Costa Rica Beaches

Playa Nosara

Playa Nosara is a remote beach with black volcanic sand and some of the largest waves in Costa Rica. The actual village of Nosara is a few kilometers inland, and also counts Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada as part of its community. The residents of Nosara, one of the oldest Expats communities in Costa Rica, have long had a peaceful coexistence with nature. Homes and small hotels are purposefully spread apart and carefully hidden away in the jungle. A large area of Nosara’s land has been turned into a protected area and there is a moratorium on hunting animals. The scenery is stunning as trees hang over the roads to create a beautiful canopy. Over the last decade the Nosara beaches have become a true haven not just for surfers and eco tourists but also for yoga practitioners.

Arribada

On the northern border of Playa Nosara lies Playa Ostional, home to the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge was created in 1984 to protect one the worlds most important Olive Ridley Sea Turtle nesting grounds. Year round the turtles will ride in at dark, during high tide, deposit their eggs in the sand, and head back out to sea. However in the rainy season, in a phenomenon called arribada, the turtles will come in by the hundreds, and sometimes even hundreds of thousands. This rarely-seen biological wonder is something not to be missed!

Getting to Nosara

Nosara is located about 1.5 hours south of Tamarindo. Cars can be rented in San Jose (4.5 hrs), Liberia (2 hrs), and in Nosara. The Nosara Airport is serviced by Nature Air and Sansa. Bus shuttles to Nosara can be arranged through Interbus and Grayline.