South to Junquillal
Playa Avellanas
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From Tamarindo, you must backtrack to Villarreal in order to continue southward via Hernández (three kilometers south of Villarreal). The narrow dirt coast road becomes impassable in sections in the wet season, when you may have better luck approaching Playa Avellanas and Lagartillo from the south via Paraíso, reached by paved road from Santa Cruz.
Between Tamarindo and Avellanas, most of the coastline backs onto Hacienda Pinilla (tel. 506/680-7060, fax 506/680-7063, www.haciendapinilla.com), which covers 1,800 hectares. This former cattle ranch is one of the most upscale residential resort communities in the country, with a championship 18-hole golf course, trails through a nature reserve with lagoons, a stable for horse rides ($15–35), a small hotel, plus scores of villas and condos for rent. It was still a work in progress at last visit.
Beautiful coral-colored Playa Avellanas, 12 kilometers south of Tamarindo, has been discovered by surfers and is renowned for its barrel surf. You can rent surfboards for $15/25 half-/full-day, and go fishing ($50 per hour) on the Manta Too at Cabinas Las Olas (tel. 506/658-8315 or 506/233-4455, fax 506/222-8685, www.cabinaslasolas.co.cr).
Theft and car break-ins are major problems at the beaches. Never leave items in your car!
Accommodations and Food
You can camp ($2 pp) under thatch at Bar y Restaurante Gregorio’s. It also has three basic cabinas ($15 s, $20 d) with private baths and cold water. The rustic place has piglets underfoot, and nearby Lola’s (tel. 506/658-8097), a rustic beachfront restaurant is famous for its namesake giant pig.
There are several other basic options. The best bet is Azul Escondido Surf Camp (tel./fax 506/658-8334, $12 high season), with three bunk rooms and shared bathrooms. There’s a barebones TV lounge, kitchen and BBQ, and hammocks under thatch. Surf packages are offered.
Swiss-run Cabinas Las Olas (tel. 506/658-8315 or 506/233-4455, fax 506/222-8685, www.cabinaslasolas.co.cr, $60 s, $70 d high season) is an “upscale” surfers’ place with 10 bungalows widely spaced amid the dry forest. Each has private bathroom, bidet, and hot water. A raised wooden walkway leads 300 meters across mangroves to the beach. The video-bar and restaurant have an appealing ambience. It has ping-pong, rents kayaks, boogie boards, snorkeling gear, mountain bikes, and surfboards.
Hacienda Pinilla (from $135 hotel rooms, $300 suites, $315 beach house high season) has a variety of deluxe accommodations, including Superior and Deluxe rooms in the Posada del Sol Hotel; eight suites in the Casa de Golf; three Pequeña Finca Beach Houses; and two-, three-, and four-bedroom villas.
© Christopher P. Baker from Moon Costa Rica, 6th Edition
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