For all those readers out there who caught my post last week know that I went on a Tamarindo trip this past weekend, and for those who didn’t now you know.  I promised an honest report about the surf town of Tamarindo which has been storied as growing uncontrollably and having lost the appeal which it once had for tourists.  I have seen first hand what is the town of Tamarindo here are my findings…

Getting to Tamarindo from the San Jose area takes approximately five hours if you don’t hit too much traffic.  The drive isn’t too mountainous and the road is smooth for Costa Rica if you take the right route.  Outside the beach town are the small villages surrounding the beach where the majority of Tamarindo’s Tico workers live.  Construction sites are everywhere as you get closer to the town.  Large shopping complexes, hotels, and condominium communities are underway as I type.  The town itself is very very small, the most crowded portion of the beach stretches for only 200 yards, here you can find many restraunts, hotels, a disco, surf schools and small shops.  You will also find a lot of Americans and Europeans alike; in the crowded surf lineup in Tamarindo I heard French, Spanish, English, German, and another language I wasn’t familiar with all spoken.

The beach in Tamarindo isn’t the most incredibly beautiful beach, the sand isn’t black but it isn’t white either, and the water is more brownish green than blue, however the surf is great.  Only the main road in town is paved, the other couple roads leading to other hotels and restaurants are dirt causing the town to seem a little dirty in most places, the construction is also a cause of this. 

Tamarindo is NOT Jaco.  Many people who have been to Costa Rica like to group these two different destinations in the same category.  Jaco is by far the biggest, most developed beach town in Costa Rica.  Tamarindo might be second behind Jaco in size and development, however it is still years behind, trees cover most of the development on the beach front, high rise hotels have not made their way to Tamarindo either.  In my option the vibe in Tamarindo is unique in its surf culture and international atmosphere, it is a new hot spot, growing very fast and still being discovered by many travelers.

Tarmarindo is not a destination for everyone, while there are a couple of nice hotels here (Diria, Capitan Suizo, and Cala Luna for example) this is not a nice town, expect to be approached by dealers and prostitues at least once in the downtown area.  The areas to the far corners of the beach are much cleaner, safer, more family and couple friendly. 

The person who is going to like Tamarindo is a traveler looking for good surf, a place with some good nightlife, and a good international mix.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on September 11th, 2007