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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. This page was last updated on July 23, 2006. 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 $30 a night on up. 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 nestled in a quiet location just north of Playa Guiones. It is a short walk from the white sand beaches of Playa Pelada and is close to the short board break at Olga's, but is just too far for me to carry my big heavy longboard to the main surfing breaks of Playa Guiones where I always surf. The Blew Dogs has a dorm for surfers at $10 a night per person and some cabanas that look like they will sleep four good friends on a budget. The Gilded Iguana and the Blew Dogs are both only a few hundred feet from the main surfing area of Playa Guiones. Because of dense vegetation in the coastal setback zone, you don'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. 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 at good prices. Be sure to try the fish sandwich!
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. When I need more than just a motel room, I usually rent the Lagodima House. It sleeps 4 people and is right THERE where you want to be, next door to the Blew Dog and across the street from the Guilded Iguana. It is just a short walk to the main breaks of Playa Guiones. If you rent this house, please mention Ross of CFLsurf.com as your referrer (they might give me a discount on my next stay :) 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 are hard to get 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.
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.
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: Nosara is located almost due west of San Jose, far out on the Nicoya Peninsula. It's a solid 5 hour 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. By the way, you can also fly directly into Nosara 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 little more than flying into San Jose. In March of 2006, the best airfare to San Jose from Orlando was from Martinair. Surfboards go free on Martinair. The best airfare from Orlando to Liberia was about $150 more than to San Jose. Surfboards are subject to extra charges of up to $90 each way on some airlines, so be sure to ask about the surfboard policy. There is another option that may not be available through all travel agents. Vacation Express runs a once a week chartered flight from the Sanford/Orlando airport directly to Liberia almost every Saturday. Check to see if they have a flight that meets your needs. Since it is only a 2.5 hour drive to Nosara, this can give you more surfing time. 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 $250 per week, you can bet your lunch money that's before the insurance charges, taxes, and airport fees are added on. 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 have an experienced 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 however. 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. |
