Although Costa Rica is a small country, it’s fame for being a healthy and happy country has grown greatly thanks to the exploding popularity of the Blue Zones.
Blue Zones are communities where a large population of their residents experience extraordinary longevity and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is one of the five original Blue Zones, first identified in 2000.
Nowadays, people from all over the world visit the Nicoya Peninsula to see its gorgeous beaches, experience the easy going healthy vibes and meet the vivacious locals.
Whether you’re visiting the Nicoya Peninsula to discover the secrets to long life or simply to reset and recharge, here is what you need to know to plan your visit.
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Nicoya Peninsula Geography
Where is the Nicoya Peninsula? The Nicoya Peninsula is on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, split between two different provinces: Guanacaste to the north and Puntarenas to the south. The peninsula is across from the Gulf of Nicoya.
Many popular tourist destinations like beach towns, national parks and surfing beaches are part of the Nicoya Peninsula.
Nowadays, beaches are the main attraction of the Nicoya Peninsula, as the Peninsula is home to dry tropical forest instead of tropical rainforest.
However, wildlife is still plentiful and the nature has its own charm despite having one of the driest climates in Costa Rica.
The best international to fly into to visit the Nicoya Peninsula is the Guanacaste Airport. Tamarindo, Nosara, Tambor and Cobano have their own local airstrips for internal domestic flights.
Weather
One of the reasons why tourists love the Nicoya Peninsula is for its weather. With nearly 365 days of sun, it’s hard to imagine a closer place to escape from harsh winters up north.
The Nicoya Peninsula follows the tropical seasons: dry and rainy fairly strictly, but it does tend to have a slightly longer dry season than the rest of the country as this area is dry tropical forest – not rainforest.
Dry tropical forest means dry season tends to end later and even during the rainy season, there can be stretches of days where it’s cloudy, but doesn’t rain.
Dry season is from December to April, rainy season is May to November approximately. The Nicoya Peninsula is not that humid compared to the rainforest, and starts getting more humid during rainy season.
Year round average temperatures do not change much in the Nicoya Peninsula. Day time temperatures range from 32°-40° C (89° to 100° F) and night time temperatures range from 24° – 26° C (75°-80° F).
Rainy season temperatures drop only a few degrees. March is the hottest month with day time temperatures, October is the rainiest month.
Read more about Costa Rica weather here.
Main Tourist Destinations in the Nicoya Peninsula: Northern Nicoya
The Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zones are made up of five cantons: Hojancha, Nandayure, Carrillo, Santa Cruz and Nicoya.
Tamarindo Beach
This popular surfing beach town is just a little over an 1 hour from Guanacaste Airport. As one of the most well known places in Costa Rica, Tamarindo is a touristy party and surf town popular among solo travelers, surfers, young backpackers, bachelors and bachelorettes.
At the same time, there is a moderate focus on wellness, healing centers, spiritual cleansing and healthy living in the general vicinity of Tamarindo, Playa Avellanas and Playa Negra.
Tamarindo is an ideal beach destination for visitors who do not want to travel far from the international airport.
It is also a popular destination for families with plenty of fun activities for kids. Tamarindo has a little of something for everyone: parties, bars, wellness, vegetarian/vegan food, yoga, adventure and surf.
Here are our guides to Tamarindo to help you plan your visit.
- Tamarindo Beach: Our main guide to this beach town
- Things to do and day trips from Tamarindo
- Tamarindo 5 day itinerary
- How to get to Tamarindo
Nosara
Nosara is home to three amazing beaches, which are part of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, created to protect nesting sea turtles.
Playa Guiones, the main beach with its long sandy shores, fantastic surfing waves and epic sunsets created the ideal tropical setting for hip beach goers looking for a luxury wellness and beach vacation.
In turn, Nosara became a hub for wellness, fitness, healthy eating, spiritual cleansing, healing centers, yoga and surf.
It is easy to find vegetarian/vegan/gluten free restaurants and healthy food stands along side extravagant mansions, upscale vacation rentals and luxury boutique hotels ensconced in the forest.
For those who want to practice Blue Zone methods in high style and comfort, Nosara is the place to do so.
Nosara is about a 2.5 hours drive from Guanacaste Airport.
Samara
Two hours south of Guanacaste Airport is the beloved family friendly town of Samara. Although Samara offers similar things as Tamarindo in terms of surf, adventure and beautiful beaches, it has a more low key and family friendly atmosphere and healthy environment.
Those who visit Samara for a few days end up coming back for much longer, as they fall in love with the local community’s never ending positive vibes.
Read our 1 month itinerary and 1 week family itinerary that visits Samara.
Nicoya
The peninsula’s namesake city is one of the most important places in Costa Rica. The capital city of the Nicoya canton is home to what they say is the country’s oldest church: the Parroquia San Blas.
This town is one of the oldest in Costa Rica, steeped in rich history, fascinating culture and home to friendly centenarians who helped establish the Nicoya Peninsula as a Blue Zone.
Main Tourist Destinations in the Nicoya Peninsula: Southern Nicoya
Tambor
This small but charming beach community on the peninsula’s south east coast is a favorite among city Costa Ricans thanks to the country’s first all inclusive resort, the Barcelo Tambor.
However, Tambor’s beauty extends past the resort, as it’s surrounded by beautiful beaches, wildlife refuges, hiking and nature.
There is a Scarlet Macaw project in Tambor and Pochote, and these vibrant birds can be frequently seen flying around.
Santa Teresa
If you’re a celebrity, sports star or a digital nomad, you’ve probably heard of Santa Teresa in Costa Rica.
This vibrant surf town in the south of the Nicoya Peninsula is a favorite among gorgeous movie stars, country hopping digital nomads and young backpackers looking for epic surf, wild beaches and a lively night life.
Santa Teresa’s boasts some of the best co-working spaces, hostel events, surf classes and yoga retreats in Costa Rica, ideal for anyone looking to pair night time festivities with day time mindfulness and self improvement.
Montezuma
Near the southeastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula lies the tiny Bohemian town of Montezuma. It’s like a mini Santa Teresa but without the long coastlines of surfing beaches and huge digital nomad population.
Montezuma has a handful of yoga retreats and healthy food places. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in nature. It is home to the breathtaking Montezuma Waterfalls and several rivers.
What to Do in the Nicoya Peninsula
The Nicoya Peninsula is home to almost all that Costa Rica is known for. With nearly year round sunny skies and high temperatures, anytime is a good time to visit the Nicoya Peninsula to enjoy a plethora of ocean and land activities.
Surf
You may have noticed that many of the places in the Blue Zone boast excellent surfing beaches. Tamarindo, Nosara and Santa Teresa are all home to fantastic surfing beaches.
You can find many surf schools and surf camps. Just walk on the beach and you will see plenty of surf lessons going on all hours of the day.
It’s true what they say that there is something about surfing that is not only addicting, but freeing, making you feel alive each time you catch a wave.
Yoga
And what goes hand in hand with surfing? Yoga! Strengthen your core, work on your balance and perfect that pop up with daily yoga classes.
Yoga retreats are more popular in Nosara, Santa Teresa and Montezuma.
Go Wildlife Watching
Although the Nicoya Peninsula is dry tropical forest, not tropical rainforest, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of animals to be seen.
It’s not uncommon to hear howler monkeys in the wee hours of the morning or at night, see flocks of parrots flying around or red variegated squirrels jumping from coconut tree to coconut tree.
Animals that you may see in the Nicoya Peninsula are howler monkeys, white face monkeys, humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles.
The Nicoya Peninsula is home to the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important protected nesting sites for Olive Ridley sea turtles. This refuge is just a 20 minute drive from Nosara. During May through December, mass nestings (arribadas) occur on this beach!
The Curu Wildlife Refuge, Camaronal National Wildlife Refuge and Cabo Blanco Natural Reserve are excellent places to see wildlife.
Other animals that can be seen are white tailed deer, iguanas, anteaters, hummingbirds, trogons, mot mots, coatis, skunks, herons, egrets, caimans, crocodiles and raccoons.
There is also a Scarlet Macaw rescue center in Islita, near Playa Islita. You can commonly see Scarlet Macaws near Playa Pochote.
It is important to note that the Nicoya Peninsula is not home to wildlife such as sloths. Sloths do not live in tropical dry forest. They only live in tropical rainforest. Find out where to see sloths in Costa Rica here.
Hiking in National Parks
Lace up your hiking shoes when you visit the national parks in the Nicoya Peninsula. Trek through the dry forest up to viewpoints of the Peninsula or dive deep into the underground caves at Barra Honda National Park.
Walk through miles of pristine, white sand beaches in Curu Wildlife Refuge or stroll through Diria National Park for a classic dry forest experience.
Snorkel, SUP, Visit Beaches
With thousands of kilometers of coastline, one of the Nicoya Peninsula prized treasures are the beaches.
You can find all sorts of beaches, from volcanic sand beaches to white sand beaches. The west coast beaches have some of the most stunning sunsets in the country.
Many beaches are perfect for stand up paddle boarding, light snorkeling or sunbathing. Hope on a boat and find boat access only snorkeling spots and pristine, virgin beaches.
How to Get Around the Nicoya Peninsula
The best way to get around Nicoya Peninsula is by rental car, and either a high clearance SUV or a 4wd as some areas are still quite rural. There are public buses but few and very little direct routes between tourist destinations and beach towns.
Furthermore, if you plan to explore, stay in far out Airbnbs or vacation rentals or visit the southern tip of the peninsula, you should have either a high clearance SUV in dry season or a 4wd in rainy season.
We also recommend checking with your hosts to see what kind of car is required to reach the property.
If you are going around Nosara and Ostional, there are a couple of rivers that get very big in rainy season. Please be extremely careful as water damage is not covered under any type of insurance and flash floods can occur in October, the rainiest month.
If you use a GPS device or Google Maps/Waze, do not drive off the main road. Always stay on the main road, which are paved such as Route 21 around the peninsula, Route 155, and Route 150.
If you take the smaller roads, they are almost all unpaved with quite a bit of epic pot holes. In the rainiest months like September and October, the unpaved roads can get very muddy.
Read more about renting a car in Costa Rica and get our Costa Rica car rental discount!
Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone Tours
Although there aren’t really any dedicated widespread “Blue Zone” tours, our partner Jacamar Naturalist Tours runs a “Guanacaste Flavors” tour. It takes place in the Santa Cruz canton, focusing on culture and food.
Since much of the Blue Zone principles focus heavily on diet, this is a very interesting tour for anyone curious about the local culture and food, which plays a huge part on the longevity of the Nicoyanos.
It takes visitors to the Tempisque River to learn about the local culture of the sand collectors and oxcart, then Belen for a local (non alcoholic) drink, Santa Cruz to learn about the town of witches and legends and their church to taste the Coyol Wine, the local tortilla factory and then Nicoya, to see the oldest church and park. The last stop is at the San Vicente Arts and Craft Museum.
If you’re interested in this tour, check out our Guanacaste Tours discount booking page to book it with our discount! You can also find other fun tours like horseback riding, rafting, ziplining and hiking.
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica. Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet”
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels. Save more money with our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Franchesca says
Hi there 🙂
We will be visiting Paquera in early January and then driving north to Samara and then Playa Conchal.
What is the best routes you recommend for driving from Paquera up to Samara and Playa Conchal?
Also, do you have any family friendly recommendations for Samara and the surrounding area (we are nature and waterfall lovers)
Thank you so so much for your incredible resource here, we are grateful!
Sammi says
Hello Franchesca, the best routes will be the one going back through Nicoya. You can check our Samara guide, there is a small waterfall outside town, an island to kayak to and many beautiful beaches nearby.