25/07/2026
I realized that while I post this information for people asking on Facebook, I haven’t posted it here in a long while. 🙂
Tamarindo, my favorite Pacific Northwest beach town, is 75 mins from the LIR International Airport (5 hours from SJO). Shuttles are available to/from LIR Shared@$30/person & Private@$110 for 1-8 people each way. (With private ones, we stop at the Pricesmart in LIR on the way to Tamarindo.)
Tamarindo has an estimated population of 4-6k people (1.5x Samara & Santa Teresa, 1/2 Playa del Coco, 1/3 Jaco & La Fortuna, & 1/4th Manuel Antonio area). Tamarindo is a unique “Goldilocks sized” town that is a mix of a highly walkable town, modern amenities (including youth friendly indoor options for inclement weather), natural beauty, youthful energy, an inclusive community, and a special vibe that can only come from where Costa Rica’s Pura Vida philosophy combines with a surf beach town.
Tamarindo has 3 outstanding beaches in walking range, water sports, fishing, surfing, tons of indoor & outdoor activities, abundant nature & wildlife, yoga & health retreats, entertainment & nightlife options, plentiful food choices of all cuisines at all price points (most places easily accommodate dietary restrictions including celiac and vegan), great infrastructure (including medical and dental if needed), year-round wonderful weather, and good proximity (and roads) if you plan to use it as a base of exploration - even if it is just you walking or hiking a mile north, south, or east (which changes everything). Tamarindo itself is extremely walkable, and no car is needed - this is actually a big deal in CR for both hassle and cost savings. Bicycles & golf carts can be rented (Taxis, Uber, Bird Scooters, Shared Shuttles, Private Shuttles, and the Public Bus are available). The area is embedded in the Las Baulas National Marine Park, which covers the surrounding beaches (protecting turtle nesting areas), mangroves estuaries, and the ocean waters 5 miles out to sea. Thanks to this National Park, Costa Rica nature and native wildlife are easily accessible and abundant. One example is howler monkeys, which can often be seen playing in the trees in the area (we see them as we walk around town, and sometimes they come to visit our house’s trees - as do green parrots and so on). The waters are also extremely clean and teeming with life (there are no docks or marinas).
My favorite area of Tamarindo is Langosta, which is a small area a little less than a mile south of the commercial center of Tamarindo - which is close enough to walk to the bustle of Tamarindo for when you want that, and far enough away that you have a more relaxed and quiet experience for when you don't. (Parts of Tamarindo can be very lively and loud, at least to me, depending on your proximity to various hostels, nightlife, and music sources.)
Langosta is extremely safe & quiet. It has its own vibe and a number of local hangouts - there are 7 restaurants, a spa, and a corner market within a 5-min walk of the Villa. Two examples are an all-ages accessible gastropub/sports bar with games like foosball, pool, co****le, and a Trivia Game Night (it is one of my favorite places in all of the area). The 2nd is a wonderful Italian place that has wine & Prosecco, homemade pasta & cheeses, outdoor seating, and live music until around 9 p.m. - for comparison, in Tamarindo, music and nightlife can go late. The beach for Langosta is also much less crowded than Playa Tamarindo. Langosta is sort of a cul-de-sac surrounded on 2 sides by a national park and 1 side by a beach - you have to go out of your way to get to it, unless you are already there - and tends to be mostly locals. Playa Langosta also extends about a mile to the south and is jungle adjacent with no development (part of the National Park), and here it is rare to encounter people.
To me, this location is the best of both worlds because you are in walking distance to a beach with no crowds and no beach-adjacent businesses. AND in walking distance to Tamarindo beach for when you want people energy and access to the beach-front bars, restaurants, & vendors. (Langosta has no beach-adjacent businesses while Tamarindo does).
Both beaches have outstanding sunsets (it is a community tradition to gather on the beach to watch it every night).
Langosta Beach was ranked #3 in CR by Blue Flag Ecological Award for Excellence - this must be re-earned yearly. (Out of 330 CR beaches that applied, 136 beaches achieved this award.) Tamarindo Beach (actually the entire community, which is rare) and Playa Grande have also earned this award.
There are all forms of activities, excursions, and tours that are available in the area, often w/ options for pickup and drop-off or via shuttle - this is a bonus of an established location like Tamarindo (we love that we never need a car). Some local examples are: gyrocopter tours, a day trip of sailing (includes swimming, snorkeling, lunch, and drinks, and ending with sunset - we love this one), surfing (Tamarindo has outstanding and reliable breaks for beginners year-round, as well as intermediate & advanced spots), the Tamarindo Estuary Boat Safari, kayaking, and cooking classes in the local cuisine (cooking classes are a skill you will carry with you always and think about Costa Rica when you use it). If you want to go further afield, a few examples are: Monkey Jungle Zip Line is 25 mins, Catalina Islands are 40 mins by boat, Playa Conchal is 45 mins, Diamante Eco Adventure Park is 1 hour, La Leona Waterfall is 2 hours, Rio Negro Hot Springs are 2.5 hours, Rio Celeste 3 hours, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is 3.5 hours, and La Fortuna 4 hours.
My wife and I love this area so much that we bought a home here, which we are now offering for short- and medium-term rentals when we are away from it.
Our place is a private, fully walled, 3 bedrooms/3.5 bath Villa with a private backyard pool, full-sized kitchen, a BBQ grill (great for fresh fish), both indoor & outdoor table seating, washer & dryer, hot water, with reliable high-speed internet & WiFi 6E throughout. The Villa is across the street/150-meter walk from Langosta beach, and just 0.9 miles from the commercial center of the Tamarindo area. There is 1 step, twice, between the gated entrance and the first-floor bedroom/kitchen/living room - making it accessible for low-mobility guests (the remaining 2 bedrooms are on the second floor). There is a reserved parking spot (w/ more free parking on the paved street in front of the units). Inside the 10-foot walls that surround this Villa is tropical landscaping that often attracts visitors like monkeys and parrots to the trees of its backyard - part of the design is to allow the outdoors indoors, while maintaining privacy and security. There is room for bicycles, surfboards, and such to be securely stored inside these walls. There are also things like beach chairs, board games, pool games, and more for your use. The property is maintained and managed by a multilingual professional 5-star property manager, RPM (a Super Host), located in town (& available 24/7 for guests’ emergencies). RPM is also a full concierge service for guests helping you plan and arrange anything just about anything including: airport transfers, door-to-door tours, a private chef and/or private cooking classes, to babysitters and kids’ camps, to advice on where to eat and what to do. I like RPM because they are good people and treat our guests with respect and like valued family members.
Happy to answer any questions you may have as well - this place is my happy spot.
Have fun, be kind
AirBnB
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31630018
Vbro
https://t.vrbo.io/5itcsAyAlFb
Villa Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Villa9CR
Area & Villa Overview Video (80 seconds)
https://youtu.be/DwkkJFzj6lk
Inspiration for things to do in the Tamarindo Area.
People often ask what is there to do in the Tamarindo area. Here are some suggestions I’ve pulled from the list of things we keep for our AirBnB guests as well as some videos and articles that may be helpful (it is by no means comprehensive, maybe 10% of what is out there). I’ve also added a few thoughts on free/low cost activities at the bottom since that is a popular request. My advice is pick a few things, and come back every year and pick a few new ones each time. 🙂 Certainly if you are staying with us, RPM can help you with any of these and many more - and if you are not I hope you find this helpful and will consider us in the future.
Start by checking the free local paper, the Swell Dealer, for the local events schedule - there will often be events, happy hours & things listed in it. You can generally find it by local businesses.
-There is also a sort of online community calendar called Upe https://u.pe
-Half Day Sailing Cruise (there are morning and afternoon options). Generally these include snorkeling, water activities, lunch and drinks. The boats leave direct from Playa Tamarindo. (Sailing is one of my all time favorite things to do in Tamarindo so I’ve placed it at the top.) https://youtu.be/dGMjiXbuiLM?si=ageJ3kMG5pcnMOqc
-Visit the Markets:
* Tamarindo Night Market - Thursday Nights - east of the Banco Nacional about 300 meters
* Tamarindo Farmers Market - Saturday Mornings - at Parque Oneida / by the skate park
-Playing in the water where the San Francisco estuary meets the ocean (next to the Occidental Tamarindo. Playa Langosta stretches south from here, adjacent to the Las Baulas National Park, and is about a mile of lovely sand. One of our favorite areas.
-Take in the Sunsets. These are community events every night and a wonderful chance to meet people.
-Food Tourism (personally I include fruit tourism in this as it just tastes better when grown in volcanic soil and allowed to fully ripen because it is local)
-Cooking Lessons / also Chief made Private Dinners, meals, and prepared picnics are available
-Massage on the beach
-Yoga & Meditation on the beach
-Nature Walks and Wildlife Spotting / Bird Watching
-Take in a Fire spinner show on the beach (see paper for times and locations)
-Surfing, also Boogie Boarding / Body Surfing / Stand-up Paddle Boarding. It’s Tamarindo you should try surfing! There are also children’s day camps for surfing and swimming which can be a good way to entertain the kids and wear them out.
-Go Fishing (Surf, Charter Boat, and Inland)
-An Estuary Safari Boat Tour (these are generally in the Tamarindo Estuary)
-Kayaking, both Ocean Kayaking (generally to Captain Island, and it usually includes snorkeling) and Estuary Kayaking
-Visit the water park (30 mins) Hotel y Parque Acuático La Boya
-Beach Tourism: Playa Tamarindo, Playa Langosta, & Playa Grande are all within walking distance. Many more, such as Playa Conchal which is 30-45 mins by car, are in easy driving ranges. (Playa Conchal is a beach made of sea shells and so has a reputation for good snorkeling off the beach because the shells are heavy and fall to the bottom quicker than sand)
-Gyrocopter Tours https://www.autogyroamerica.com/
-E-Foil Electric Surfboard Lessons & Rental https://www.efoilcostarica.com/
-Pottery classes - Guaitil style https://www.facebook.com/TamarindoPottery
-Zip-lining @ Monkey Jungle (30 mins by car) https://www.canopymonkeyjungle.com/
-Coffee, Chocolate, Rum, and Culture Tours
* Reina's Chocolate Experience - ( 30 mins by car) https://reinaschocolate.com
* Tio Leo Coffee (60 mins by car & close to the LIR Airport - we often stop and grab coffee gifts here when heading out of Costa Rica) https://cafetioleo.com
* Many more
-The Catalina Islands (40 mins by boat) are some of the best scuba in Costa Rica. I believe there are Scuba shops in Tamarindo that arrange this, but I have not yet done it.
-Diamante Eco Adventure Park (1 hour by car) https://diamanteecoadventurepark.com
-La Leona Waterfall (2 hours by car) https://leonawaterfall.com/ Video: https://youtu.be/miQ5DI_K_LQ?si=pXNP2Qqr8WgOA2SY (There is also white water tubing here, classes 1-3)
-Rio Negro Hot Springs & Mud Bath (2.5 hours by car)
-Heliconias Hanging Bridges Trails + Sloth Tour (3 hours by car) https://mytanfeet.com/activities/guanacaste-rainforest-sloth-tour/
-White Water Rafting on Tenorio River which has class III and Class IV rapids (3 hours by car)
-Monteverde Cloud Forest Area (3.5 hours by car) https://cloudforestmonteverde.com - This includes the Reserve/Park and surrounding attractions like the Bat Jungle, the ButterflyGardens, Extremo Park, and Sky Adventure hanging bridges and trams.
Helpful 3rd Party Information:
Tamarindo Travel Guide https://youtu.be/rIDmsRqmSbg?si=P6dySw9Q91qfXeV2
Kids Top 10 https://youtu.be/LWLY97xwfMk?si=fWYhgS1H3UhLvKlq
Day Trips From Tamarindo Part 1 (MyTanFeet) https://youtu.be/fQOpwGesBLQ?si=-l0gc5ft5JuyMibW
Day Trips From Tamarindo Part 2 (MyTanFeet) https://youtu.be/wYJhk0QBoM0?si=bF9Z2puDJ9vgqRsA
Free and/or Low Costs Activities Suggestions:
Playing in the water at the beach, body surfing, boogie boarding (we provide a number of these for our guests at our AirBnB and local shops rent them and sell them as well), exploring the tidal pools on Punta San Fransisco and Playa Langosta, hiking, exploring the National Park, finding a pick-up game of ball (basket, foot/soccer, volley, etc), the skate park, the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, the Night Market on Thursday (which has a live band), watching sunsets, meditation, yoga (on the beach or otherwise), conversations with people in the area, making sand creations like castles, bird watching, karaoke, story time at the Children’s Library (down the street from us), and surf fishing (no license is required for surf fishing). Reading on the beach, in a hammock, or by the pool too. Surf Club and Bar in Playa Langosta has a ton of free games like corn hole, board games, puzzles and such in it. Tamarindo beach is public, so you can often sit on the beach near various venues and enjoy the live music. Do remember that the beachfront bars whose music you may have listened to from the beach, the Surf Club Bar and Grill, and Grateful Hotel Sunday Funday are lovely local businesses so please buy a little something from them as a thank you if you utilize them.
You could also get creative and make a bingo card of the various animals (monkeys, iguanas, etc), birds, and maybe tourists wearing shirts that advertise locations, surfers with white zinc on their noses, and so on. Then turn the participants loose (or better yet go with them) with a camera to photograph the proof of the finds and make a sort of scavenger hunt of it.
There is also a selection of board games, pool toys, and beach toys at the Villa for our guests to use as well.
Have fun, be kind.
Villa #9 page https://www.facebook.com/Villa9CR
AirBnB
https://www.airbnb.com
Villas Cerca del Mar #9 Playa Langosta, Tamarindo, Santa Cruz, Gua...
