Once you’ve decided Costa Rica is where you want to vacation, the next challenge is deciding where to start your adventure. [Spoiler Alert] The correct answer is Tamarindo.

With two coasts, you may have intentions of seeing both sides, the Caribbean and the Pacific. You may want to see some of the old towns of Costa Rica, take in some gastronomic experiences in San Jose, and swing from rope bridges in the middle of the rainforest.

You can do all of that, but there are a few key reasons why you’ll want to start your journey in Playa Tamarindo.

The little fishing town turned surfing mecca is perfectly positioned to get in and out of Costa Rica with ease. Playa Tamarindo offers travelers the perfect mix of everything Costa Rica has to offer, culture, art, food, and activities.

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport

As recently as five years ago, one had about a 70-80 percent chance of landing in Costa Rica via the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). That was the first international airport, located close to the capital city, San Jose.

These days, most visitors to Tamarindo fly into the Daniel Oduber (LIR) Airport due to more international flights connecting through that destination. Around Tamarindo, most folks know the sublime airport simply as Liberia, as in, “did you fly into Liberia or San Jose?”

Landing in SJO means about a five-hour drive through some of the most beautiful countrysides one can ever pass. It’s not the end of the world if that’s where your flight drops you, but Liberia is much closer.

Flying into Liberia is an easy 45-minute drive from Tamarindo and most other destinations in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. This makes it so simple to compartmentalize a trip centered in that region or even fly in one airport and out the other if you have the means to break up the country into different parts.

Pavement

Once upon a time, Tamarindo was a small fishing village with one dirt road in, which may or may not have been washed out when travelers came to visit. This was before cellphones and running water.

Things have changed a lot since the 1980s.

Now there are two roads into Tamarindo, and more than one paved way to navigate in and out of the area. This means visitors don’t necessarily have to rent four-wheel drive vehicles to get around. In fact, for those staying in town, a simple golf cart or electric vehicle will suffice.

Today’s visitors to Tamarindo can drive all the way to San Jose without using one dirt road. In fact, the newly updated Pan-American Highway route between Liberia and San Jose is a multilane freeway as wide as the sort one would find in more developed nations.

Goldilocks Perfect

There are other beaches in Costa Rica, about 300 of them to be exact, but none of them offers the just-right mix of everything.

Regarding food and art, Tamarindo offers a mixture of international influences blended with local flavor. In fact, the annual Tamarindo Art Wave festival in January brings artists from all over the world to this corner of Costa Rica.

The size of Tamarindo is not too sprawling either. It’s also not so small one has limited options for shopping, eating, and tourism.

Even the sand has the perfect mixture of shells, soil, and sand to make it ideal for spending the day without charring the souls of your feet. The Costa Ricans call it white sand, but you will say it’s more of a light tan color.

Activities

Pound for pound, no country offers more to do than Costa Rica. A quick search of Trip Advisor can overwhelm you with the options. It’s hard to believe the country is only the size of West Virginia.

This would be a good time to mention how Horizon Pacific Vacations is your liaison for planning excursions out of Tamarindo. We’re happy to save you time searching through endless reviews to find the right zipline or sunset cruise.

We know what each outfit offers so we can tailor recommendations to suit your travel crew. In fact, we’ll go ahead and book tours for you if you want. You don’t have to do anything.

Tamarindo is perfectly centered to make day trips out of most activities you might like to try, including trips to beaches in Nicaragua, the cloud forest in Monteverde, and the volcano in Arenal. If pre-Colombian archeology is your thing, let us know. There’s a perfect tour for you.

From the perfect vacation rental to the perfect tour, Horizon Pacific Vacations wants to be your concierge in Costa Rica. If you’re not already convinced that Tamarindo is the right place to center your trip, you will be before you leave.

Send us a message today to find out everything we can do for you.

Horizon Pacific Management & Rentals is located in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Offering vacation rentals, property management, long-term rentals, as well as a complete concierge service. Providing you with a local contact during your stay, Horizon Pacific is a company you can trust, with the experience you need.