Where to stay near Tamarindo

HI all

I will be spending a week at Panacea de la montana outside of Tamarindo. After that, I plan to stay a few extra days but not sure I want to stay in Tamarindo. I'm trying to keep travel costs to a minimum and will be flying out of Liberia, so I don't want to venture too far away.

Any suggestions on where I should spend my extra few nights?

Thanks!

I have been in Tamarindo several times, and my family and friends went there few times. We stayed at Sunrise complex, a modern condo building with fully furnished 2 and 3 bedrooms. It was much more affordable for families instead of staying in the few hotels in the area. check out http://www.tamarindobeachcondo.com<BR>its a penthouse rented by the owner, but he also has contacts with other owners and units in tamarindo so you can get good deals, fits any budget while you look for your Tamarindo vacation rental.

Ohgee, thanks for the recomendation. Then you are familiar with the area? Can you suggest another playa to stay at besides Tamarindo? Thanks.

#1-

A few hotels in the area? What did you do, stay on your shiny new condo the whole time?

Playa Tamarindo has more hotels, Inns, Lodges and condos than almost any other beach place besides Playa Jaco....

OP-

Whats your budget? When are you going, rates vary dramatically.

Have you consulted a Guidebook like LP or MOON, Shoestring or Fodors? Did you do a search on the TT Forum for "Tamarindo Hotels", or have even googled "Tamarindo Hotels Costa Rica"? Try Tamarnod.net

There are at least 45 hotels in Tamarindo, from luxurious to basic, on the water to above the town.

El Jardin Eden, above the main street with great views and gnetle breezes off the pacific, and a 2 minute walk to the beach, a nice cafe and classic Tico style rooms, for about $70.

One the nicest properties on the coast is the boutique hotel, Capitan Suizo, a favorite and is booked most the year. Sueno Del Mar is a B&B on the ocean with great rooms, handmade furniture, and plank floors and beamed ceilings...$90

Ticotim, I must have been very unclear in my original post. Let me try again: I'm NOT sure I want to stay in Tamarindo but am looking for suggestions for nearby towns/playa. Not that I am unsure which hotel to stay in. But the town itself.

Yes, I have searched guide books, and this forum and other forums. Which is why I may not want to stay in Tamarindo. It sounds very touristy and loaded with surfers, which is not what I am. So I am looking for suggestions from people who have been to nearby playas.

Once again, I am not looking for hotel suggestions, I am looking for places suggestions. Thanks.

I guess it depends on what time of year you are going, and what you are looking for in a beach, but nearby beaches include:

Playa Grande- long deserted beach with big waves, very small "town" with less than 10 restaurants and a small mini market and a couple of boutique hotels. Estuary tour, leatherback turtle watch (Nov - Feb only), horsebackriding offered in town, other activities will pick you up. 20 minutes from Tamarindo.

Playa Conchal- beautiful all shell beach with crystal blue water (again, depends on the time of year). You could stay in nearby Brasilito which is a small beach town with a dozen or so restaurants and a few souvenier shops. Snorkeling, ATV tours, horsebackriding, kayaking offered in town, other activities will pick you up. 15 minutes from Tamarindo.

Playa Avellanas- rustic beach with great surf. there are a few cabinas on the way to the main beach entrance and a great restaurant Lola's in front of the main break. Besides surfing and relaxing there are not many activities to do in Avellanas. You could do a day trip to Negra or Junquillal, about 20 minutes down the coast.

Tamarindo is in the centre of the Guanacaste Gold Coast so there are all types of beach towns to the North & South all easily reached- you simply have to decide what you want.
If you want to get away from it all: 40 minutes North would take you to Playa Real (or Playa de la Pirates) which is such a cool deserted tropical beach you just won't believe it, and 40 minutes South you could be in Playa Junquillal with its 3km's of surf-swept-mangrove-lined-rock-pool- turtle-laying-sunset-brilliance!

September is dead in CR, and Tamarindo on a weekday will shut down at 9pm. If you want seclusion, go to beach in the guidebook that has a few places to stay, a few cafes, and some other things, but unless you want to be a hermit, all the other areas are fine to just chill, but you will not have access to finer cuisine, the arts, nightlife and hotel choices. Its not Florida, the goldcoast in either direction from Tamarindo, for 25KM, is small towns, besides Flamingo, which is a have for casinos and girls by the bus load for rich gringos on fishing junkets.

take a look at samara a nice little town with plenty of hotels we stayed at the belvedere nice spot two minutes from the beach

Thank you everybody. these are great suggestions that I will research further! Exactly what i was looking for.

I like Playa Hermosa its 40 minutes to the airport and September October are favorite months to go you get most of the beach for yourself. There are some nice hotels on the beach and not expensive.

You have many options....Playa Conchal (beautiful), Samara, Hermosa, and if you want to drive a little bit more (like 6 hours I think....) you can go to Santa Teresa and stay one niht there.

#11..do you really think the poster is still waiting for a reply 4 years after posting??!

#12, going for a post count, a few of them on here.

...a post count from 15?....

almost 20,000

#13 post count is only comments on other post..

Ironic.

Awww

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