What I Like (and Don’t) About Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica

I’ve been hearing many good things about Costa Rica, especially for their beaches, so I decided to give it a try. And after doing some research, I found out Costs Rica not only has beaches but also many other natural resources. Actually it is said to be home to 6% of the world’s diversity and has more than 900 species of birds visiting or living. So in addition to beaches, I also made good use of the trip to check out their National Parks as well.

Table of Contents

• My tip to help decide which beaches to go

• My experience in Tamarindo

My tip to help decide which beaches to go

If you are searching for beaches to go in Costa Rica, you probably would see things like “Top XX Beaches in Costa Rica” and started to brainstorm from there. But for someone who‘s a bit neurotic, I’d always want to ask:

“Really!?”

“What if that’s because their experience is limited to those 10 beaches?”

“Is it possible there are hidden gems that are not well-known online but actually worth a visit?”

That’s why I always like to check out government website because they tend to have more thorough introductions and detailed information. Yes, there are still some exceptions, but for Costa Rica their website is pretty good! Definitely worth a read for inspirations. From the website, it shows there are 45 main beaches in Costa Rica (beach map made by the official here) and are scattered into 4 regions:

1. Guanacaste (Northwest)

2. Central and mid Pacific

3. South Pacific

4. South Caribbean

Since my time was limited and I am not really a beach person, I only visited one beach in Costa Rica - Tamarindo beach (Guanacaste). And I chose it for 3 reasons:

1. It’s a popular beach for sunset & surfing (Though I haven’t had a chance to try, I just thought it’s cool lol)

2. It’s very close to another beach called Playa Langosta (4 minute drive), so could potentially visit 2 beaches at once, which seems to be cost-effective lol.

3. It’s not far from an international airport - Liberia Guanacaste Airport (LIR) (1h10m drive), so I don’t have to worry about the accessibility.

    

My experience in Tamarindo

I honestly wouldn’t recommend Tamarindo if you're aiming for the vibe you see in Bali vacation ads. I’d say Tamarindo is still developing and has room to grow before reaching the so-called resort category.

But I do want to recommend a hotel I stayed which is called Hotel Pasatiempo. The environment is good, the breakfast is yummy and the service is great! Initially I booked for 3 nights but because of the plan change, I could only stay for 2 nights. Even though it’s not refundable, they upgraded my room and provide free breakfast (of course you have to initiated such conversation first!), which is very sweet and I appreciated it.

Tamarindo isn’t big. Checking out busy areas and the beach won’t take more than 2 days. At least for people who don’t surf like me, staying for 2 nights is already satisfying.