Tamarindo Beach Costa Rica — Attraction in Tamarindo

July 2024: Of the beaches we visited on the west coast of Costa Rica, this one is not the most beautiful but there's a lot of amenities, rooms, shops, tourists, massages, and vendors. This is a great spot to negotiate tours such as ATV, surf lessons, horseback riding, sunset cruises, boat tours, snorkeling, dolphin and whale watching, etc. Go to the roundabout at the end of the main drag and you will see several sales people. Keep small bills on you to tip the parking attendants who watch your car if applicable. Do not bring any USD cash that is taped or damaged - it will not be accepted by any street vendors or retail shops etc. Make sure all of your USD bills are in good condition. Locals will take USD cash and exchange rate at C500 Colones to $1.00. Many tourists staying in Tamarindo, rent a golf cart and then use tour buses to get elsewhere but I highly recommend and enjoyed having a 4WD rental car for the freedom to explore CR. Plus, we stayed at Playa Flamingo which is a beautiful, clean beach; the waves are bigger there so be careful of the rip current. We also saw a few other beautiful beaches: Playa Roble, Playa Real, Playa Puerto Viejo. We saw monkeys nearby at Playa Real. On another note, bring your sunscreen and bug repellant if you can because it's expensive here at about $16 USD for a can of Off Deep Woods. Eating out seemed pricey too at about $15-25 per person per meal but there are some places you can find meals for less or more depending on the location and atmosphere of the restaurant. Pack your poncho or umbrella too especially in the rainy season. Safe...

Have been traveling to Costa Rica for many years, and this is our beach of choice. Although touristy, Tamarindo is the perfect beach for surfing lessons and long afternoon walks to view the most brilliant and inspiring Pacific sunsets! Horseback riding is available on the beach and in town. I particularly love to walk early in the morning and collect shells which are plentiful, beautiful and unique. At the end of the beach, there is a small inlet with boat captains willing and able to take you out on the water. Vendors sell fresh “pipas” or coconut water on the beach as it gets super hot during the summer season (November through April). If you are a swimmer, as I am, head up the beach away from the surfers as there can be too many boards flying around! I like the Argentine restaurant, Patagonia, right on the beach road, as well as the restaurant in the Diria Hotel and find the food and service excellent at both. Be sure to enjoy an after dinner gelato at Venezia Gelati & Cafe, also located along the main beach road! When you travel to Costa Rica, visit Tamarindo—especially if you are interested in starting your surfing career or love photographing nature and glorious sunsets. The Howler Monkeys will be waiting to greet...

WARNING TO TOURISTS! Do not rent surfboards or lounge chairs from the pop-up beach tents in Tamarindo. The one with the blue tent offering to rent surf boards for $10 per person is a complete scam run by a group of criminals that target tourists. After you return the boards, the men running the operation will falsely accuse you for damaging the board and demand immediate payment. Our group was assaulted by a gang of them and they threatened extreme violence if we didn’t pay. They targeted one person in our group by falsely blaming him for breaking the surf board, which was a complete lie because it was returned in the exact same condition it was originally rented in. The surrounded us and picked up a shovel, metal stakes, heavy rocks and were threatening to hit us over the heads if we didn’t pay. None of the local businesses would help and it seemed like the restaurant/bar Tama Onda was in on it because we asked them for help because we had patronized them earlier in the day, and they were friendly with the thugs who were jumping us.

Such a shame because this is a beautiful place but yeah truly not worth the safety risk to tourists. There are other beaches and towns in Costa Rica that are much...