Will we be able to go to Tamarindo for dinners? Any suggestions how to get there and back? How far of a drive is it? Is it safe to travel early evening say 5pm to 7pm? Also, any clothing sugeestions for 5/30-6/09. Want to do Arenal, Montverde, horseback riding, and exploration. Anybody stay at FS lately? How was it? Thanks you for all of your responses.

Four Seasons to Tamarindo probably an hour and a half--at least. Keeping in mind that you have a fairly slow (speed limit and radar patroled) 7km road just to get off the Four Seasons property. Another 20 minutes or so to the main highway, and then about an hour from there. A long way to go for dinners. It will be dark by 6:00. The main highway (#21) that takes you down to Tamarindo is in fairly good condition, but whether you are on better roads or poorer ones, what you are going to find on there with you is quite unpredictable. . .pedestrians, bicycles, horses, dogs, cattle. That is why many don't like to drive after dark. We do it, but are very careful. I wouldn't mind shorter 20-30 minute drives to get from this spot to that spot as much as a longer drive (such as the one you are contemplating)! But it's do-able. You actually turn off the main road for probably the last 30 minutes of your drive as you make your way to Tamarindo. There is fairly good signage.

Clothing. . .at Arenal and Monteverde, be prepared with long pants and a sweatshirt or sweater or light jacket. These areas tend to be cool and a little rainy. At the beach, of course, all that will come off!

I think the drive from Four Seasons to Tamarindo may be closer to two hours, particularly at night. I don't know if any of the restaurants in Tamarindo are worth a three to four hour round trip. There is a really nice restaurant which just opened in Playa Hermosa which is only about 20 minutes from FS. It's called Ginger. We ate there twice this past February and it was the best food we had on our trip.

Looks like we wont be going to Tamarindo for dinners because I sure dont want to travel that far. Thanks for the Playa Hermosa restaurant idea. I like the sound of 20 min a lot better. We just didnt want to get stuck eating every meal at the FS. Are there any more good close restaurants? Thanks.

Check out Picante in Playa Ocotal, about 35-40 minutes from Four Seasons. Great food and a beautiful view of the ocean.

rbrazil, thanks for the info on Ginger in Hermosa. We are going to Hermosa in June with our 4 and 6 year old and would love more info.
How is Hermosa compared to Samara? We love Samara but are looking to try somewhere else, also. The accomodations with kids seem better in Hermosa.


Do you know Oasis condos (next to Villas del Suenos)? Any other recommendations close to the beach with more than one room?

Thanks for your help. It is hard to get a lot of info on Hermosa.

I am going to post this as a new message also because you might not see this.

Thanks!

If you looked at it just from the perspective of the beach, I'd say that Playa Samara would win hands down. For me, Playa Samara (along with Playa Conchal) is one of the nicest beaches in Costa Rica. But Playa Hermosa is a little more built-up, and a little more upscale. It has Playa del Coco and Playa Ocotal nearby, so there are probably more things to do (and certainly more places to eat.) I think you'll enjoy Playa Hermosa a lot. I am not familiar with the Oasis condos, but I do know of a terrfic guest house with separate apartments and a pool in Playa Ocotal. If you're interested, I'll give you the contact information.

Rbrazil,
I would love the name of the guest house/apartments in Ocotal. Is it near the beach? How would you compare Ocotal to Hermosa?

Thanks for your help!

The name of the guest house is Villa Vista Mar. It's located on a hill about a half mile from the beach. There is also a large swimming pool. They don't have a website, but they are listed in Let's Go: http://www.letsgo.com/CORI/08-NicoyaPensinsula-80. I've stayed there twice and loved it. Ocotal is located on the same gulf (Golfo Papagayo) as Playa Hermosa. The beach is okay, but it is dark sand and not as pretty as Samara IMHO.

You will find enough restaurants in the direct area. There are two in Four Seasons, shuttles are available from Four Seasons either by boat or car to take you to:
Ginger's (Bent & Anne) Hermosa
Villa del Sueno (Claude & Sylvia) Hermosa
Picante ( Mary) Ocotal
Puesta del Sol Joe & Marc) Hermosa
Finesterria - Sheila & George) Hermosa
Tequila Bar - (Louis) Coco
Pato Loco - Patricia - Coco

Clothing - It's warm right now, over 100 daily for the last week. Should be cooler when you arrive and we should have had a little rain by then to green things up.

Michael
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