Costa Rica: Guanacaste or Tamarindo?
January 8, 2011 8:26 AM Subscribe
Costa Rica: Guanacaste or Tamarindo?
I'm taking a vacation with my mom this summer, and we're going to Costa Rica. The research part is done and we've narrowed down our options to two possible itineraries. What we're coming up against, though, is that one has us spending a few days in Guanacaste, and one has us spending a few days in Tamarindo.
We'd love some advice on which one has more to offer us for our "free time" of up to three days. The accommodations are covered, we're more looking for info on city layout, amenities, general vibe, etc. Seeing volcanoes is already covered by both itinerary options.
As for us, we're two adventurous women, late 20's and mid 50's, who enjoy a neat tour as much as a beach day. Though we're not ironwomen and not into sports, exploring is fun for us. Mom's a bit of a hippie, I'm a bit of a yuppie. Neither of us speak Spanish. Neither of us has been to Costa Rica before. We like to eat and shop, and we enjoy historic sites and general history. Every city has crime and I'm urban through-and-through, but I'd prefer not to have to be in a position to actually defend my mother.
I'm taking a vacation with my mom this summer, and we're going to Costa Rica. The research part is done and we've narrowed down our options to two possible itineraries. What we're coming up against, though, is that one has us spending a few days in Guanacaste, and one has us spending a few days in Tamarindo.
We'd love some advice on which one has more to offer us for our "free time" of up to three days. The accommodations are covered, we're more looking for info on city layout, amenities, general vibe, etc. Seeing volcanoes is already covered by both itinerary options.
As for us, we're two adventurous women, late 20's and mid 50's, who enjoy a neat tour as much as a beach day. Though we're not ironwomen and not into sports, exploring is fun for us. Mom's a bit of a hippie, I'm a bit of a yuppie. Neither of us speak Spanish. Neither of us has been to Costa Rica before. We like to eat and shop, and we enjoy historic sites and general history. Every city has crime and I'm urban through-and-through, but I'd prefer not to have to be in a position to actually defend my mother.
Did you mean the Guanacaste beach vs the Tamarindo beach? Because Guanacaste is also the name of a state, with a ton of cool stuff, like the Arenal Volcano and the Monteverde Cloud Forest in it.
To me, the main draw of the Tamarindo beach was that it was across the bay from Playa Grande, where you could see the turtles nesting. However, since you're going in summer, the Playa Grande beach will be closed. I thought the actual Tamarindo beach was pretty crowded and touristy. Not unpleasant, just much more crowded than I prefer. I don't remember there being a lot to town, either. It was mostly hotels.
But my guidebook is telling me the beaches in Guanacaste National Park are even more remote. I didn't actually go to the beach there, though we went through Liberia and were originally scheduled to go to Santa Rosa. Public transportation had other ideas. (Liberia was dead boring.)
I don't remember anywhere in Costa Rica being that scary other than certain parts of San Jose. My friend and I didn't feel like we really needed to watch out anywhere (women in our twenties) other than SJ. I wouldn't worry too much about that, whichever beach you pick.
Personally, of those two choices, I'd go to Tamarindo, just because public transportation in Costa Rica takes forever and Guanacaste is more remote.
posted by wending my way at 9:58 PM on January 8, 2011
To me, the main draw of the Tamarindo beach was that it was across the bay from Playa Grande, where you could see the turtles nesting. However, since you're going in summer, the Playa Grande beach will be closed. I thought the actual Tamarindo beach was pretty crowded and touristy. Not unpleasant, just much more crowded than I prefer. I don't remember there being a lot to town, either. It was mostly hotels.
But my guidebook is telling me the beaches in Guanacaste National Park are even more remote. I didn't actually go to the beach there, though we went through Liberia and were originally scheduled to go to Santa Rosa. Public transportation had other ideas. (Liberia was dead boring.)
I don't remember anywhere in Costa Rica being that scary other than certain parts of San Jose. My friend and I didn't feel like we really needed to watch out anywhere (women in our twenties) other than SJ. I wouldn't worry too much about that, whichever beach you pick.
Personally, of those two choices, I'd go to Tamarindo, just because public transportation in Costa Rica takes forever and Guanacaste is more remote.
posted by wending my way at 9:58 PM on January 8, 2011
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Looks like there's lots of very specific and very current (as in today) CR travel discussion going on over at a CR forum on TripAdvisor for example. I bet you'd get some useful responses there.
Still current, but somewhat less active is the travel forum at the Association of Residents of Costa Rica. (this link is to all of its forums)
I found these by googling "costa rica forum" and also tried "costa rica travel forum". So you might try some similar variations. I found a number of others with less active/current discussion but maybe you can find a good one. Good luck and have fun down there.
posted by Askr at 6:04 PM on January 8, 2011