Nicoya Peninsula Costa Rica

Where is the Nicoya Peninsula?

In northwest Costa Rica, across the Gulf of Nicoya from Puntarenas. The north belongs to Guanacaste province; the southern end, where Santa Teresa, Malpaís and Montezuma sit, belongs to Puntarenas.

The peninsula is about 120 km (75 miles) long and 30 to 60 km (19 to 37 miles) wide, the largest in Costa Rica. It has two very different coasts. The Pacific side, from Malpaís up through Santa Teresa, Sámara and Nosara, faces the open ocean: surf, rip currents and sunsets. The Gulf side, from Paquera down to Montezuma, is calm, with bays and islands. On the Pacific coast the Río Bongo, just north of Manzanillo, is the border between the two provinces. Inland, the town of Nicoya is the peninsula's hub.

The coastal towns are muy tranquilo: small, friendly places where the tide matters more than the time of day. Several have grown quickly, but most still feel mellow and unpretentious. See the whole peninsula on our Nicoya Peninsula map.

How did Nicoya become part of Costa Rica?

In colonial times, the Nicoya region was governed from Nicaragua. On July 25, 1824, shortly after independence from Spain, the Partido de Nicoya voted to join Costa Rica instead, and the date is still a national holiday. For a long time, rough roads and slow ferries kept the peninsula quiet. The La Amistad bridge over the Tempisque River and the growth of Liberia airport (LIR) changed that, and today many travelers end a Costa Rica trip here.

The Nicoya Peninsula, south to north

We start at the southern tip, where Santa Teresa and Malpaís are, and work north. Everything in the first three areas is an easy day trip from Santa Teresa; from Coyote north, you're better off with a second base.

Santa Teresa and Malpaís

The southern tip, on the open Pacific, and where we start. The beaches line one road, about 11 km long: Playa Los Suecos at the Cabo Blanco border, Malpaís, Playa Carmen, Santa Teresa, Playa Hermosa and Manzanillo. It's low-rise and international, with boutique hotels, yoga, good food and the peninsula's best-known sunsets. The open beaches have strong currents, so you swim in the tide pools or on calm days. Gas, banks, the clinic and Cóbano airport (ACO) are in Cóbano, 20 to 30 minutes inland.

Best for couples and families with older kids. Read where to stay, things to do and Santa Teresa with kids, or see the town map.

Cabo Blanco and Montezuma

Round the cape, on the Gulf of Nicoya. The Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, created in 1963, was Costa Rica's first protected area. It's open Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the only entrance is south of Cabuya, about an hour from Santa Teresa. The Sueco trail runs 4 to 4½ km each way to a wild beach; the Danés loop is an easy 1.5 km. Cabuya's cemetery island is a short walk across the rocks at low tide.

Montezuma, 35 to 40 minutes from Santa Teresa, is a small, walkable bohemian village with three waterfalls in the forest behind it (swim in the pools, but never jump from the top of the big lower fall). Playa Grande is about 45 minutes' walk north along the shore, and the water taxi crosses to Jacó in about an hour.

The Gulf side: Tambor, Curú and Isla Tortuga

The calm side of the peninsula, 45 minutes to an hour from Santa Teresa. Tambor sits on Bahía Ballena, a wide cove with very calm water, with an all-inclusive resort and a golf community behind it. East of it, Pochote is the jumping-off point for white-sand Playa Muertos. The Curú Wildlife Refuge has flat trails, monkeys and a bay gentle enough for small kids. Offshore, Isla Tortuga is a white-sand island with clear, usually calm water; full-day boat tours pick up in Santa Teresa, Malpaís, Montezuma, Cabuya and Tambor.

This is the family half of a Santa Teresa stay. Read the Tambor and Curú guide. Paquera, the ferry port for Puntarenas, is about 1¼ hours from Santa Teresa.

Coyote to Punta Islita

North of Manzanillo the Río Bongo marks the border with Guanacaste, and the coast goes quiet. Playa Coyote, Playa San Miguel and Playa Bejuco are long, mostly empty beaches with a few villages and holiday homes. Punta Islita is a horseshoe bay below Hotel Punta Islita, a resort of villas with a spa, and Playa Camaronal is a turtle-nesting refuge.

From Santa Teresa the coastal track crosses rivers with no bridges, so it's a high-clearance 4x4 route for the dry season only (roughly January to April): about 1½ hours to Coyote and 2 hours to Islita. The rest of the year, it's the long paved loop. Read the Coyote coast guide.

Sámara and Carrillo

The peninsula's family beaches. Sámara is a small, walkable Tico beach town on a wide bay, where an offshore reef keeps the water calm for swimming, snorkeling and first surf lessons. Playa Carrillo, a few kilometers south, is a palm-lined crescent with no buildings on the sand. North of town, Playa Barrigona is wild and white.

It's paved all the way: about 2 to 2¼ hours from Liberia airport (LIR), or 4 to 4½ hours from Santa Teresa on the paved loop. There are no scheduled flights. Read the Sámara and Carrillo guide, or see the Santa Teresa to Sámara transfer.

Nosara and Ostional

Surf, yoga and a quieter, more upscale feel. Playa Guiones is a long, straight beach inside the Ostional refuge, so there's no building on the sand; it has a lifeguard station at the main entrance, but like all of Nosara's beaches it has waves and rip currents. Playa Pelada is a rocky cove with tide pools, and reef-protected Playa Garza is the calm one, a little south. Ostional, just north, is one of the world's two main beaches for olive ridley turtle arribadas; you need a local guide.

Fly from San José to the Nosara airstrip in about 45 minutes, or drive 2 to 2½ hours from Liberia airport. From Santa Teresa it's 4½ to 5 hours on the paved loop. Read the Nosara guide and Santa Teresa vs Nosara.

Nicoya town and the Blue Zone

Inland, Nicoya is the peninsula's main town, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica, with the region's hospital and the colonial church of San Blas. The Blue Zone research, which found unusually long lives here, covers five cantons in the Guanacaste half of the peninsula: Nicoya, Santa Cruz, Carrillo, Hojancha and Nandayure. Nearby, Guaitil's potters still work in the Chorotega tradition, and in Barra Honda National Park you can climb down into a limestone cave with a guide (age 12 and up, last entry 1 p.m.).

Nicoya is 3 to 3½ hours from Santa Teresa, so it's a stop on the way north rather than a day trip. Read Nicoya and the Blue Zone.

Further north, Tamarindo and the resort beaches around Liberia airport are Guanacaste's Gold Coast: see Guanacaste vs Nicoya Peninsula beaches.

How do the roads, ferries and flights connect the peninsula?

Think of the peninsula as two halves joined by one paved road. The south is reached by ferry or a short flight; the north by road from Liberia airport.

• Ferries to the south. The Puntarenas–Paquera ferry (Naviera Tambor, 8 sailings a day, about 70 minutes) is the one for Santa Teresa, Montezuma and Tambor. The Puntarenas–Playa Naranjo ferry (about 1¼ hours) suits Jicaral and Nicoya. Check times on the Naviera Tambor schedule.
• Flights. Scheduled flights from San José airport (SJO) land at Cóbano airport (ACO), 25 to 30 minutes from Santa Teresa, in 30 to 35 minutes, and at the Nosara airstrip in about 45 minutes. Tambor is now charter-only, and Sámara, Carrillo and Punta Islita have no scheduled service.
• Liberia airport (LIR) for the north. Sámara is 2 to 2¼ hours away and Nosara 2 to 2½ hours, by paved road; Santa Teresa is 4½ to 5½ hours.
• One year-round road between the halves. The paved loop runs Paquera – Playa Naranjo – Jicaral – Route 21 – Nicoya. The coastal track from Manzanillo to Coyote and Sámara fords rivers and is a dry-season 4x4 route only.
• Fuel. In the south you'll find gas only in Cóbano and Paquera, and there's none on the coast between Santa Teresa and Sámara. Fill up before you set off.

Which base suits you?

Around Santa Teresa you'll find garden bungalows, beachfront boutique hotels and family villas, many with a pool and a yoga deck. Compare the areas in where to stay in Santa Teresa, which also lists every hotel we cover, including private rental houses.

Every beach on the Nicoya Peninsula, south to north

Each has its own guide, with who it suits, how safe the swimming is and how to get there. The full list, with quick picks for calm water, is on our beaches page.

Santa Teresa & Malpaís

• Playa Los Suecos: Couples and snorkelers; families with confident swimmers, at low tide for the rock pools. From Santa Teresa: About 15–20 minutes south, past Malpaís village and the fishing port.
• Malpaís: Quiet couples, and families at the Mar Azul tide pools at low tide. From Santa Teresa: About 15 minutes south.
• Playa Carmen: Staying central, by the banks, shops and cafés of the main crossroads. From Santa Teresa: In town, at the crossroads.
• Santa Teresa: Couples and teens: sunsets, cafés and yoga; swim in the El Peñón tide pool. From Santa Teresa: In town.
• Playa Hermosa: Families and quiet couples; the area's beginner surf-lesson beach. From Santa Teresa: 10–15 minutes north.
• Manzanillo: Sunset walks and low-tide tide pools; swim at mid to high tide. From Santa Teresa: About 20 minutes north.

Cabo Blanco & Montezuma

• Cabuya: Nature-minded couples and families with school-age kids; a stop on a Cabo Blanco day. From Santa Teresa: About 1 hour via Cóbano and Montezuma (29 km).
• Montezuma: Couples: a walkable bohemian village, the waterfalls and the Isla Tortuga boats. From Santa Teresa: 35–40 minutes via Cóbano.
• Playa Grande de Montezuma: Couples who like a walk; families with older kids who can manage 45 minutes each way. From Santa Teresa: 35–40 minutes' drive to Montezuma, then about 45 minutes on foot north (3–5 km).

Gulf side

• Playa Tambor: Families with young kids; couples who want a quiet beach, golf or an all-inclusive. From Santa Teresa: About 45 minutes via Cóbano, paved from Cóbano.
• Pochote and Playa Muertos: Adventurous couples and families happy with no facilities. From Santa Teresa: About 45–60 minutes by car to Pochote, then a boat ride of under 5 minutes.
• Curú: Families with kids of all ages, birders and nature lovers. From Santa Teresa: About 1 hour by car, via Cóbano and Tambor.
• Isla Tortuga: Couples and families alike; kids who can swim will love the snorkeling. From Santa Teresa: A full-day tour, about 9 a.m.

Coyote to Islita

• Playa Coyote: Self-sufficient families on a picnic or camping day; birders; couples who want an empty beach. From Santa Teresa: Dry season, 4x4 on the coast road: about 1 hour 20.
• Playa San Miguel: Couples and walkers who want solitude; families only for the lagoon, with close supervision. From Santa Teresa: Dry season, 4x4 on the coast road: about 1½ hours.
• Punta Islita: Couples and honeymooners who want seclusion; families staying at the resort, which welcomes children of any age. From Santa Teresa: About 2 hours in the dry season (coast road, 4x4); about 3 hours in the rainy season on the paved route.

Sámara & Carrillo

• Playa Camaronal: Turtle lovers; couples and families with older kids on a guided nesting visit. From Santa Teresa: About 4 hours on the paved road via Paquera, Nicoya and Sámara.
• Playa Carrillo: Families with young kids; couples who want a beautiful, quiet swim; picnics. From Santa Teresa: About 4 hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.
• Playa Sámara: Families with young kids and pre-teens; easygoing couples; first-time surfers. From Santa Teresa: About 4 hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.
• Playa Barrigona: Couples and families with older kids who want an empty, beautiful beach for a walk and a picnic. From Santa Teresa: About 4¾ hours: 4 hours to Sámara on the paved road, then about 40 minutes on dirt.

Nosara & Ostional

• Playa Garza: Families with young kids staying near Nosara; couples who want a quiet village beach. From Santa Teresa: About 4½ hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.
• Playa Guiones: Couples (walks, sunsets, yoga nearby); families with kids of all ages paddling by the lifeguards; teens learning to surf. From Santa Teresa: 4½–5 hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.
• Playa Pelada: Couples (sunsets, quiet); families with kids old enough to explore tide pools carefully. From Santa Teresa: 4½–5 hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.
• Ostional: Nature lovers; couples; families with kids old enough to stay quiet and patient on a night tour. From Santa Teresa: 4–5 hours on the paved road via Paquera and Nicoya.