Hi all,
We are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon in September. We fly into San Jose late on Sept. 13, and I would love to go to Punta Islita the next day. It seems like flights from San Jose to the local airport on Nature Air are not scheduled in September, the low season. What's the best alternative airport? Liberia? Tambor? We are looking at all transport options for the best comfort/affordability/efficiency balance to get to Punta Islita.
Many thanks!!
Tambor is not a realistic option, you will still need to arrange a 4x4 transport that will take almost as long as driving direct from the Central Valley. And if it rains and your flight does not leave, you have to drive anyways. You are coming in the peak rainy season so rain is inevitable and likely. Heavy rain. The resort should be able to arrange a private car for you via the Playa Naranjo Ferry or the Puente Amistad. While in the area of Punta Islita you will want a car of your own as well. The resort will not tell you this and will discourage you from venturing out into the surrounding area (which is stunning and pristine) but go for it. Get a good car and check out Carillo, Samara, Nosara, Playa San Miguel and Coyote. You can still take advantage of the trips the hotel promotes and have the freedom to venture on your own. Def. check out the resorts Macaw Sanctuary! There is also a cool restaurant down the road in San Miguel that serves the best ceviche ever, Locos Cocos. The place is an old shipping container, pretty cool. Owners also own place on the hill for really private getaways, very nice spot. Really good local food in San Francisco at Loma Clara! All need private vehicle and 4x4 to reach. Book your own and get better rate or hotel will earn commission.
I would reconsider this area/resort, it is literally in the middle of nowhere, and the area is nothing special, its dry forest and so so beach they have. If you want seclusion and nature, consider the Osa area, or up around Arenal area.
That said, getting to Punta Islita is a major pain in the arse, and in rainy season even worse. Above says you can go to Samara, but that is a hellish 2 hours and a major river crossing, so a good 4x4 is needed, I would not drive that in September...there is nothing for miles, and to get anywhere is on very bumpy gravel and muddy roads through ranch country and sometime no homes or people for miles. Considering rainy season is in full swing, and October is the peak month (many places close up, especially in southern Nicoya/Mal Pais/Santa Teresa area) I am not so sure I would choose this region in Sept, though the rainy seasons the last 2 years/seasons have been abnormally dry.
If you do want to still go there, from San Jose its a a good 7 hours or more to drive. I would not fly into Tambor as its a major undertaking with rivers to go that way. Maybe fly into Samara, and try to have hotel pick you up there. Did you check Sansa Air too? Keep in mind rainy season schedules are rather iffy due to rains, and the fact you are landing on airstrips that are gravel in a field, with no control tower, all visual....
I would fly into Liberia from abroad, then get a car and drive to Playa Samara, 3 hours max, then next day head to Islita...you need a good AWD SUV, and a map.
In regards to the statement above: having lived in both parts of Costa Rica, (several years on the Osa and now close to 15 near Islita) I must disagree that this area is in the middle of nowhere. Rather, this is a part of Costa Rica that has yet to be discovered by commercial tourism and development. While it is not nearly as lush as the tropical rainforest, the dry tropical forest has stunning wildlife and scenery. The ocean, especially during the rainy season, is much safer and not filled with floating tree trunks and coconuts. And, it is much easier to access during the rainy season than the Osa which is a 24 hour a day storm. There are not strip malls or boutique shops but there are several fabulous little spots to eat, from very locals sodas, beach front Marisquerias and even a place with a chef whose cooking is close the Michlen star level...according to the reviews he has earned on TripAdvisor. The area has surf, kayaking, snorkeling, birding, waterfalls, and so much more. Islita is NOT a 7 hour drive from San Jose, that was the case years ago. Liberia is the best airport to fly into for the most direct access. The hellish river crossing in Samara is now a bridge that takes you across with ease. No commercial flights are flying to this area in September so best to plan to have a driver or rent your own car. The Osa is fabulous, but you really cannot compare the two. Very different regions of the country offering very different experiences. Driving to the Osa will take you much longer and you will have to fly into San Jose, the rains will be significantly heavier (much more wildlife if you go to one of the jungle lodges) and significantly more bugs. When I lived on the Osa, we bascially didnt move for the month of September. It rains 24/7. Very true with Arenal as well. The Guanacaste region is by far the driest part of the country in September and still, it is raining most of the time. Come prepared!
90% of Costa Rica beach towns, surf towns and beach areas don't have strip malls or boutique shops. Obviosly some cater to tourism more than others.
Odd you are comparing an All InClusive Resort that is gated, Punta Islita, and has little interaction with the locals, and is not even on the beach, but way above the beach, and comparing it to a small surf town, with a intimate boutique hotels and lodges, family owned, on a gorgeous long beaches where you walk into town on the sand, and interact with locals....just saying.
Agree the Osa can be wet, and yes, its best to fly in and out, but the reward of true jungle and gorgeous handbill timber lodges. is far nicer.
Punta Islita is bone dry and brown, from Dec to April, I drove from Samara to Mal Pais in 2013, it took 4 hours! I rarely got of 2nd gear..... The new bridge was not completed, but regardless, that road is to nowhere. There are great places to eat all over Costa Rica. And you are wrong to say the area is yet to be discovered, as its not desirable, period, I have been going to CR for 16 years and 35 trips surfing and hiking, I have been to just about every single beach and town on the coast on the Pacific there is, and the caribe. All the while looking for land to invest in and buy.
If it takes 6 hours to drive from San Jose to Samara, and 6 hours to drive from San Jose to Mal Pais (via Puntarenas ferry), and Punta Islita is in-between both on a secondary road, it would take 6 hours minimum.
Do you maybe work in the resort or have a business nearby, and you are biased?
Here is a nice link to entire area.
http://nicoyapeninsula.com/manzanillo/north.php
Whats wrong with the Flora Blanca as example?
Bottom line is that to get to Islita from either airport in September anyone will need a private driver or good 4x4 vehicle. September is peak rainy season in the entire country. Many places close for the months of September & October.
We have driven from San Jose to Samara in the past month in less than 4.5 hours; we drive Land Rover Defenders. The drive from Samara to Mal Pais is typically 4 hours on dirt roads, that is normal. But the drive to San Jose to Samara and from San Jose to Mal Pais cannot be compared. Apples to Oranges. You can access Samara via the Puente or the Ferry. You must access Mal Pais via the Paquera ferry. Both are very different journeys! Never use miles to estimate your drive time in CR, use the condition of road and time of year you are travel and calculate in ferries, dining and other stops. Now, considering that this trip is planned for September, you can expect all of the above travel times to be greatly affected by weather, road conditions, potential land slides or roadside accidents that can cause extended delays and the trip is rather unpredictable. September and October are the 'off" season. Expect much to be closed.
If I sounded as if I was comparing Islita the resort to a small surf town, that was not my intention at all. The opposite was the case as I know for a fact that Islita discourages its guests from venturing out into the area, which is a great place for exploring if you like remote beaches nature/wildlife over paved streets, shopping and dining. Location of hotel and experience while at hotel contradict here. Best to look for a great little local spot…did I see you mention FlorBlanca.??? A fabulous choice!!!! The resort experience mixed in the Costa Rica Pura Vida and charm! Head over to Mal Pais and check out Los Caracoles if you want some amazing local Ceviche…my favorite place in town for sure!
The links you provided are excellent resources, we happen to know the owner of the site personally and she updates on a regular basis and actually visits the places she mentions. The beach road is technically closed although this is under much dispute and people are still using it. As the beach is a sea turtle nesting location, it will soon be officially protected lands so best to use the road via Cobano so as not to disturb the turtles. She has pointed this out on the site I am pretty sure!
I too speak from experience. I have lived in CR as national for almost 20 years (year round), am married to a Costa Rican (who happens to be from the first family in Costa Rica to start surfing back in the 50’s in Boca Barranca and are still involved/ranked internationally) and have lived on quite a few beaches from the Osa to the Islita area. (I have 15 years now on a very quiet beach south of Islita.) And yes we happen to own a few pieces of property and a few businesses in the country as well.
So am I biased, yes, but not because I have too. I came here to live the dream, run a beach biz a few months a year and have fun. My bias is that I have seen to much misinformation passed on in forums over the years and believe that honest opinions from those who truly speak from current experience and knowledge, (you stated you were last in the area three years ago) are what travelers come to these forums for. And to note, anything we do professionally is closed from June thru December so we certainly are not guiding people anywhere they are not looking to go to. Having seen so many confused tourists wandering around Costa Rica, these forums give those who truly do know the chance to share and help others in their travel journeys. You clearly know the country, I am not referring to you at all by that statement. Just want to clear up that we don’t bias at all, don’t need too or want to.
I will have to agree to disagree with you about the desirability of the area. I do know for a fact that certain beaches along the Southern Peninsula between Islita and Santa Teresa, while they may look undesirable to the outsider, are gold mines and owned for generations by families who are considered to be “old money” in CR. Bottom line: they are not letting them go to foreigners. Those lands are staying in the families and those beaches will never have the foreign invasion that has hit so many others. Even Lonely Planet has described two beaches along the peninsula as the “last hidden gems of Costa Rica”. And as the road from Jicaral to Samara is completed, so will a lot of home projects/eco resorts that are currently on hold until the roads are paved. That will take time, but it has begun. I know the increase in our land value alone in over 15 years, (both our concession/ocean front lots and 2 fincas) is very substantial and trust me, people are paying big to get on certain beaches. Residents of Samara and Santa Teresa are popping up looking to scoop up land before it’s all gone. They get what went wrong and want a piece of what is truly, Pura Vida!
So to the happy honeymooners....if you can...I agree with Mr. Moto and would check out Flor Blanca. Ylang Ylang is also very nice! At least in the town of Santa Teresa, at that time of year, there will be more to do and see than up at Punta Islita. You can fly in and out from San Jose and avoid renting a car!
Pura Vida!
Good to have someone from CR on this branch, especially way down there, at the "end of the road "....
Well being a local, knowing how to drive the roads, and where and how, can make the trip a lot of shorter, than 6 hours from SJ to Samara, under 5 hours is hauling, and that is on the toll/caldera as well. Most newbies this trip would take 5-6 hours, and error on the longer side for gas stop, meals, getting lost, accidents, etc etc etc...
The good ole "old Money" Ticos /Josephinos on this coast, from Nosora/Samara to Mal Pais....ever been to their "Private Clubs-Casinos"..?
The beachfront around the northwest area, past Santa Teresa/Playa Panama, is pretty nice, but its not as tropical in feel, IMO, though who would of thought they could develop many areas of the coastline in Guanacaste/Nicoya, especially north of Tamagringo...
Bottomline, Punta Islita is very isolated and not easy to reach, even in dry season IMO...
PS: Those Diesel Defenders are a bargain...lol
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