Karen Ann’s guidebook
Food scene
This is our personal favorite restaurant to celebrate special occasions. They have a very efficient staff that provide a friendly service, and the food is great. It's a bit expensive but you get quality!
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Gusto Beach Restaurant Pizzeria Bar
This is our personal favorite restaurant to celebrate special occasions. They have a very efficient staff that provide a friendly service, and the food is great. It's a bit expensive but you get quality!
Sightseeing
One of the nearest national parks, we went to visit Barra Honda with our family and friends. You can go for a nice pretty easy walk and get stunning views, plus the opportunity to see wildlife. You can also arrange a tour to visit the caves (which we haven't experienced), but seems impressive. There is a age limit to visit the caves.
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Parque Nacional Barra Honda
One of the nearest national parks, we went to visit Barra Honda with our family and friends. You can go for a nice pretty easy walk and get stunning views, plus the opportunity to see wildlife. You can also arrange a tour to visit the caves (which we haven't experienced), but seems impressive. There is a age limit to visit the caves.
Hike to the secret beach!
If you feel adventurous, you might like a hike to the secret beach. Now, you will need to find it to earn this chance! when going towards Buenavista Beach, the entrance is to your left. On Google, it is called playa Izquierda.
Playa izquierda
Hike to the secret beach!
If you feel adventurous, you might like a hike to the secret beach. Now, you will need to find it to earn this chance! when going towards Buenavista Beach, the entrance is to your left. On Google, it is called playa Izquierda.
Our favorite beach to see sunsets! To get the best view, you have to cross the river on foot, so it's better to go at low tide. The beach is so beautiful and untouched, with lots of opportunity to see wildlife, especially birds.
If you walk down the beach, you'll find a Turtle Rescue farm. Go and talk to the volunteers, you just might get lucky and experience a baby turtle release! Best chances for that if you go in the morning.
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Playa Buenavista
Our favorite beach to see sunsets! To get the best view, you have to cross the river on foot, so it's better to go at low tide. The beach is so beautiful and untouched, with lots of opportunity to see wildlife, especially birds.
If you walk down the beach, you'll find a Turtle Rescue farm. Go and talk to the volunteers, you just might get lucky and experience a baby turtle release! Best chances for that if you go in the morning.
Nice day expedition, not a very difficult hike. The road climbs steep at first, but than gets mostly easy. Entry is not expensive, paid directly to locals at entrance.
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Cerro Pelado
Nice day expedition, not a very difficult hike. The road climbs steep at first, but than gets mostly easy. Entry is not expensive, paid directly to locals at entrance.
Beaches
Playa Carillo is superb to spend a day with family. The beach is long and beautiful, the sunset at the far end of the beach is great, water is calm, and there is a lot of shade where you can chill. Bring your Picnic! At the far end of the beach, you can sometimes see Aras in the trees, and some capuchin monkeys. Also, you can sometimes observe a crocodile in the river at the far end of the beach! Beware not to swim there!!
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Playa Carrillo
Playa Carillo is superb to spend a day with family. The beach is long and beautiful, the sunset at the far end of the beach is great, water is calm, and there is a lot of shade where you can chill. Bring your Picnic! At the far end of the beach, you can sometimes see Aras in the trees, and some capuchin monkeys. Also, you can sometimes observe a crocodile in the river at the far end of the beach! Beware not to swim there!!
Tipps für Reisende
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The Saturday Farmer's market is a must!
On Saturday mornings, do your fruit and vegetable shopping at Feria Samara! It is located right in the heart of downtown Samara.
Look out for Costa-Costa fresh fish and seafood kiosque.
You can even have breakfast or lunch on the spot. My personal favorite are tamales, because they remind me good memories of previous trips.
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Buenavista Beach
Our favorite beach to see sunsets! To get the best view, you have to cross the river on foot, so it's better to go at low tide. The beach is so beautiful and untouched, with lots of opportunity to see wildlife, especially birds.
If you walk down the beach, you'll find a Turtle Rescue farm. Go and talk to the volunteers, you just might get lucky and experience a baby turtle release!
So kannst du sparen
Use local currency in markets and small shops
Exchange rates are not always good when paying in US dollars at markets and small shops. If you want to get the most of your money, you might want to have an amount of colones ordered before you arrive in Costa Rica. If you want to exchange USD for colones in a local bank, you will need your passport (and patience!). There is a limit of 2000 USD per person per month for currency exchange in a Costa Rican bank.