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Click Hotel List for a website that lists most of the accommodations in the Nosara vicinity. It doesn't have direct website links, so if you see something that interest you, just try a web search on the name (if I don't have the link on this page). Click Map for the best local area map of Nosara I have found. Click Directions for driving directions to Nosara. You will want to print these. You also need to take a look at credit card restrictions associated with foriegn travel prior to your departure. This Travel Guide page was last updated on Feb 27, 2009. I have a list of links to many of the Nosara area hotels below, and I'll add to this list as I check them out. Room rates appear to run from about $35 a night on up during the summer low season. So far, the only places I have stayed are the Gilded Iguana and Nosara Beach Hotel, but I have visited several of the other hotels. The Villa Las Tecas is very nice and located in a quieter part of town just north of Playa Guiones. It is a short walk from the white sand beaches of Playa Pelada and is not far from the short board break at Olga's. It's a pretty good walk to the main surf areas of Playa Guiones, but folks with short boards hoof it over there all the time. With a heavy longboard, you might want to hunt up one of those shoulder straps to help carry the board. Playa Palada is a beautiful beach, you'll want to take the walk along the beach north towards the Nosara River at least once during your stay. The Kaya Sol (was the Blew Dog's) has a dorm for surfers on a tight budget and some cabanas that look like they will sleep four good friends. The Gilded Iguana and the Kaya Sol are both only a few hundred feet from the main surfing area of Playa Guiones. I would try for the Gilded Iguana first, and if rooms aren't available try the Kaya Sol. If you came for surfing, this is the area you want to stay in. If you are not on a tight budget and want quiet privacy (like for a honeymoon) the Casa Romantica about 300 yards to the south is your place. Because of dense vegetation in the coastal setback zone, you won't get a good ocean view from most of the hotels other than the Nosara Beach Hotel, which sits high on a bluff overlooking the bay, but is showing its age. If you don't want to pay extra for the view, but want to be right THERE near the main surfing area, I recommend that you give the Gilded Iguana a real good look. They have both open-air and air conditioned rooms and a restaurant with excellent food. Be sure to try the fish sandwich! Restaurant foor prices were up quite a bit in 2008 over 2007 at all of the Nosara restaurants. Most restaurants ad a 10 percent tip and 13 percent tax directly to your basic food bill. If the menu doesn't tell you, then ask if tax and tip are included.
Keep in mind that rates fluctuate and there is a high and low season. Also, there is a 16% tax on motel rooms in Costa Rica. If you book through Surf Express, they will probably recommend the Harbor Reef. It has A/C and is quite nice. It is perhaps a 5 minute walk to the main surfing areas. I haven't been to all of these places and there are more places than what I list below. There are also quite a few houses for rent by the week or longer. House rentals range from about $600 a week to over $2500 a week. The $2500 places are big and very nice, but the $600 places are just fine for 3 or 4 people. Hotel Links:
Rental House Links:
If you don't get a quick response to your e-mail inquiry, try calling or faxing. Some of these places don't spend a lot of time using their computers and sometimes internet connections go down for days at a time down there. Also, you'll notice that I always mention the walking distances. That is because I park the car under a tree and leave it. If you don't mind driving around, you can park at several places right slam in front of the main surf breaks, and where you stay won't matter so much. I just like to walk. If you are like me, you will probably want to locate in the central Playa Guiones area bordered by the Nosara Hotel at the north end and the Harbor Reef Lodge (vicinity) at the south end. Refer to the MAP. Photography:
While in Nosara, one of the things you might want to consider is a dedicated photo session by a professional surf photographer. Soul Arch Photography has a nice shop in the Nosara mini-mall and offers both in-the-water and from-the-beach sessions. They also frequently shoot public sessions from the main breaks and offer the photos from these sessions stored on CDs for very reasonable rates. Check out their website at SoulArchPhoto.com. We brought back over 400 samples of their work from our trip to Nosara in May, 2006. See them at Nosara-May-2006.
Travel Agents: The easiest way to make travel arrangements is through a travel agent. They get a commission from the sellers and it doesn't cost you anything. In fact, since they do this stuff every day, they may even save you some money over what you'll find on the web. And keep in mind that they may save you from some unwanted and costly surprises. Travel agencies that specialize in surfing trips include the following. Surf Express is now located in the Cocoa Beach Surf Company building next door to Ron Jons. Worldwide Adventures is located on South Patrick drive in Satellite Beach. If USA based travel agents don't have the all answers you need, try the local Nosara Travel agency, located just round the corner from the Gilded Iguana in Nosara, Costa Rica. They can give you information on such subjects as transport services, local shuttle flights (Nosara has a small airport), and other local travel information. Travel Info: I maintain links to the major travel and air fare search engines on my Surf the Web page so I won't repeat them here. Nosara is located almost due west of San Jose, far out on the Nicoya Peninsula. It's a solid 6 hour plus drive from San Jose to Nosara (longer in the rainy season). It once took us almost 12 hours to return from Playa Negra (which is only about an hour north of Nosara) when we got totally lost in the rainy season. Driving over the Central Mountains west of San Jose and driving on the Pan American highway can be slow going. It is very scenic, but if you get behind a big truck going over the mountains, you can go 5 mph for a long time. Passing in the mountains is almost impossible, and passing on the Pan American Highway is difficult due to constant bends and rolling hills. Thus, if you are heading for Nosara, you may want to consider flying into Liberia. It is an easy 2.5 hour drive from Liberia to Nosara. At any rate, pack along a compass or GPS unit if you have one. By the way, you can also fly directly into Nosara from San Jose on a small aircraft, but there are serious baggage weight limits and forget it if you have a longboard. Flying into Liberia is going to cost a more than flying into San Jose. In May of 2008, the best airfare to San Jose from Orlando was about $200 less than the best airfare to Liberia. Also, surfboards fees are far less on some of the surf friendly carriers to San Jose. Surfboard bag fees on the big name carriers that fly to Liberia can run as high as $150 each way. Always ask your air carrier or travel agent about the surfboard policy. If a flight to Liberia doesn't work out, another option is to leave a day or two earlier and fly into San Jose instead. In which case, you probably need to do a stop over on both the outbound and return legs. Jaco or Boca Baranca both make good stopover points since they are both less than 3 hours drive from San Jose. Jaco is about 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Boca Baranca is the only surfing destination directly along the route to Nosara. And when Boca Baranca goes off, it is really something. Keep in mind that motels are pretty rare in the outback of Costa Rica once you get away from surfing or tourist destinations. It just isn't possible to travel all the way to Nosara in daylight with an afternoon arrival in San Jose, and I advise very strongly against nighttime travel. Another option is to stay near the San Jose airport and leave early in the morning. In which case you'll want to hit the road by first light (5 AM or before). Soon thereafter, there is a steady stream of delivery trucks heading west for the coast over the narrow mountain road. Saturday and Sunday may not have as many trucks as weekdays, but on a Friday morning I was very glad I was heading east instead of west over the mountains. Rental car rates are higher in Costa Rica than they are in the states. From May through October is the rainy season in Costa Rica. Even though the roads have improved tremendously in the past 5 years, a 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for travel into the outback where the roads aren't paved. A search on the Internet will turn up company names such as Economy Rent a Car, Thrifty, Dollar, Europcar, National, and others. Rates vary considerably. A Dahaitsu Terios is about the least expensive 4-wheel drive vehicle, but don't try to put 4 people in a Terios since there is very little space behind the rear seat. Often, the advertised rental car rates do not include the mandatory insurance charges. These charges run from $15 to $30 per day. If the advertised price for a Rav 4 is $160 per week, you can bet your lunch money that's before the insurance charges, taxes, and airport fees are added on. In July of 2008 the best price I found for a 4WD was around $46 per day with all fees, taxes and insurance. Some of the small vehicles with 4 seats won't carry 4 people with luggage (like the Dahatsu Terios) - there is nowhere to put luggage except on the fourth seat or on top of the vehicle. Also, different companies have different high and low rate season definitions. It's very confusing - perhaps it is intended to be. Based on my experiences with trying to book my own rental car on the web, I highly recommend that you let your travel agent book your rental vehicle. Another thing to consider is that you don't really need a car in Nosara if you are a healthy walker. Good restaurants, small grocery stores, surf shops, a laundry, and lots of other little shops are all located within reasonable walking distance from the central Playa Guiones area. A taxi is a pretty expensive way to get out there, but there are transfer services that can haul small groups from both San Jose and Liberia to Nosara. This service becomes pretty reasonable cost wise if there are 4 or more people to share the expense. They don't run to Nosara during the heart of the rainy season. One of these transfer companies is Ecotrans. Also, sometimes the hotels have special arrangements with transport companies to get you to Nosara. So the best bet may be to ask your favorite hotel for advice. Like everything else, room rates are subject to change, and there is a low and high season in Costa Rica. The high season is during our winter, which is their dry season. The peak is around Christmas time. Unless you book a flight many months in advance, you may have a hard time going to Nosara for Christmas. Costa Rica, and particularly the Nosara area, is a major destination for Europeans during the winter. So rates go up. But for the summer months, rooms in Nosara are cheaper than Cocoa Beach. Always ask about weekly rates if you are staying a full week or more. |
