuita.

Have dinner at La Pecora Nera, Italian, on the west side of the road south of PV and across from Villas del Caribe hotel. Fabulous food!