Travel Blog Costa Rica

Low budget travellers should avoid Playa Conchal, since this beach on the Pacific Coast in the Province of Guanacaste is considered to be one of Costa Rica’s most exclusive destinations. Close to the beaches of Tamarindo, Brasilito and Flamingo, Playa Conchal is named after the crushed shells that form the main ingredient of its almost two and half mile super white beach. A rocky point separates Playa Conchal from Playa Brasilito, a more affordable destination. The easiest way to reach Playa Conchal is by air, through the Airport of Tamarindo, which receives domestic flights from Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport and Tobias Bolanos Domestic Airport. Most tourists who are visiting Guanacaste, prefer to fly to Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia. From there it’s only short under one hour drive. The beach of Conchal is a true tropical paradise and receives a lot of sunshine during the dry season form December to April; an average of almost 12 hours per day and the climate is one of the bests of Costa Rica. Play Conchal offers all the ingredients to enjoy the excellent waters of the Pacific with an extremely rich marine life. The conditions are optimal for sport fishing, diving, snorkelling and surfing, because the blue water of Conchal is crystal clear. Close to beach of Conchal one of the most luxurious resorts of Costa Rica is located; the five star Paradisus Resort, with the famous Garra de Leon championship golf course that is considered to be one of the best of Central America. More inland form Conchal you can visit some small towns reflecting the rural life of Guanacaste, famous for it’s pastures full of beef cattle. The National Marine Park Balas de Guanacaste – Tamarindo is close by, where you can observe the sea turtles coming on shore to lay their eggs and bury them in the hot sand of the beaches of Costa Rica.

Playa Brasilito on the North Pacific coast of Costa Rica’s Province of Guanacaste is located between Tamarindo and Ocotal. Brasilito is a tranquil oasis compared to the more popular beaches of Playa Flamingo in the north and Playa Conchal in the south. Both beaches are just 5 – 15 minutes away from Playa Brasilito. The easiest way to reach Brasilito is to take a domestic flight from Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela or Tobias Bolanos Domestic Airport in San Jose and take a taxi or bus up north. The International Airport of Liberia is approximately 70 kilometres away and also offers easy connections to these beaches on the North-Pacific Coast. By car, the fastest way to get there is through the cities of Nicoya and Santa Cruz following the direction of Tamarindo, where after reaching the town of Villareal Route 155 takes you straight to Playa Brasilito. The town of Brasilito has kept its local atmosphere since most of the tourists prefer the more developed destinations in Guanacaste. There are only a few hotels, cabanas and restaurants and most visitors are Costa Ricans who pass a weekend there. It has kept the prices affordable and Playa Brasilito has become a favourite destination of low-budget travellers avoiding the main stream tourist locations. This part of the coast gets lot sunshine during the dry season, which is from December till April. Playa Brasilito has a high average temperature close to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Centigrade) and the sun shines almost 12 hours a day. The beach of Brasilito is almost a mile long and is a safe spot to swim, even for families with children. The town of Brasilito has a few local rental shops where surf, diving and snorkelling equipment can be rented to enjoy the tropical beach to the maximum.

The Tarcoles River is one of Costa Rica’s biggest rivers and flows in the Pacific Ocean between Orotina and Jaco in the Province of Puntarenas. The river collects the rainfall of a wide and heavy populated area. Its watershed covers 50% of the population of Costa Rica and includes a big part of the Central Valley. It might come as no surprise that this makes the Tarcoles the most contaminated river of Costa Rica. Besides from sewage of the main cities it also suffered from the damage of an oil leak in 2000, when almost half a million litres of diesel flowed in the Tarcoles, because of an accident in Costa Rica’s state owned refinery. Despite the pollution the Tarcoles River hosts one of the world’s biggest populations of American Crocodiles, with an average of 25 per square kilometre. You can book a boat tour that will take on the Tarcoles River and enables you to observe these prehistoric reptiles that can measure up to 4 metres. Another more easy way to observe the crocodiles is from the bridge crossing the Tarcoles River when travelling on Route 34 from Orotina to Jaco. On both ends of the bridge you can park your car, walk on the balustrades towards the centre, from where you have a good spot to observe and photograph the humongous crocodiles in the water and sunbathing on the river banks. The Tarcoles River forms the northern border of the National Park of Carara, a more than 5,000 hectares protected area that contains in interesting transitional zone from the dry rainforest to the wet rainforest on the coastal plains. The meandering Tarcoles River forma a marsh delta with a unique ecosystem, and has many more interesting wildlife besides the crocodiles. The Carara National Park also has a rich pre-Colombian history. Archaeological finds traces of Indigenous inhabitants, occupying the area from 300 BC to 1,500 AD, making a living of agricultural activities.