It's Always Summer at the Beaches in Guanacaste!
If you are looking for a Costa Rica beach vacation or a delightful Costa Rica beach hotel for a little R&R, Guanacaste in the northwestern Pacific region is your destination. Small towns and wide sandy beaches where the water is always warm and inviting make a slow, sun-drenched retreat the perfect strategy.
Maybe combine a few days at the beach with an active nature tour or even as part of a Costa Rica surfing vacation. If you are struck with a surplus of energy for some reason, there's plenty of other more active things to do, too, as you will see below (golf? fishing?).
About Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste province in the northwest corner of Costa Rica sets itself apart from the rest of Costa Rica. In a nation of many distinctly different regions, Guanacaste distinguishes itself with a climate and cultural heritage unique to the region. The province name is derived from the indigenous word for the national tree of Costa Rica-the guanacaste tree-which attains a majestic size and picturesque wide-arching form and is a prominent feature of the landscape. The topography of Guanacaste is mostly flat or low rolling hills which stretch eastward into the mountains. The western edge of the province borders the Pacific Ocean and includes most of the Nicoya Peninsula that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. Guanacaste's Pacific coastline has an irregular shoreline forming coves that shelter many beautiful beaches.
This province has an economic and cultural heritage based on beef cattle ranching. Most of the area is covered by small patches of forest, scattered trees and large pastures of coarse grasses where Brahma cattle and related breeds graze. The image of the "sabanero," -or Costa Rican cowboy-riding on his small, fleet horse and wearing a weathered broad white canvas hat, with a coil of rope secured to the saddle and a sheathed machete dangling by his side, are still part of the province's cultural identity. In Liberia, the capital city of Guanacaste, a statue of the famed sabanero greets visitors entering on the main street.
Liberia also takes pride in its historic old buildings. Liberia was formerly known as the "White City" as the original adobe buildings of this community were coated with a finish of white "lime". Despite this small city's recent economic boom and rise of new buildings, it has preserved many of its antique homes-with their clay tile roofs and curiously-placed twin doors at the buildings' corners-to maintain ties to its past. Liberia is located at a crossroad on the Pan American Highway, and many travelers stop here to take a break and refuel their vehicles, have lunch in one of the city's many restaurants, or stop by for supplies at the area's grocery stores. The antique portion of the city is small and can be easily toured in a few minutes while visiting Liberia.
Guanacaste is the most arid region of Costa Rica. It receives only about 6 feet of rain a year and has a prolonged dry season that begins around December and continues into late April or May. Moderate amounts of rain fall in the region from May through August, with most mornings dawning clear and bright and rain in the afternoon. Heavy rains often occur in September and October (in contrast, the eastern side of Costa Rica has its driest weather-see Puerto Viejo de Limon). However, little if any rain falls for the five month period from December through April, and most days are warm and sunny.
Before much of the land was cleared for cattle pasture, this region was covered by Tropical Dry Forest. This forest type once stretched along the Pacific coast of Central America from Puntarenas, Costa Rica, up into Mexico. Dry forests are characterized by trees that drop their leaves to conserve moisture during the long rainless period and are the only forests that have a strongly pronounced change of season in Costa Rica. Several tree species of the region flower simultaneously and intermittently beginning in late January until April. They can be seen flowering along the roadsides brightening the landscape with brilliant blooms of yellow, pink, purple or white colors. Tall columnar cactus also grow here on dry hills and rocky outcrops where they have the competitive advantage over trees and suggest if less rain fell, this region would quickly become a desert.
Guanacaste Today
The Province has several national parks. Santa Rosa, Palo Verde and Guanacaste National parks protect large tracts of tropical dry forest and are important research sites for tropical biologists. Palo Verde has a seasonal marsh which attracts resident and migratory waterbirds by the hundreds in the early dry season. Rincon de la Vieja National Park is the "Yellowstone" of Costa Rica's as it possesses steaming hot springs, boiling mud pots, several old volcanoes and a sleeping volcano that has erupted several times in the last 15 years. Ostional National Wildlife Refuge protects a beach that is one of the most important nesting sites in the world for the olive ridley turtle. Every year some 100,000 nest here with many coming in huge numbers during mass nestings called arribadas (arrivals).
Cattle ranching is declining in Guanacaste due to an international drop in the demand for beef. Many pastures are naturally reverting back to dry forest or are being converted to tree plantations. Today tourism has emerged as the new and growing activity in the local economy. The combination of beautiful beaches, warm tropical Pacific waters, and a year-round "summer-like" climate are attracting many visitors to Guanacaste. When northern countries are experiencing their coldest and darkest winter days, Guanacaste is having its driest and sunniest weather. It's always summer at the beaches in Guanacaste!
At the Beach-Cities and Activities
In recent years many beautiful beach resort hotels and attractive coastal communities have been built in Guanacaste in response to the region's growing popularity. In the region there are accommodations catering to budget-minded travelers, comfortable mid-priced hotels, and top-of-the-line resort hotels of prestigious international chains that assure world-class service and standards. There are also a few places to pitch tents.
One of the most beautiful beaches in Guanacaste is Tamarindo. Besides the wide, light sandy beach in this warm sunny tropical resort, the area has much to offer. The community has some gift shops and a variety of restaurants including those that feature locally-caught sea food-and maybe your catch-of-the-day if you go saltwater fishing! Other activities include surfing, diving, snorkeling, estuary tours, and more. Tours to some of the regional national parks to see the dry forests can also be arranged as day trips. Of course, one can simply just relax on the beach…
With its year-round drier "summer" weather, Guanacaste is the perfect location for ending a Costa Rica active vacation of hiking in wet rainforests or cool misty mountain cloud forests, experiencing the thrill of overlooking a steaming volcanic crater along the rim of a cold high-elevation volcanic peak, or splashing through a whitewater river in a raft. For many aficionados of salt-water fishing, divers, surfers, swimmers and sun-loving beach goers, this area will likely be the vacation destination!
