freezininmich

I will in CR for Christmas 04 with my two twenty year olds kids (?). We would like to spend 3-5 days at a beach location where the kids can attempt to surf. We want to avoid a "spring break" atmosphere if possible. I was looking at Tamarindo, Quepos or Jaco but am open to other suggestions.

Ally

Christmas is very high season and it will be very crowded that time of year. That being said, Tamarindo and Jaco will both be super crowded, Jaco especially will have a spring break atmosphere as it's more a backpackers town all year, more so at Christmas. For get Quepos, there are only couple spots to surf there and it looked real dirty. I would head to Nosara beach. Great waves there, very forgiving for learning to surf. They can rent the soft 'trainer' long boards at Harbor Reef Hotel, or other boards a couple places in town. You can get lessons from Blew Dog Surf or a couple other places too. Nosara will be crowded this time of year too, just not as much as Jaco or Tamarindo.

SrFlojo

I would also agree that Nosara would be a great spot. Just came back and the waves were perfect early in the morning, empty during the day and a little crowded at sunset. If you are a begginer the shorebreak has plenty of room no matter what time of day or year. There were a couple of people getting lessons when I was there last week trying to teach my 12 and 14 year old. There seemed to be a lot of mature surfers hanging out (guys like myself) in their 40 -50's who still enjoy getting wet. Pure Vida

freezininmich

Thanks for the info. Any recomends on hotels?

Ally

We have stayed at Casa Tucan once. Don't recommend. The rooms were small, the pool was too cold, but they do have a great bar and restaurant. We have stayed at Harbor Reef once. Nice rooms and good food but I'm a 'pool' person and their pool is VERY small. Lot's of monkeys around this hotel though. We have stayed at Villa Taype 4 or 5 times. Their new rooms are very nice but we don't usually like to spend so much money so we go for the standand pool rooms which are clean and big enough, but need some upgrades on the showers, etc. They include breakfast with the price of the rooms, which is nice since you have 'young adults', but service has been poor to bad. Sometimes they serve you, sometimes you have to order and pick up yourselves. Don't expect anything fancy, but you can eat as much as you want. They probably have the nicest pool and the location is very convenient to get to the beach. This time (May) were looking into renting a house called Casa De Olas. My husband saw it when he was there in Jan and said it was beautiful. Brand new, with brand new beds and linens, nice full kitchen, large family room with big screen TV, and a private pool and jacuzzi. It's renting for $240 a night for three bedrooms. Wed site says it sleep 7 comfortably. My husband said he thought they had two more new rooms in a seperate 'wing' which we are trying to confirm because we need 5 bedrooms. If we find out they still only have three, we'll probably stay at Guilded Iguana. They also have some new rooms with A/C and a new pool, although my husband said there was no shade by the pool when he went by there, if that's important for you.

freezininmich

Thanks Ally. I appreciate your input. It looks like Nosara is pretty quiet. Is there enough going on to keep us busy? I don't want craziness but don't want to be too remote either.

Ally

I go for nothing but R&R (I usually read about 7-10 books depending on how long I'm there!!) and husband goes to surf, but yes, there are other things to do. You can go horseback riding, ocean or river fishing, canoe or Kayak the river and mangroves, ATV rentals/tours, explore the tide pools and collect shells (there are LOTS of shells on Playa Guiones) drive to Samara to explore the lovely beaches and village, and if you are lucky, see the Olive Ridley Turtles in nearby Ostional. About 10-14 times a year, thousands of these turtles come here to lay their eggs. The largest nesting was recorded in 1996 when 500,000 came there. They come in relation to the lunar cycle, normally starting with the last quarter of the moon, but may occur with the first quarter as well, or twice a month instead of just once a month. They come in for 3 to 9 days. We happend to be there (in Nosara) at the right moon last year, and it was incredible. We were told they only come up after midnight but found out that was not exactly true. We decided to drive to Ostional (20-30 minute drive depending on road condition and you WILL need a 4X4) for dinner, then we'd go see the turtles at the beach. But when we got to the restaurant , we noticed many villagers on the beach, and were told by the restaurant owner that yes, there were turtles there now, at it was just before sunset. So we went down to see the turtles for an hour or so before it got dark, then went back for dinner to thank the man for his honesty! What an experience! I think that many people will tell you they only come late at night and into the morning because they try really hard to protect them. The villagers collect many eggs, but also protect a large portion of them in hopes they'll make it to the ocean after hatching. You will see dozens of villagers on the beach at hatching time, helping to keep the birds and dogs away, and helping them get to the ocean. It's great!

marilynn

If you want to be with the surfers and ensure the kids have a great time - I would suggest Tamarindo only because you have good surfing lessons, and the nite life and restaurants. Yes, it can be a little crazy at Christmas but a lot of fun. You also have Playa Grande, Playa Langosto, Playa Avellanos with the best pizza and Lola the beach pig, and Playa Negri all within 20 - 30 minutes from there. Nosara is peaceful and beautiful but my 20 year olds like it for a day. They love the beaches I've mentioned - we are down frequently as we have a place there and love that whole area. You can fly into Liberia now instead of SJ so it is only 45 mins. from Tamarindo. Pura Vida!
Marilynn

cws3di

Hi, All.

If your adult kids want to learn to surf, Playa Guiones in Nosara is about as good as it gets. Contact Jungle Joe at Iguana Expeditions
http://www.iguanaexpeditions.com surfing lessons, river kayaking, hiking to waterfalls, etc.

His sister Patti runs the Gilded Iguana Hotel, if you want to stay there. Very casual retaurant bar, hamburgers and fries, amateur guitar night, big screen TV, and they just added on some new rooms. i.e. a good place for your young adults to find other young active adults, but not the party-pickup scene found in other beach areas, i.e. tame enough for us middle-aged folks, too.

http://www.gildediguana.com

Patti's husband Chiqui is a sportfishing captain, if you are interested.

temporarytexan

Wife & I just returned from Tamarindo & Playa Grande (& visited Jaco & Quepos in March) & agree with all comments. Have not been to Nosara but would echo Marilyn's comment that unless you & kids really love solitude, you might want to consider Tamarindo to have more variety available. We ate at the Capitan Suizo hotel: would be a great base & not cheap but good value. Nosara should be about 1hr closer if driving from San Jose, roads were great but watch the radar traps. Flying to Liberia would be a lot easier. Either way, you'll have a memorable trip.