July and August are considered the summer months in North-America and Europe, and are related to school vacations! How about spending part of those holidays beach hopping around the surf town of Tamarindo?
The beach of Tamarindo is known for its great waves, for beginners and expert surfers, so from early morning to sunset you will always find some surf buddies to hang out with! Take the opportunity of a surf class with one of the many surf instructors around. The non-surfing part of the family will not be bored: they can enjoy themselves kayaking to Capitan’s Island, boogie boarding, building sand castles, playing beach volleyball or taking a nature boat tour on the estuary nearby. And around 5:30 pm you can all join together for a cocktail watching the gorgeous sunset over Tamarindo Beach lounging with your feet in the white sand.
Taking Tamarindo as an excellent base hub, you will be able to fill your holidays with a different beach every day. You will be amazed with the choice and variety of beaches around, all within easy reach from Tamarindo.
To start with, take a little local “panga” to cross the estuary and walk the north part of the Tamarindo Bay, known as Playa Grande, which is part of the Las Baulas National Park. Here the large leatherback turtles come at night to lay their eggs, and the more advanced surfers enjoy the larger waves. Keep walking until the large rock formations that separate Playa Grande from Playa Ventanas, and spend some time looking for crabs and marine life, before continuing your walk on Playa Ventanas, you will have the beach almost to yourself.
Further north, you can choose Playa Conchal: start at the north part, with its crystal blue waters and fun snorkeling right from the beach, then take a long walk along the bay, to pass the middle section of the beach, where you can hire a jet-ski or go banana-boating, until you reach the less known but very tranquil south part, ideal to go kayaking on the still waters or take an easy swim.
For the more adventurous, Playa Bahia de las Piratas is tucked away and reached with a little more effort. Once there, you can explore and climb the islet that can be reached walking at low tide, and take a long walk southbound to watch the birds play in the waves and to explore desolate inlets and beaches.
Adjacent to Playa Conchal lays Playa Brasilito, a very large bay that offers quiet waters, ideal for swimming.
Going further north, spend an afternoon on the white sands of Playa Flamingo, and have a cocktail at the Coco Loco bar, or take a sailing class or rent a stand up paddle at the Costa Rica Sailing center at Playa Potrero, a very large, darker and uncrowded beach.
And I can keep going: how about Playa Prieta, Playa Penca, Playa Pan de Azucar or Playa Danta? All beautiful beaches, where you will have plenty of room to yourself and many things to do.
Taking the direction further south from Tamarindo, Playa Avellanas is a great option for advanced surfers and their families, who can play in the waves and have lunch at Lola’s restaurant on the beach. Down from there, Playa Negra and Blanca are also awaiting you, plenty of room to explore and to look for big shells and fun-shaped rocks.
All of these beaches are unique, all offering wonderful sunsets, others great waves or beautiful shells, some with more infrastructure, others completely desolate! In short, something for everyone!
And all this, within a 30-minute drive distance from Tamarindo! Amazing how spoiled you can get in Tamarindo! But that’s far from all! I haven’t even mentioned the paradisiac small beaches that can only be reached by boat or my two favorite, hidden gems.