Southern Nicoya
CÓBANO
Cóbano, a crossroads village 25 kilometers southwest of Paquera, is the gateway to Malpaís and to Montezuma (5 km) and Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve. Buses for Malpaís and the Paquera ferry depart from here.
The police station (tel. 506/2642-0770) and post office are 200 meters east of the bank; there are public telephones in front of the bank. The medical clinic (tel. 506/8380-4125) and pharmacy (tel. 506/2642-0685) are 100 meters south of the bank.
MONTEZUMA
Montezuma is a charming beachside retreat popular with budget-minded backpackers and counterculture travelers seeking an offbeat experience. Business owners are prone to shut up shop on a whim—sometimes for days at a time, or longer.
The fantastic beaches east of Montezuma are backed by forest-festooned cliffs from which streams tumble down to the sands. Monkeys frolic in the forests. Beware riptides! The Nicolas Weissenburg Absolute Reserve (Reserva Absoluta Nicolas Weissenburg) was created in 1998 to protect the shoreline and forested hills to the east of Montezuma. It’s strictly off-limits, however.
Playa Montezuma
The waterfall and swimming hole two kilometers southwest of town (the trail leads upstream from the Restaurante La Cascada) is dangerous. Do not climb or jump from the top of the fall. Several lives have been lost this way.
The Montezuma Butterfly Garden (tel. 506/2642-1317, www.montezumagardens.com, 8 A.M.- 4 P.M. daily, $8 entrance), west of the village, 0.5 kilometers above the Montezuma Waterfall Canopy del Pacífico tour, has a netted garden and breeds morphos and other butterflies species.
Entertainment and Events
Although hard to imagine, this tiny hamlet now hosts the Montezuma International Film Festival (www.montezumafilmfestival.com), created in 2007, each November.
El Sano Banano restaurant shows movies nightly at 7:30 P.M. (free with dinner or $6 minimum order).
Sports and Recreation
Montezuma Travel Adventures (tel. 506/ 2642-0808, www.montezumatraveladventures.com) offers all manner of activities, from ATV tours and horseback riding to its Montezuma Waterfall Canopy del Pacífico, which offers tours by zipline between the treetops at 8 A.M., 10 A.M., 1 P.M. and 3 P.M. ($35).
Montezuma Expeditions (tel. 506/2642-0919, www.montezumaexpeditions.com) similarly offers a wide range of tours and activities, as do Montezuma Eco-Tours (tel. 506/2642-0467, www.playamontezuma.net/ecotours.htm); Zuma Tours (tel. 506/2642-0024, www.zumatours.net); and Chico’s Tour (tel. 506/2642-0556), which specializes in trips to Isla Tortuga ($40 pp).
Montezuma Yoga (tel. 506/26 42- 0 076, www.montezumayoga.com) at Hotel Los Mangos offers yoga classes at 9:30 A.M. Sunday-Friday ($12).
For horse-riding, the best stable is at Finca Los Caballos (tel. 506/2642-0124, www.naturelodge.net, $20 pp per hour), which has mountain and beach rides.
Accommodations
There are many more options than can be listed here.
UNDER $25
There’s little to choose from between the mostly uninspired low-end properties, all with basic rooms with shared bathrooms with cold water for around $5 per person.
Budgeting backpackers should check in to Mochila Inn (tel. 506/2642-0030, mochila inn@hotmail.com, $11 pp dorm, $22 s/d room low season, $32 high season), an English-run hostel with shared kitchen, an upstairs dorm, one private room, and two cabins.
$25-50
The best bet for location in this price range is beachfront Hotel Moctezuma (tel./fax 506/2642-0058, $15 s or $20 d with fan, $30 s or $35 d with a/c and TV low season; $20 s or $30 d with fan, $30 s or $45 d with a/c and TV high season), with 28 spacious and clean rooms with fans. The main unit has a restaurant and bar directly over the beach.
The German/Tica-run Cabinas El Pargo Feliz (tel. 506/2642-0064, $25-30 s/d low season, $30-35 s/d high season) has eight spacious, clean, basically furnished modern cabinas with wooden floors, chipboard walls, fans, queen-size beds, tiled bathroom with cold water only, and hammocks on wide verandas. It has a rustic thatched restaurant.
Hotel L’Aurora (tel./fax 506/2642-0051, www.playamontezuma.net/aurora.htm, $22- 50 s/d depending on room size), also run by a German-Tico couple, is a whitewashed house surrounded by lush gardens. It’s recently been spruced up. The 18 rooms now have fans and air-conditioning, cable TV, and private baths with hot water. Upstairs is an airy lounge with bamboo and leather sofas, a small library, and hammocks. Rooms downstairs are dark.
$50-100
Hotel Playa Las Manchas (tel. 506/2642-0415, www.beach-hotel-manchas.com, $13 s, $25-50 d low season; $20 s, $40-75 d high season), nearby, has three lovely and distinct cabins in lush gardens. Los Colibris and Las Mariposa are two-bedroom bungalows; Casa Los Unicornos is a two-story house. They’re simply furnished rooms and have large windows, a kitchen, and private bath and hot water. There’s a disco.
I love the German-run Hotel Horizontes de Montezuma (tel. 506/2642-0534, www.horizontes-montezuma.com, $35 s, $45-55 d low season; $45 s, $55-65 d high season), midway between Cóbano and Montezuma. This Victorian-style home has seven rooms around a skylit atrium—saturating the hallway of black-and-white tile with magnesium light—and opening to a wraparound veranda with hammocks. The appealing rooms have whitewashed wooden ceilings with fans, terra-cotta floors, sky-blue fabrics, and bathrooms done up in dark-blue tiles. Nice! A shady restaurant opens to the small pool. A solid bargain!
I like Casacolores (tel. 506/2642-0283, www.casacolores.com, $40-60 low season, $50-80 high season) for its four one-bedroom and one two-bedroom wooden cabins on stilts; each is painted a bright tropical color and has a kitchen. It has a swimming pool.
The El Sano Banano Hotel (tel. 506/2642-0636, www.ylangylangresort.com, $65 s/d low season, $75 s/d high season), above the restaurant in town, is a bed-and-breakfast with 11 air-conditioned rooms decorated in New Mexican style. They have satellite TV and hot-water showers.
With its landscaped pool and deck in lovely grounds, Hotel El Jardín (tel./fax 506/2642-0074, www.hoteleljardin.com, $65-75 s/d low season, $85-95 high season) is the best choice in the village itself. It offers 15 elegant hillside rooms with fans, hammocks on the veranda, refrigerators, and private baths (some with hot water). Each is individually styled in hardwoods and shaded by trees in landscaped grounds with pool and whirlpool tub. It also has two villas.
The relaxing Hotel Amor de Mar (tel./ fax 506/2642-0262, www.amordemar.com, $40-80 low season, $45-90 high season), 600 meters west of the village, enjoys a fabulous location on a sheltered headland, with a private tidepool and views along the coast in both directions. The hotel is set in pleasant landscaped lawns, with hammocks beneath shady palms. It has 11 rooms (all but two have private baths, some with hot water), each unique in size and decor and made entirely of hardwoods.
The Luz de Mono Hotel (tel. 506/2642-0090, www.luzdemono.com, $75 s/d standard, $140 casita low season; $100 standard, $175 casita high season) has improved and is now one of the better options in town, although readers complain of poor service. Centered on a lofty circular atrium with restaurant with conical roof and bamboo furnishings, it has 12 hotel rooms, plus eight stone casitas (some with whirlpool tubs). The Blue Congo Bar hosts stage shows and is the liveliest place around—noise can be a problem if you’re trying to sleep. Rates include breakfast and tax.
$100-150
Out of town, I like Nature Lodge Finca los Caballos (tel./fax 506/2642-0124, www.naturelodge.net, $70-120 s/d low season, $86-138 high season, including taxes), on a 16-hectare ranch midway between Cóbano and Montezuma. Rooms here feature beautiful coral-stone floors and river-stone showers with poured-concrete sinks, tasteful contemporary furnishings that include Indian spreads on hardwood beds, and delightful patios with hammocks and rockers. Four new rooms have rattan or bamboo king-size beds and travertine balconies. A fan-shaped horizon swimming pool is inset in a multilevel wooden deck with poured-concrete, soft-cushioned sofas and lounge chairs for enjoying the fabulous forest and ocean views. There are trails and fantastic birding, as well as a stable. Meals include a full breakfast. A small spa has been added.
OVER $150
The nicest place is 
Ylang Ylang Beach Resort (tel. 506/2642-0636, www.ylangylangresort.com, $140 s/d tents, $190 rooms, $195 suites, $240-270 bungalows low season; $160 s/d tents, $195 rooms, $215 suites, $265-295 bungalows high season), a 10-minute walk along the beach 800 meters east of the village. Owners Lenny and Patricia Iacono have created a totally delightful property spread across eight hectares of beachfront that is a lush fantasia of ginger, pandanus, and riotous greens. It has three three-story suites (for up to four people) with kitchens; a three-bedroom apartment; and eight concrete and river-stone bungalows, all accessed by well-manicured paths lit at night. All have fans, private bath, fridge, coffeemaker, and Guatemalan bedspreads. French doors open to verandas within spitting distance of the ocean. The dome bungalows have private outdoor showers. And deluxe safari tents on decks have been added. The coup de grace is an exquisite freeform pool in a faux-natural setting of rocks with water cascading and foliage tumbling all around. Check in is at El Sano Banano café.
Food
For breakfast, head to the Bakery Café (tel. 506/2642-0458, 6 A.M.-6 P.M. Mon.-Sat.) for gallo pinto, banana bread, soy burgers, and tuna sandwiches served on a pleasant raised patio; or to 
El Sano Banano (tel. 506/2642-0638, 7 A.M.-10 P.M. daily), where I recommend the scrambled tofu breakfast. This popular natural-food restaurant serves garlic bread, pasta, yogurt, veggie curry, and nightly dinner specials. It also has fresh-fruit thirst quenchers and ice cream and prepares lunches to go.
Tiny Café Iguana (6 A.M.-9:30 P.M. daily) is a great place to watch the street action in town. It serves waffles and muffins, sandwiches, scrumptious coconut cookies, cappuccinos, espressos, and natural juices.
Vegans will thrill to Orgánico (tel. 506/ 2642-1322, 8 A.M.-4 P.M. daily low season, 8 A.M.- 6 P.M. daily high season), a bakery serving all-organic dishes, from a sushi bowl with tofu ($9) or stir fry rice and vegetables ($8) to brownies and ice cream. It has a pleasant, airy patio.
Ocelots are only one of many animals found at Cabo Blanco.
For ocean views, head to Restaurante Moctezuma (tel. 506/2642-0058, 7:30 A.M.- 11 P.M. daily, $3-10), at Hotel Moctezuma; this atmospheric open-air eatery serves local fare and seafood, as does Restaurant El Parque (no tel., 7 A.M.-10 P.M. daily), on the village beach.
The best dining around is at Ylang Ylang (tel. 506/2642-0068, 7 A.M.-9:30 P.M. daily, $5-15), serving delicious fusion fare in romantic surrounds by the beach. The menu includes chilled gazpacho, fresh sushi, and Asian-inspired jumbo shrimp in pineapple and coconut sauce.
You can buy fresh produce at the organic fruit and vegetable market, held in the park every Saturday at 10 A.M.
Information and Services
Montezuma Sun Trails (tel. 506/2642-0808, 8 A.M.-8 P.M. daily), in the village center, has Internet service, but bring a sweater!
Librería Topsy (tel. 506/2642-0576, 8 A.M.- 1 P.M. Mon.-Fri., 8 A.M.-noon Sat.-Sun.) has heaps of used books, plus an amazingly large selection of international newspapers and magazines, from the New York Times to The Economist.
Getting There and Away
Buses (tel. 506/2642-0740) depart from Avenida 3, Calles 16/18 in San José at 7:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. daily; minibuses meet the bus in Cóbano. Return buses depart Montezuma at 6:15 A.M. and 3:30 P.M. Monday-Saturday (buses from Cóbano depart for San José 30 minutes later).
A bus for Cóbano and Montezuma ($4) meets the Paquera ferry, The bus for Paquera departs Montezuma at 5:30 A.M., 8:05 A.M., 10 A.M., noon, 2:15 P.M., and 4 P.M. and departs from Cóbano (from outside the Hotel Caoba) 15 minutes later.
Interbus (tel. 506/2283-5573, www.interbusonline.com) operates minibus shuttles from San José ($45), as does Montezuma Expeditions’ Tur Bus Shuttle.
Most of the recreational tour companies offer water-taxis. For example, Chico’s Tour (tel. 506/2642-0556) has a water-taxi to Jacó ($35 pp).
sign in Cabo Blanco Absolute Wildlife Reserve
A taxi to Montezuma from Tambor airport costs about $25.
CABO BLANCO ABSOLUTE WILDLIFE RESERVE
This jewel of nature at the very tip of the Nicoya Peninsula is where Costa Rica’s quest to bank its natural resources for the future began. The 1,250-hectare Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco (8 A.M.- 4 P.M. Wed.- Sun., $10 admission)—the oldest protected area in the country—was created in October 1963 thanks to the tireless efforts of Nils Olof Wessberg, a Swedish immigrant commonly referred to as the father of Costa Rica’s national park system (see David Rains Wallace’s excellent book The Quetzal and the Macaw: The Story of Costa Rica’s National Parks). Olof Wessberg was murdered in the Osa Peninsula in the summer of 1975 while campaigning to have that region declared a national park. A plaque near the Cabo Blanco ranger station stands in his honor.
The reserve, which includes 1,800 hectares out to sea, is named Cabo Blanco (White Cape) after the vertical-walled island at its tip, which owes its name to the accumulation of guano deposited by seabirds, including Costa Rica’s largest community of brown boobies (some 500 breeding pairs). Two-thirds of the reserve is off-limits to visitors. One-third is accessible along hiking trails, some steep in parts. Sendero Sueco leads to the totally unspoiled white-sand beaches of Playa Balsita and Playa Cabo Blanco, which are separated by a headland (you can walk around it at low tide). A coastal trail, Sendero El Barco, leads west from Playa Balsita to the western boundary of the park. Check tide tables with the park rangers before setting off—otherwise you could get stuck. Torrential downpours are common April-December.
Isla Cabuya, about 200 meters offshore, has been used as a cemetery for the village of Cabuya. You can walk out to the island at low tide.
The gateway to the reserve is Cabuya, a tiny hamlet nine kilometers west of Montezuma. A rough rock-and-dirt track leads north over the mountains to Malpaís (seven kilometers; 4WD essential—and passable only in dry season). Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary (tel. 506/2642-1265, www.rainsongsanctuary.com, 8-11 A.M. and 2-5 P.M. daily, $5 donation), one kilometer north of Cabuya, is a rescue center for animals such as monkeys, porcupines, raccoons, and kinkajous. They can be viewed in cages, and you can pet many of them; most were confiscated from illegal ownership or were injured and rescued in the wild. Its primary focus is education, as well as rehabilitation of animals on a 31-acre rainforest plot linked to Cabo Blanco. Volunteers are needed.
Information
The ranger station (tel./fax 506/2642-0093, cablanco@ns.minae.go.cr) has self-guided trail maps. Camping is not allowed, even at the ranger station.
Accommodations and Food
At Cabuya, Jungalows El Ancla de Oro (tel. 506/2642-0369, www.caboblancopark.com/ancla.htm, $25 s/d rooms, $35-50 s/d bungalows low season; $27 s/d rooms, $40-55 bungalows high season) has camping for $5 per tent low season, $8 high season. It also has three delightful thatched hardwood A-frame cabins on tall stilts (one sleeps five). The restaurant serves tasty treats such as fish curry with coconut milk, shrimp curry, and garlic herb bread. The owners, Alex Villaloboso and his English wife, Fiona, rent horses ($20), mountain bikes ($10), and kayaks.
Getting There
A bus departs Montezuma for Cabuya and Cabo Blanco at 8:15 A.M., 10:15 A.M., 2:15 P.M., and 6:15 P.M. ($1 each way). The Cabuya-Montezuma bus departs at 7 A.M., 9 A.M., and 1 P.M.
Montezuma Travel Adventures (tel. 506/642-0802, www.montezumatraveladventures.com) offers transfers by reservation ($6 round-trip). Collective taxis depart Montezuma for Cabo at 7 and 9 A.M., returning at 3 and 4 P.M. ($1.50 pp). A private taxi costs about $12 one-way.
SANTA TERESA AND MALPAÍS
The shoreline immediately north of Cabo Blanco is a lively surfers’ paradise with some of the most splendid surfing beaches in the country. The past few years have seen a phenomenal tourist development, propelling Santa Teresa from offbeat obscurity to newfound popularity. Dozens of hotels and restaurants have popped up out of nowhere. Land prices have since skyrocketed, fueled in part by the fact that Mel Gibson, Drew Barrymore, and super-model Giselle Bündchen are among the recent celebs to buy property here.
A road that leads west 10 kilometers from Cóbano hits the shore at the hamlet of Carmen, known in the surfing realm as Malpaís. The tiny fishing hamlet of Malpaís is actually three kilometers south of Carmen, but no matter; this dirt road dead-ends at the hamlet and turns inland briefly, ending at the northern entrance gate to Cabo Blanco Absolute Wildlife Reserve (there is no ranger station, hence no entrance fee). A rocky track that begins 800 meters north of the dead-end links Cabuya with Malpaís. Four-wheel drive is essential.
North from Carmen, the dirt road parallels Playa Carmen and Playa Santa Teresa, a seemingly endless beach with coral-colored sand, pumping surf, and dramatic rocky islets offshore. The community of Santa Teresa straggles along the road for several miles. The road continues to Manzanillo, where the going gets tougher and is a potholed bouillabaisse in wet season. The Malpaís-Santa Teresa community stretches along miles of shorefront, and local transport is minimal. Be prepared to walk if you don’t have wheels.
Entertainment and Events
Malpaís Surf Camp has a lively bar that shows surf videos and has ping-pong, table soccer, a pool table, and (occasionally) a mechanical bull.
La Lora (tel. 506/2640-0132) is the in-vogue bar in Santa Teresa; it has a pool table and theme nights, including a house dance party Tuesday; reggae and hip hop on Thursday; and Latin night on Saturday.
Howlin Monkey Sports Bar & Grill (tel. 506/2640-0007) has sporting events on the big screen.
The most upscale and happening place at last visit was D&N Day & Night Beach Club (tel. 506/2640-0353, 9 A.M.-2:30 A.M. daily), with live DJs.
Sports and Recreation
Canopy del Pacífico (tel. 506/2640-0360, www.canopydelpacifico.com) offers tours by zipline between the treetops at 9 A.M. and 2 P.M. by reservation ($49).
There are a dozen or more surf shops, several offering tours, including Adrenalina Surf & Kite School (tel. 506/8324-8671, laurent_trinci@hotmail.com). Malpaís Surf Camp (tel. 506/2642-0031, www.malpaissurfcamp.com) and Santa Teresa Surf Camp (tel. 506/2640-0049, surf@expreso .co.cr) also rent boards and offer surf lessons. Malpaís Quad Tours (tel. 506/2640-0178) and Santa Teresa Sunset (tel. 506/2640-0315, www.santateresasunset.com) rent ATVs and offers tours.
Malpaís Bike Tours (tel. 506/2640-0550, info@malpaisbiketours.com) has bicycling tours.
After all your activities, relax with a massage at Sonja Spa (tel. 506/2640-1060, jenifer106@ hotmail.com), in Plaza Carmen.
Accommodations
There are many more options than can be listed here.
CAMPING
In Santa Teresa, Camping y Cabinas Zeneida (tel. 506/2640-0118) is tucked amid shade trees (with hammocks) beside the beach. It charges $3 pp for camping, including toilets and showers. It also has two A-frame cabins with loft bedrooms and toilets and kitchenettes, plus a thatched cabin ($5 pp). The owners will cook meals.
You can also camp at Tranquilo Backpackers (tel. 506/2640-0589, www.tranquilobackpackers.com, $7 pp), and at Malpaís Surf Camp and Resort (tel. 506/2642-0031, www.malpaissurfcamp.com, $7 pp). Both have showers and toilets.
UNDER $25
An in spot with budgeting backpackers is Tranquilo Backpackers (tel. 506/2640-0589, www.tranquilobackpackers.com, $11 pp dorms, $13 pp loft, $35 s/d private). Rooms are in a two-story New Mexican-style building with dangerously open rails on the balcony—take care up there! It has seven dorms with lofts and bunks, plus clean, airy, spacious private rooms with bathrooms. There’s an open-air lounge with hammocks, plus a kitchen, Internet café, and parking.
The well-run Malpaís Surf Camp and Resort (tel. 506/2642-0031, www.malpaissurfcamp.com, $15 pp camp beds, $35 s/d cabins with shared bath, $95 d casita), 200 meters south of the junction, has a panoply of accommodations set in eight hectares of grounds. An oceanview rancho has “semi-private” camp beds beneath a tin roof with shared baths. There are also cabinas with shared bath with cold water, and poolside casitas with stone floors, tall louvered screened windows, and beautiful tile bathrooms with hot water. There’s a lively bar, a pool, and horse and surf-board rentals.
My fave backpackers’ hostel, though, is 
Wavetrotters Surf Hostel (tel. 506/2640-0805, www.wavetrotterhostel.com, $12 pp), new in 2007. This Italian-run winner is basically an atrium lodge with an open downstairs lounge with soaring ceiling and four all-wooden upstairs dorms with lockers. They open to a common terrace, and you can descend to the lounge via a firepole! Plus there’s a private room downstairs ($30 s/d low season, $35 s/d high season). It rents surfboards.
For a great bargain, choose Casa Zen (tel. 506/2640-0523, www.zencostarica.com, $12 pp dorm, $24 s/d room, $135 apartment), with an Indian motif, colorful cushions, chess-boards, free movies by night, a great Thai restaurant, and four simply furnished sponge-washed rooms (including two dorms) with batiks, ceiling fans, and shared bathrooms. Casa Zen also has an upstairs three-room apartment with a huge terrace with hammocks. It recently added a spa.
$25-50
Once a backpackers’ place, Frank’s Place (tel./ fax 506/2640-0096, www.franksplacecr.com, $28 s/d shared bathroom, $30-95 private bathroom), at the junction for Cóbano, has grown beyond recognition and now offers 33 rooms and bungalows in various styles. Alas, the upper-end rooms are overpriced.
I like Ritmo Tropical (tel. 506/2640-0174, www.nicoyapeninsula.com/malpais/ritmotropical, $40 s/d low season, $50 high season), 400 meters south of Frank’s Place, with seven modern, cross-ventilated, well-lit cabins in a landscaped complex, each for four people and each with fans, modest furnishings, and nice private bathroom with hot water. It has secure parking, plus an Italian restaurant (Thurs.-Tues.).
Ingo offers eight rooms at Cabinas Playa Santa Teresa (tel./fax 2640-0137, $20 s/d, $25 with kitchen low season; $30 s/d, $35 kitchen high season), built around a massive strangler fig favored by howler monkeys. Three have kitchens; all have two double beds and private baths with cold water. It has hammocks under shade, plus parking.
The well-maintained, U.S.-run Santa Teresa Surf Camp (tel. 506/2640-0049, surf@ expreso.co.cr, $8 hammock, $12 pp shared bath, $48 s/d cabin low season; $10 hammock, $15 pp shared bath, $67 s/d cabin high season) offers wonderful cabinas with beautiful color schemes. It has one spacious cabin with sloping tin roof, ceiling fans, cement tile floors, and kitchenette with large fridge; large louvered windows open to a terrace. Four other cabins have clean, shared outside bathrooms with cold-water showers. It also has a beachfront, two-bedroom, air-conditioned house with cable TV, colorful walk-in showers, large kitchen, and wraparound veranda.
$50-100
The lovely Rancho Itauna (tel./fax 506/2640-0095, www.ranchos-itauna.com, $70 without kitchen, $80 with kitchen low season; $80 without kitchen, $90 with kitchen high season), in Santa Teresa, is run by a charming Austrian-Brazilian couple and offers four rooms in two octagonal two-story buildings. Each room has a fan, refrigerator, double bed plus bunk, and private bathroom with hot water. Two rooms have a kitchen. The pleasing restaurant serves international cuisine. Rates include tax.
The Star Mountain Jungle Lodge (tel. 506/2640-0101, www.starmountaineco.com, $50 s, $65 d), two kilometers northeast of Malpaís, on the track to Cabuya, is a gem tucked in the hills amid an 80-hectare private forest reserve, with trails (the turnoff is 400 meters north of the soccer field in Malpaís). The four charming, cross-ventilated cabinas are simply yet tastefully decorated and have Sarchí rockers on the veranda. A casita bunkhouse sleeps up to nine people. There’s a pool, and guided horseback rides are offered. Grilled meats and fish are prepared in a huge open oven. It offers horseback rides ($30 two hours).
Also a delight, The Place (tel. 506/2640-0001, www.theplacemalpais.com, $60-80 s/d room, $120 s/d bungalow low season; $70-90 s/d room, $140 s/d bungalow low season) is a romantic delight. The high point is a lovely jade-colored pool and adjoining open-air lounge with rattan pieces with leopard-skin prints. Rooms are simply furnished and dark but have earth tones, yellows, and graceful batiks. Far nicer are the bungalows, with trendy cement floors, all-around floor-to-ceiling louvered French doors, and pink spreads enlivening whitewashed wooden walls. Each bungalow has its own style—I like the African villa.
Another winner is Luz de Vida (tel. 506/2640-0568, www.luzdevida-resort.com, $65 s/d room, $80 s/d bungalow low season; $80 s/d room, $95 s/d bungalow high season), with delightfully decorated split-level bungalows surrounded by forest, plus a splendid colorful restaurant overlooking a handsome pool, gorgeously floodlit at night.
Worthy alternatives include Pachamama (tel. 506/2640-0195, www.pacha-malpais.com); Funky Monkey Lodge (tel. 506/2640-0272, www.funky-monkey-lodge.com), with some of the loveliest rooms and dorms around; and Tropical Surf House (tel. 506/8345-7746, www.tropicalpasta.com).
$100-150
A tasteful newcomer, the Argentinian-run Blue Surf Sanctuary (tel. 506/2640-1001, www.bluesurfsanctuary.com, $110-135 s, $125-150 d) is a delight. It has an open kitchen-lounge with hammocks and sofas, plus four individually themed and raised villas with pendulous open-air queen-size lounge beds slung beneath. Lovely furnishings include dark contemporary hardwoods, ethnic pieces and fabrics, and gorgeous albeit small bathrooms with mosaic tiles and large walk-in showers. It has a plunge pool and surf school.
The delightful Trópico Látino Lodge (tel. 506/2640-0062, www.hoteltropicolatino.com, $77-120 s/d low season, $103-155 s/d high season), at Playa Santa Teresa, backs a rocky foreshore with hammocks under shade trees. There’s a pool and whirlpool tub, and a breezy bar and restaurant (serving excellent cuisine) by the shore. It has 10 high-ceilinged, simply furnished wooden bungalows amid lawns; each has wide shady verandas, a king-size bed and a sofa bed, mosquito nets, fans, and a private bath with hot water. Two newer cabins have ocean views. It arranges fishing, horseback rides, and tours. Rates include tax.
The best hotel in this price bracket is the gorgeous, African-themed 
Moana Lodge (tel. 506/2640-0230, www.moanalodge.com, $95 s/d standard, $125 deluxe, $165-265 suite low season; $115 s/d standard, $140 deluxe, $195- 295 suite high season), with seven rooms, some in huge colonial-style wooden cabins, featuring four-poster beds with cowhide drapes, zebra (fake) skins, leopard-print cushions, free Wi-Fi, and large well-lit bathrooms with huge showers. An open-air rancho with poured concrete sofa overlooks a large whirlpool tub and freeform pool in a stone-faced sundeck. Nice! And a bargain!
A newcomer, the Asian-inspired Beija Flor (tel. 506/2640-1007, www.beijaflorresort.com, $85-105 s/d rooms, $120 s/d bungalows, $135 s/d suite, $185 villa) specializes in yoga and wellness retreats. The air-conditioned guest quarters have a stylish contemporary motif of whites and taupes, and most have Wi-Fi.
The Hotel Playa Carmen (tel. 506/2640-0404, www.playacarmenhotel.com, $90 s/d room, $125-250 suite low season; $140 s/d room, $195-275 suite high season), at Plaza Carmen, has clean contemporary lines. Although guest rooms are dark, they have ceiling fans and bathrooms with glass walls and travertine, and they open to a lovely courtyard with pool, hot tub, and a circular thatched bar.
Also new in 2008, the Israeli-run Zula Inn Aparthotel (tel. 506/2640-0940, www.zulainn.com, $90 s/d low season, $110 high season), at Playa Santa Teresita, is another lovely hotel worth considering.
OVER $150
The French-owned Hotel Restaurante Milarepa (tel. 506/2640-0023, www.milarepahotel.com, $170-200 low season, $194-224 high season), at the north end of Playa Santa Teresa, exemplifies tasteful simplicity and has four cabins, spaced apart amid lawns inset with a lap pool. Two cabins are literally on the beach. They’re made of bamboo and rise from a cement base: exquisite albeit sparse appointments invoke a Japanese motif, and there are four-poster beds in the center of the room, with mosquito drapes, plus open-air bathroom-showers in their own patio gardens. One wall folds back entirely to offer ocean vistas. It has a splendid restaurant.
Then there’s the Otro Lado Lodge (tel. 506/2640-1941, www.otroladolodge.com, $100 s/d low season, $120 s/d high season), another lovely contemporary-style newcomer with a crisp aesthetic, combing gleaming whites with colorful tropical highlights. The restaurant here is a winner.
Yoga fans might check out Horizon Ocean View Hotel (tel. 506/2640-0524, www.horizon-yogahotel.com, $80-150 low season, $100-180 high season), a dedicated hilltop yoga center with simply appointed cabins.
La Reserva
“Stunning” and “serene” are fitting descriptions for 
Florblanca Resort (tel. 506/2640-0232, www.florblanca.com, $475- 850 s/d), perhaps the finest boutique beach resort in the country. This gem enjoys an advantageous beachfront position at the north end of Santa Teresa. Imbued with a calming Asiatic influence (Tibetan prayer flags flutter over the entrance), it offers 10 luxury oceanside villas stairstepping down to the beach. Fragrant plumeria and namesake flor-blanca trees drop petals at your feet as you walk stone pathways that curl down through an Asian garden. The motif is Santa Fe-meets-Bali in ochers, soft creams, and yellows. The villas are furnished with silent air-conditioning, large wall safes, quality rattan furnishings, tasteful art pieces, and exquisite furnishings, from lamps of tethered bamboo stalks to king-size beds on raised hardwood pedestals. Each has a kitchenette, a vast lounge, and stone-floored “rainforest” bathroom with lush gardens, and separate showers and oversize tub. Resort facilities include a TV lounge, quality souvenir store, and a walk-in landscaped horizon pool fed by a waterfall with swim-up bar. The superb oceanfront restaurant and sushi bar is worth a visit in its own right. New owner, Rusty Carter, from Carolina, was adding a deluxe spa and a sumptuous bi-level honeymoon suite at last visit. Tours, including horseback riding at the cattle roundup at Hacienda Ario ($60 three hours), plus yoga, kickboxing, and dance classes in a world-class dojo are all available. Pricing here has been fickle, as guests stayed away when Rusty raised the rates a tad too much.
In 2008, Rusty opened 
La Reserva (tel. 506/2640-0232, www.florblanca.com, call for rates), a super and super-exclusive adjunct (formerly Latitude 10) with three junior suites, two master suites, and a deluxe room (actually, they’re all private villas) hidden within its own forest garden. With its pampering personalized service, this is the ultimate in deluxe, private lodgings in Nicoya. Villas are infused with Asian influences, including dark colonial plantation furnishings, glassless windows and French doors, king-size beds a mile off the floor, and fabulous open-air bathrooms with rainforest showers. A highlight is the guest-only restaurant. Imagine coconut-carrot-ginger soup ($10), pan-seared snook with black Thai rice, and butter-poached asparagus and jalapeño beurre blanc ($26).
nouvelle cuisine at Néctar, Florblanca Resort
Care to splash out big money for a private villa? Try The Red Palm Villas (tel. 506/2640-0447, www.redpalmvillas.com, $105-185 s/d apartments, $350-675 s/d villas), next to Florblanca, with gorgeous wooden beachfront villas seemingly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. I also love Casa Pura Vida Beachfront Luxury Villas (tel. 506/2640-0511, www.casaspuravida.com), with three gorgeous villas, “each quite different in style,” in Santa Teresa.
Food
Malpaís Surf Camp (7 A.M.-10 P.M. daily) serves American breakfasts (from $5), plus lunch and dinner. And I like Casa Zen (tel. 506/2640-0523, 7 A.M.-10 P.M. daily), a marvelous Thai restaurant by night, but serving American-style breakfasts ($4) such as veggie scramble and pancakes and lunches that include BLTs and tuna sandwiches. For dinner ($8), try the seared yellowfin tuna or red coconut curry.
Jungle Juice (tel. 506/2640-0279) serves health foods like pancakes, veggie burgers, quesadillas, and fresh juices. And for a great option for burgers, veggie dishes, kabobs, and slow-cooked chicken, try Burger Rancho (tel. 506/2640-0583, 8 A.M.-midnight daily), a tiny little spot that gets packed, despite the road dust.
The restaurant at Rancho Itauna (506/ 2640-0095, 7:30 -9:30 A.M. and 6:30 -9 P.M. daily, high season only) specializes in Brazilian seafood dishes but also has a barbecue on Thursday.
The open-air Restaurante Soma (tel. 506/2640-0023, 7-10 A.M., 11:30 A.M.- 2:30 P.M., and 6-9 P.M. daily) at the Hotel Milarepa specializes in Pacific Rim fusion cuisine. Reservations are recommended.
Despite its simple thatched ambience, Restaurant Brisas del Mar (tel. 506/2640-0941, 5-10 P.M. does a mean job of nouvelle fusion dishes, such as lemon rosemary chicken with herbed yogurt ($11.50); seared tuna with red wine, capers, and anchovy ($12.50); and self-described “sinfully wicked desserts.”
The best cuisine by far is at 
Néctar (7 A.M.-3 P.M. daily café only, 3-6 P.M. daily sushi only, 6-9 P.M. daily full menu) at Florblanca, where Chef Spencer Graves conjures up fabulous Asian-Pacific-Latin fusion creations, including smoked trout, cream cheese, and scallion maki roll appetizers ($7), and salmon, scallion, and caviar jumbo roll ($9). Entrées include Chinese five-spice marinated duck breast with caramelized red onion latkes and butter-wilted spinach ($20). The raised hemispheric bar is a good place to enjoy top-quality sushi (don’t fail to order the caterpillar rolls). A chef’s five-course tasting menu is offered with 24 hours’ notice. It plays cool music, from jazz to classical.
The past few years have seen an explosion of sushi restaurants that include Omi Sushi, in Plaza Carmen; Sushi Ukiy (tel. 506/2640-0690, 6-10 P.M. Thurs.-Sun.); and Cameleon Restaurant & Sushi Bar (tel. 506/2640-0949, 6-10:30 P.M. Mon.-Sat.).
In Plaza Carmen, Artemis Café (tel. 506/2640-0561, 7 A.M.- midnight daily) is clean and modern and has Wi-Fi plus an outdoor courtyard. The wide-ranging menu includes paninis, salads, smoked salmon appetizer ($8), and dinners such as spinach ravioli ($7.50), as well as cookies.
Across the way, the Azucar Restaurant (tel. 506/2640-0071, www.azucar-restaurant.com, 8 A.M.-9:30 P.M. daily) opened at Frank’s Place in 2007; it’s run by a French-Cuban couple. Norbis is the Cuban (yet London-trained) chef at the helm delivering delicious nouvelle tropical cuisine, such as seared ahi tuna with ginger ($12), and mahimahi with basil mashed potatoes with tomato and parsley sauce ($10). It’s a great spot to try ropa vieja or a burger, then a chocolate tart with ice cream before bedding down poolside for a snooze.
You can buy fresh produce at the organic fruit and vegetable market, held in Santa Teresa every Saturday at 3 P.M.
Information and Services
There’s a bank at Plaza Carmen, where Carmen Connections (tel. 506/8823-8600) is a tour information center.
There’s a medical clinic (tel. 800/367-2000) with ambulance service next to Frank’s Place, and a pharmacy across the street in Plaza Carmen, which has a bank. Costa Rica Medical Response (tel. 506/2665-2626) also has 24/7 ambulance service. Teeth trouble? Head to Sunny Smile Dental Clinic (tel. 506/2640-0660), in Plaza Royal.
There are half-a-dozen or so Internet cafés, including Frank’s Internet Café, at the Carmén junction, and Cyber-Phone Santa Teresa (tel. 506/2640-0996).
The Santa Teresa Surf Camp doubles as a Spanish-language school.
You can buy gasoline at a pulpería 0.5 kilometer north of the soccer field.
Getting There and Away
Buses depart Cóbano for Malpaís at 10:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. Return departures are at 7 A.M. and noon, connecting with onward buses to San José.
Montezuma Expeditions (tel. 506/2642-0919, www.montezumaexpeditions.com) has a daily minibus shuttle from San José ($40), as does Interbus (tel. 506/2283-5573, www.interbusonline.com, $45).
You can rent an ATV (a virtual necessity in wet season) from Malpaís Quad Tours (tel. 506/2640-0178) and Santa Teresa Sunset (tel. 506/2640-0315, www.santateresasunset.com). And Alamo Rent-a-Car (tel. 506/2640-0526) and Budget (tel. 506/2640-0500, www.budget.co.cr) have offices at Carmen.
Taíno Gas (tel. 506/2640-0009), in Santa Teresa, is open 7 A.M.- 6 P.M. daily.