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 (almost all owned by foreign residents) are hidden amid the forest in the area known as the Beaches of Nosara. The roads are an intestinal labyrinth. The Nosara Civic Association (tel. 506/682-0008, www.nosaracivicassociation.com), the property owners’ organization, oversees development, which is exploding.

About 40 hectares of wildlife-rich forest are protected in the private Reserva Biológica Nosara (belonging to Lagarta Lodge) along the river, which harbors caimans and crocodiles.

Sports and Recreation

Nosara Surf Shop (tel. 506/682-0186, fax 506/682-0451, www.safarisurfschool.com) has a “Safari Surf School.” It sells and rents boogie boards and surfboards. Coconut Harry’s Surf Shop (tel. 506/682-0574, 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. Both Corky’s and Casa Río Nosara offer jungle tours, kayak rental, plus horseback riding and boat trips.

Iguana Expeditions (tel. 506/680-0749), at the Gilded Iguana, offers sea kayaking (from $35). Black Marlin Sportfishing (tel. 506/682-0059) also at Harbor Reef, and Aventura Pelada Sportfishing (tel. 506/682-0173) offer sportfishing.

Tuanis (tel./fax 506/682-0249, tuanisart [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr) rents snorkel gear ($5 daily) and offers guided turtle tours to Ostional ($10).

Entertainment and Events

In the village, the most atmospheric bars are Bambú, with live marimba on Saturdays; and Disco Bar Tropicana, with disco on Saturdays at 9 p.m.

Café de Paris (tel. 506/682-0087) has an open-air movie Fridays at 7 p.m. (free). And the Beatle Bar (tel. 506/682-0184), in Nosara Centro, has pool tables and five big-screen TVs for Monday night football. The Red Lion also has a pool table.

Getting There

Sansa (tel. 506/257-9414, www.flysansa.com) and Nature Air (tel. 506/220-3054, www.natureair.com) have twice-daily service between San José and Nosara.

A Tracopa bus (tel. 506/232-2666 or 506/682-0297) departs San José for Nosara from Calle 14, Avenidas 3/5, daily at 5:30 a.m. Buses depart Nicoya for Nosara four times daily.

Interbus (tel. 506/283-5573, www.interbusonline.com) operates minibus shuttles from San José ($39) 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.