What's your favorite beach town?

So, I thought I'd decided on Manuel Antonio, but reading here, I think it may be too overdeveloped and expensive for our tastes. Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect CR beach town. Something that either has calm surf, or is close to a beach that has calm surf. Has to have a medium to large size, nice town for us to walk around and visit restaurants, stores, etc. Prefer a rainforest nearby so we can see some monkeys, do ziplines, aerial trams, hiking, etc. And it needs to be within 2 hours driving of some other towns/areas so we can make a day trip or two to other places.

So, my question is, what's your favorite beach town and why? Can you help me find my idyllic spot in CR?

Thanks!!

Punta Uva, in the Caribbean. The scenery is wonderful and it's not nearly as crowded as most great spots on the Pacific coast. You have miles of beautiful sand easily reachable by bicycle. Cahuita is close by and gives you the chance to visit it's wonderful national park. Puerto Viejo offers wide variety of restaurants, pubs and shops. The Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge (together with Cahuita N.P.) offers a good variety for hikes and wildlife spotting. All just an hour or so (depending on where you are located) from Puerto Limon.

Agree 100% with Cresti....Pt Viejo and the beaches south are the nicest I have encountered in CR exploring in 30+ visits. The Manzanillo-Gonduca refuge, with reefs, freshwater lagoons and rare freshwater dolphins, kayaking and horseback, fine cuisine, and off the beaten path with little of the tourist scene that you encounter can not avoid these days on the western pacific. Playa Cahuita is a fun place too, both offer a great music and afro caribe feel.

You can get here via rafting the Rio Paquare as well, and get dropped in either place, pre-arranged. Also nearby is the Tortuguero canals via Moin, northwest of Limon. Also, the most historic culture in CR, the Talamancas Indians reserves as well, are nearby in Bribri, via Hone creek.

http://www.greencoast.com</a><BR><BR>In regards to other beach venues that are almost as nice or for some people nicer than above, check out Playa Gouines/Garza, Nosora-Carillo, and Montezuma/Mal Pais/Tambor area.

Also, the beaches and low key feel in Dominical/Uvita is a nice time as well, a sleepy surf town with lots of options for rafting and canopy tours, refuges and surf/snorkel.

Puerto Viejo area, hands down.

I heartily agree! We spent a month in Costa Rica and a week of it in Punta Uva and loved it there! The beach is beautiful and you are close enough to "do things" but far enough away to hear the monkeys howling! We even had a sloth in our tree!
Have a great trip~

I have spent time on both coasts and agree with all those above. Nothing on the Pacific coast compares to the Carribean from Cahuita south to Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge. There is just something special to the vibe there and the Carribean is a much more welcoming ocean with generally calmer surf.

There is a drug element in most beach towns, but the caribe sees more random violence and crackheads, for some people this area is a little too rough, and too refined, but thats what keeps away the gringos in tour busses...:)

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<hr>for some people this area is a little too rough, and too refined<hr></blockquote>

English isn't your first language, is it tim?

Sorry, I meant to say, a little too rough, and not too refined....

Felix, I can always count on you for a correction, are you a teacher by chance?

I'm also looking for the perfect beach town, and I see that most of you have mentioned the Caribbean - I'm going in late June and was told that the weather on the Caribbean is too wet that time of year to really enjoy it...any thoughts?

Heather

Costa Rica Beaches

I tell everyone, if you're going to go all the way to PV from San Jose, just keep going until you're in Bocas del Toro Panama, only another 1 1/2 hours. Beaches are 100 times better, food is better, the area is safer, the people are just as friendly (except the cops) and it's much safer than PV (not that it's exceptionally dangerous, but they do have their semi frequent bar shootings). There isn't a beach in Costa Rica that can hold a candle to Zapatilla, Star Beach or Crawl Caye in Bocas.

It's definitely not as touristy as the pacific, but you have these wanna be rainbow family kids there, that drive beemers back home, that annoys me.

Im in Bocas del Toro rigfht now, my first time!

and i agree with Imatraveljunkie!!!!

food is not just better but cheaper and the locals tell us that this is expensive by comparison with the rest of Panama!!
Costa Rica is crazy expensive now, so almost anywhere is cheaper!!