Nosara and Vicinity
NOSARA
Nosara boasts three of the best beaches in Nicoya, each with rocky tidepools where the seawater is heated by the sun—great for soaking. They are backed by hills smothered in moist tropical forest. Playa Nosara extends north from Punta Nosara and the river estuary to Ostional. It’s backed by mangroves. Arribadas of olive Ridley turtles occasionally occur. More are expected. Tiny Playa Pelada is tucked in a cove south of Punta Nosara and has a blowhole at the south and a bat cave at the north end. Playa Guiones, separated from Playa Pelada by Punta Pelada, is a ruler-straight, five-kilometer-long expanse of white sand washed by surf and, hence, popular with surfers. Beware strong riptides!
The sleepy village of Bocas de Nosara is five kilometers inland from the coast, five kilometers south of Ostional, on the banks of the Río Nosara. It maintains a simple traditional Tico lifestyle but otherwise offers little of appeal. A large foreign community lives four kilometers south of the village, where about 200 homes plus several dozen hotels and restaurants are hidden amid the forest in the area known as the Beaches of Nosara. The roads are an intestinal labyrinth.
Playa Guiones
About 40 hectares of wildlife-rich forest are protected in the private Nosara Biological Reserve (Reserva Biológica Nosara, tel. 506/2682-0035, www.lagarta.com) along the river, which harbors caimans and crocodiles.
Entertainment and Events
The nightlife centers in the village, where the most atmospheric bars are Bambú, with live marimba on Saturday; Disco Bar Tropicana, with disco on Saturday at 9 P.M.; and the Rock Bar (tel. 506/2682-0184), with pool tables and five big-screen TVs for Monday night football.
Café de Paris (tel. 506/2682-0087, www.cafedeparis.net) has an open-air movie Friday at 7 P.M. (free).
Sports and Recreation
Nosara Surf Shop (tel. 506/2682-0573, www.safarisurfschool.com) has a “Safari Surf School.” It sells and rents boogie boards and surf boards. Coconut Harry’s Surf Shop (tel. 506/2682-0574, www.coconutharrys.com) has rentals and surf tours, as does Corky Carrol’s Surf School (U.S. tel. 714/969-3959, www.surfschool.net) at Harbor Reef. Innocent Surf School (tel. 506/8810-4710, www.innocentsurfschool.com) has lessons daily at 8 A.M., 10 A.M., and 2 P.M.
horseback riding at Playa Nosara
Iguana Expeditions (tel. 506/2682-0259), at the Gilded Iguana, offers sea kayaking and has a surf school. Fishing Nosara (tel. 904/591-2161, www.fishingnosara.com) offers sportfishing.
Inevitably, Nosara now has a canopy tour (where doesn’t?) at Miss Sky Canopy Tour (tel. 506/2682-0969, www.missskycanopytour.com, $60 adults, $40 children), with 21 zipline runs. The longest is 750 meters. Fun! Tours leave at 8 A.M., 2 P.M., and 6 P.M.
Accommodations
UNDER $25
In the village, Cabinas Agnnel (tel. 506/2682-0142, $10 pp) offers simple rooms with private baths with cold water.
$25-50
The Gilded Iguana Resort Hotel (tel. 506/ 2682-0259, www.gildediguana.com, $30-65 s/d low season, $45-80 high season) has 12 spacious, cross-ventilated rooms and two-bedroom suites with fans, refrigerators, coffeemakers, toasters, and large walk-in showers with hot water. There’s a pleasing bar-cum-restaurant with TV, and sea kayaking is offered.
For grandstand views of both jungle and coast, check into Lodge Vista del Mar (tel. 506/2682-0633, www.lodgevistadelmar.com, $36-48 s, $44-56 d), astride a ridge high in the hills overlooking Beaches of Nosara. This three-story modern structure has nine cross-ventilated rooms and one suite, all modestly furnished, with fans, cool limestone floors, and private bathroom with hot water. One has air-conditioning. It has an Olympic-length lap pool, laundry facilities, and a simple outdoor kitchen for guests. Rates include breakfast.
Two similarly priced options are Harbor Reef Lodge (tel. 506/2682-1000, www.harborreef.com), which has four handsomely appointed air-conditioned suites with large sitting rooms and wet bars; and Pancho’s (tel. 506/2682-0591, www.panchosresort.com), with six cross-ventilated bungalows and a duplex facing a magnificent circular pool.
Opposite Pancho’s, and a delightfully colorful option, is Refugio del Sol (tel./fax 506/2682-0287, www.refugiodelsol.com, $30 s, $40 d, $55 with kitchen), with four rooms and two apartments along a broad shady terrace with hammocks. The aesthetic is simple yet nice, with ocher and orange color schemes, brass-studded hardwood doors, orthopedic mattresses, ceiling fans, and small modern bathrooms.
Also to consider at Playa Guiones is the Swiss-run Rancho Suizo Lodge (tel. 506/2682-0057, www.nosara.ch, $34 s or $50 d low season, $45 s or $63 d high season), with 10 thatched cabinas with small but pleasant rooms and private baths with hot water; and Nosara B&B (tel. 506/2682-0209, www.nosarabandb.net, $29 s or $39 d low season, $39 s or $49 d high season), which has nice hosts but is a ho-hum property.
Readers continue to complain about the ongoing construction and lack of attention to guests at Hotel Playas de Nosara, which cannot be recommended.
$50-100
If setting is foremost in mind, check out Lagarta Lodge (tel. 506/2682-0035, www.lagarta.com, $45 s or $50 d low season, $65 s or $70 d high season), atop Punta Nosara and offering stupendous vistas north along Ostional. Four simple rooms are in a two-story house (the upper story reached by a spiral staircase), and three are in a smaller unit with whitewashed stone walls. The latter, with one entire wall a screened window, have mezzanine bedrooms overlooking voluminous open showers and bathrooms. Some have king-size beds. The lodge has a swimming pool and trails leading down to the river and the Reserva Biológica Nosara; boats and canoes are rented ($10). Readers have raved about the meals. Rates include tax and breakfast.
The beachfront Casa Romántica (tel./fax 506/2682-0272, www.casa-romantica.net, $60-70 s/d low season, $80-90 high season) appeals for its 10 rooms in beautiful two-story houses with gracious whites and earth tones. Upper rooms are cross-ventilated two-bedroom apartments with kitchens and a wide, shaded veranda. The landscaped grounds contain a pool, ranchito with hammocks, and restaurant. It has a tennis court, and you can rent surf and boogie boards. Rates include breakfast.
The attractive Café de Paris (tel. 506/2682-0087, www.cafedeparis.net, call for nightly rates) is run by a young French couple who continue to evolve their hotel. It has 12 modestly furnished air-conditioned rooms with ceiling fans, a slanted wooden ceiling with egress for the heat, and private bath with hot water. Rooms vary in size and include a two-bedroom “suite bungalow” with kitchen. There are also five bungalows plus two hilltop villa with suites: they offer fabulous views and each has a spiral staircase to two or three bedrooms. The restaurant is beneath a soaring ranchito. Facilities include a souvenir store, the splendid café, a lap pool, pool table, massage, and Internet café.
Run by a delightful French-Portuguese couple, Villa Mango B&B (tel. 506/2682-1168, www.villamangocr.com, $49 s or $59 d low season, $69 s or $79 d high season) is a bed-and-breakfast that enjoys views over Playa Guiones. It has four bedrooms with parquet floors, raised wooden ceilings, and large picture windows. It has a kidney-shaped pool (monkeys and coatis come to drink!), plus a delightfully rustic restaurant and sundeck with bamboo rockers and hammocks. It is “lifestyle-friendly.” Rates include breakfast and tax.
Also to consider in this price bracket is the new, Mexican-style Hotel El Ramal (tel. 506/2682-1060, $40 s, $80 d), with 10 large, simply furnished rooms.
OVER $100
The environmentally sound Harmony Hotel (tel. 506/2682-4114, www.harmonynosara.com, $150 s/d rooms, $220-330 bungalows low season; $190 s/d rooms, $270-410 bungalows high season), within spitting distance of the beach, is one of the class acts in Nosara. It offers 24 rooms with king-size beds and simple yet edgily sexy furnishings, as well as 11 one-and two-bedroom bungalows with decks and rinse showers (plus private baths and hot water). Some units have air-conditioning; all have Wi-Fi. The landscaped grounds boast a curvaceous swimming pool, a tennis court, yoga dojo, plus a large bar and restaurant with rattans and bamboos. Rates include breakfast.
A cross-shaped pool highlights the new Arco Iris Hotel & Resort (tel. 506/2682-0615, www.samuelcarver.com/ArcoIris.html, $150 s/d), with 10 air-conditioned villas, Wi-Fi, and a Tuscan-style restaurant.
The sensational Balinese-inspired 
L’Acqua Viva Hotel & Spa (tel. 506/2682-1087, fax 506/2682-0420, www.lacquaviva.com, $185 rooms, $300 suites, $450-600 villas low season; $190 rooms, $325 suites, $500-700 villas high season), which opened in December 2008, has raised the ante considerably at Playa Guiones. Let’s start with the jaw-dropping lobby, with a peaked thatched roof and a brilliant contemporary design. Call it tropical post-modernism. Minimalist decor in the 35 spacious, peak-roofed, two-story guest quarters is tastefully contemporary, blending whites with dark Indonesian hardwood pieces, and bold salmons and stylish original art for color. Bathrooms have large walk-in showers. Sunlight pours in through shuttered windows and sliding glass doors, and sensuous bathrooms have coil-shaped showers. The huge trapezoidal pool begs lingering swims, and there’s a whirlpool. The bar could well be the hippest west of San José. Lovely! The property is hilly but has ramps plus two units fitted for wheelchairs. There’s Wi-Fi in the public areas.
Looking for self-catering? Bibi and Arne Bendixen (tel. 540/2297-8485, www.casa-banda.com) rent lovely apartments of various sizes as Casa Banda. And Tiffany Atkinson runs Nosara Beach Rentals (tel. 506/2682-0612, fax 506/2682-0153, www.nosarabeachrentals.com).
Food
Marlin Bill’s (tel. 506/2682-0458, 11 A.M.-2 P.M., and 6 P.M.-midnight daily, $3.50-13) offers great dining on a lofty, breeze-swept terrace with views. Lunch might include a blackened tuna salad or sandwich, French onion soup ($3.50), and brownie sundae or Key lime pie. Pork loin chops, New York strip steak, and eggplant parmesan typify the dinner menu. The bar has a TV. Next door, Soda Tica (tel. 506/2682-0728, 8 A.M.-3 P.M. Mon.-Sat.) is a charming little open-air soda serving hot casados for $3.
Olga’s (no tel., 10 A.M.-10 P.M. daily), a rustic place fronting Playa Pelada, is recommended for seafood ($5 average). Tucked above the beach 50 meters to the south is La Luna Bar and Grill (tel. 506/2682-0122, 11 A.M.- 10 P.M. daily, $5), an atmospheric place with cobblestone floor and bottle-green glass bricks, and a terrace for dining by sunset. It serves lentil soup, sushi rolls, carpaccio, and more and plays world music from Dylan to reggae.
Café de Paris (tel. 506/2682-0087, 7 A.M.- 11 P.M. daily, $4-10) serves crepes, French toast, omelettes, sandwiches such as chicken curry or turkey, and entrées such as penne pasta with creamed pesto fish and duck breast in green pepper sauce, plus 12 types of pizza.
The Gilded Iguana (tel. 506/2682-0259, 7 A.M.-midnight daily, $2.50-8) is a favorite with locals and serves super tacos, stuffed jalapeños, tuna salad, seafood, and great shakes. It has live music Tuesday nights. And Harmony Hotel (7 -10:30 A.M., noon-3:30 P.M., and 6 -9 P.M., $5-15) is a winner for vegetarian cuisine and fusion cuisine such as coconut basil and ginger jumbo shrimp ($8), and a superb five-spice chicken risotto, although the sushi menu is disappointingly meager.
For Mexican food, head to Pancho’s (tel. 506/2682-0591, noon-9:30 P.M. daily, high season only), serving all dishes under $8, plus killer margaritas under a thatch roof.
It’s definitely worth the snaking drive into the hills to dine at Restaurante Vista del Paraíso (tel. 506/2682-0637, noon until the last guest leaves), where you can enjoy sensational views. Debbie, the Texan owner, is a French-trained chef who conjures up the likes of baked goat cheese salad ($8), filet mignon ($19), and Napoleon of beef tenderloin with layers of grilled pineapple and blue cheese ($18).
Information and Services
The Frog Pad (tel. 50 6/2682- 4039, www.thefrogpad.com), in Villa Tortuga, has a book exchange.
Centro Médico Nosara (tel. 506/2682-1212) is in the heart of Beaches of Nosara. Plus, there’s a Red Cross (tel. 506/2682-0175) in Bocas de Nosara, and a clinic at the west end of the village. The police station is on the northeast side of the airstrip field and has no telephone; call the public telephone (tel. 506/2682-1130) outside the station. The post office (7:30-11:30 A.M. and 1:30-5:30 P.M. Mon.-Fri.) is next door.
There’s a bank next to Café de Paris, which offers Internet service (7 A.M.-9 P.M. daily).
Getting There
SANSA and Nature Air have twice-daily service between San José and Nosara.
A Tracopa bus (tel. 506/2222-2666 or 50 6/2 6 82 - 029 7 ) departs San José for Nosara from Calle 14, Avenidas 3/5, daily at 5:30 A.M. ($8); the return bus departs from Bocas del Nosara at 12:30 P.M. Empresa Rojas buses (tel. 506/2686-9089) depart Nicoya for Nosara at 5 A.M., 10 A.M., noon, and 3 P.M., returning at 5 A.M., 7 A.M., noon, and 3 P.M.
Budget Rent-a-Car is located at Harmony Hotel (tel. 506/2682-4114).
Interbus (tel. 506/2283-5573, www.interbusonline.com) operates minibus shuttles from San José ($45) and popular tourist destinations in Nicoya and Guanacaste.
There is no direct road link between Nosara and the town of Nicoya. You must drive south 15 kilometers to Barco Quebrado and turn inland; the dirt road meets the paved Nicoya- Sámara road at Terciopelo.
Getting Around
The roads are all unpaved and distances are long. You can rent an ATV for getting around at Monkey Quad Rentals (tel. 506/2682-0027, from $50 per day) and Nosara Surf Shop (tel. 506/2682-0573, www.safarisurfschool.com, $50 daily).
BAHÍA GARZA TO SÁMARA
The dirt road from Nosara leads south to Playa Sámara (26 km) via the horseshoe-shaped Bahía Garza (8 km south of Nosara), rimmed by a pebbly white-sand beach. Beyond Garza, the road—four-wheel-drive vehicles essential—cuts inland from the coast, which remains out of view the rest of the way.
At Barco Quebrado, about 15 kilometers south of Nosara and 11 kilometers north of Sámara, a road heads north uphill to Terciopelo, on the paved Sámara-Nicoya road (en route, you ford the Río Frío). Continuing south from Barco Quebrado on the coast road, you reach Esterones, where a side road leads two kilometers to Playa Buena Vista, in Bahía Montereyna. Meanwhile, the “main” road divides, north for Terciopelo and south for Sámara (the direct coast road to Sámara requires fording the Río Buena Vista, which isn’t always possible; if impassable, take a one-kilometer detour on the Terciopelo road then turn right for Sámara). There are crocodiles in the river estuary.
Sports and Recreation
Fancy a flight in an ultralight plane? Then head to Flying Crocodile Flying Center (tel./ fax 506/2656-8048, www.flying-crocodile.com, $75-100 for 20 minutes, $120 -160 one hour, $170-230 per hour instruction), where Guido, a licensed commercial pilot, will take you up in one of his state-of-the-art ultralights. Highly recommended!
Mis Amores Horse Rental (tel. 506/8846-3502, misamores@ice.co.cr), at La Cocina de Doña Ana, offers horseback and ATV rides.
You can try your hand at catching the big one with Sport Fishing Center Hélios (tel. 506/2656-8210, www.heliospeche.com), with a fleet of seven boats.
Accommodations and Food
Budgeting backpackers gravitate to El Castillo (tel. 506/8824-2822, $15 pp dorm, $20 s, $30 d rooms), at the river mouth at Playa Buena Vista. This Moroccan-inspired freeform house made of river stones has eight rooms with private bathrooms. Campers share bathrooms and toilets in the garden. It has a communal kitchen and rainbow-hued bar.
Sportfishers may appreciate Hotel Hélios (tel. 506/2656-8210, www.heliospeche.com, call for rates), at Garza, with eight modern rooms opening onto a pool and lawns. It specializes in sportfishing packages.
You’ll fall in love with the German-run 
Flying Crocodile Lodge (tel./fax 506/2656-8048, www.flying-crocodile.com, $35 s or $41 d “Pochote”, $50 s or $60 d standard, $65 s or $75 d larger unit low season; $43 s or $49 d “Pochote”, $60 s or $70 d standard, $80 s or $90 d larger unit high season), between Esterones and Playa Buena Vista. This marvelous spot is an artistic vision with eight exquisite and eclectic cabins spaced well apart in beautifully maintained grounds. Each boasts walls splashed with lively murals, plus hardwood floors, curving concrete bench seats with cushions, a soothing melange of Caribbean colors, and endearing bathrooms boasting black stone floors. The coup de grace is the Oriental Apartment, with a uniquely creative Moorish motif and an imaginative, skylit, freeform bathroom. It also has air-conditioned bungalows with kitchen. A pool has a water swing and slide, plus there are horses, mountain bikes, motorcycles, and 4WD vehicles. And the Flying Crocodile Flying Center is here.
Next door, Paraíso del Cocodrilo (tel./fax 506/2656-8055, www.travel-costarica.net) is a German-run hotel in Spanish neocolonial style and set in wide lawns. Rooms are uninspired but huge.
Perfect for yoga enthusiasts and “counterculture” types, Alegría (tel. 506/8390-9026, www.alegria-cr.de, $25 s/d low season, $35 s/d high season), 400 meters toward the coast beyond Flying Crocodile, is a yoga retreat with eight cabin-tents made of bamboo, with woven palm floors, clear plastic A-frame roofs, and mosquito nets and mattresses. They’re accessed by a steep trail. It has an open-air kitchen-bar and terrace with astounding views over Playa Esterones. Guests cook for each other and share outdoor “rainforest” showers. The Belgian owner also rents a beautiful wooden home ($60 s/d nightly, $250 per week) with wraparound veranda and gorgeous bathroom. Rates include breakfast and lunch.
La Cocina de Doña Ana (tel. 506/2656-8085, 8-10 A.M., noon-2 P.M. and 6 -9 P.M. daily), atop Punta Garza, specializes in seafood; go for the fabulous setting between bays.
NOSARA YOGA INSTITUTE
This nonresidential yoga education center (tel. 506/2682-0071 or 866/439-4704, www.nosarayoga.com) is dedicated to professional training and advanced career development for teachers and practitioners in the field of yoga and bodywork. Perched in the hills behind Playa Guiones, it’s the perfect place to relax and recharge. The institute specializes in advanced techniques and offers intensive one- to four-week programs in yoga, meditation, Pranassage (a private one-on-one yoga session, combining yoga assists and hand contact to support clients in deepening their yoga practice), plus nature and health programs.