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Well we have been reading, reading and more reading over the past few months as well as following along in the Forum. Thanks To Scott for this great site and we are all systems go for our trip to CR next month. Staying with some old school friends in SJ for the 1st couple of days then off on our adventure. I am looking for a Pacific beach recommendation sort of North of SJ but not Jaco. We are staying up in the Arenal area for a couple nights after that so looking to sort of head up that way, Thanks.
the beaches are nowhere near Arenal. and there is no easy way to get from the beach to arenal except to come up the Pan-American from Puntarenas and then head north to Arenal. that’s about a 3 hour trip each way. there are nice hotels in the Esterillos area, but that is south of jaco.
To/from Arenal and the beach, your best bet will be the beaches of Guanacaste, and there are just too many of them to list. Most popular destinations (easiest to get to) would be Playa del Coco, Flamingo, Tamarindo, Guiones, Samara, and Carrillo, but there so many to choose from.
The first 3 in the list above are larger and more populated, while the last 3 are definately quieter and more laid back, and all of them offer a wide range of hotel & cabina choices as well as great restaurants.
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks Maravilla and CRBill. We were looking into Tamarindo then to Arenal but It looks like a 5 hr drive from SJ to Tamarindo, am I correct?
[quote=”maravilla”]the beaches are nowhere near Arenal. and there is no easy way to get from the beach to arenal except to come up the Pan-American from Puntarenas and then head north to Arenal. that’s about a 3 hour trip each way. there are nice hotels in the Esterillos area, but that is south of jaco.[/quote]
Actually getting to Arenal from the Pacific beaches is not difficult. We have taken guests from our home in Samara to the hot springs, had a nice lunch and then returned home on a day trip. At 3 1/2 hours each way it is more driving than I prefer, but we have done it several times. From Jaco or Esterillos it will be a much longer trip.
The best route is to leave whatever beach you are at and go to Canas (on the Pan Am highway) then go up through Tilaran and Nuevo Arenal. It is a beautiful drive around the lake and good roads all the way. Of course, if you are going to Arenal first, then to the beach part of your trip, just reverse the course.
[quote=”jpgr66″]Thanks Maravilla and CRBill. We were looking into Tamarindo then to Arenal but It looks like a 5 hr drive from SJ to Tamarindo, am I correct?[/quote]
It will be every bit of 4 – 5 hours. My normal trip to/from SJO and Samara is 3.5 hours (with no stops). I turn for Samara at Nicoya but you would continue on to Santa Cruz and then you can take he “typical” road to Tamarindo and get the Costa Rica massage for 36km, or you can continue on past Santa Cruz to Belen (less than 15 minutes further) and then turn left for Tamarindo.
The latter way you have very good paved roads. I drive that route twice a week, and definately recommend the extra 15 minutes to stay on the paved road. The road from Santa Cruz to Tamarindo was in decent shape a few months ago, but no more!
Investigate Samara, I’m sure you will enjoy it, everyone else does!
We live in Arenal, using the new highway it is a 2.5 to 3 hour trip from San Jose to the lake and a 2 hour trip from Nuevo Arenal to Playa del Coco – suggest Playa Hermosa about 10 minutes north of Coco, it is cleaner and nicer than both Tamarindo and Coco beaches.
Have a fun trip! Bet you will love it.
I live near the beaches of Playa Grande, Conchal, Flamingo, and Tamarindo, and I drive up to Lake Arenal on a weekly or biweekly basis (2nd home there). Its a pretty easy drive and if driven at night (less truck traffic on the road) I can get to the lake in about 2 hours. It would be more safe to say 2 and a half hours with more traffic. I would recommend the beaches around here, both Playa Grande and Playa Conchal are beatiful, clean, white sand beaches. Playa Avellanas, Tamarndo, Langosta, Tamarindo, Brasilito, Flamingo, are all within a half hour drive. I would say this is the place to be if you want to see some nice beaches, as there are many to chose from.
If you plan to go to La Fortuna (Lake Arenal) which has the hot springs, and lots of canopy tours, waterfalls, etc, you can drive from San Jose via San Ramon to La Fortuna (about 3 hours). After La Fortuna you can drive around the lake to Tilaran which takes about an hour and a half, and from there drive to the beaches via the Pan American. Or, instead of going to La Fortuna, you could go directly to Tilaran from San Jose via the Pan American Highway, which also takes about 3 hours from San Jose. Though theres not as much “touristy” things to do in Tilaran, its still a very nice town near the lake.
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