Finca las Garzas
In a nutshell: Perfect for the whole fam, if culture and animals are your jam, sandwich this farm visit in between surf sessions to get a true taste of Guanacaste culture.
Set in the beautiful Guanacaste landscape, Finca las Garzas offers several enticing activities including, horseback riding, cow milking and wagon rides! Pay the farm a visit post your morning surf sesh and treat-yo-self to a typical Costa Rican breakfast or “desayuno típico” in Spanish.
Our recommendation:
- Wagon Ride: Give those legs a rest and let the cows do the work for you while you get a tour of the pasture and surrounding foliage.
- Horseback Riding: You’ll want to skip the double session for this one, but it’ll be worth it to see one of Costa Rica’s beautiful sunsets from a different vantage point.
Rincón de la Vieja National Park
In a nutshell: Rest day = Rincón de la Vieja day. In addition to our good friends Flora and Fauna, Rincón de la Vieja National Park is home to an active volcano, hotsprings, mud baths, waterfalls, and unforgettable hiking trails.
If you enjoy hiking and the outdoors, this is the day trip for you! Rincón de la Vieja National Park is just a couple hours from Tamarindo and hosts a wide array of exotic plants and animal species, including white-faced howler and spider monkeys, armadillos, collared peccaries, pumas, and white-nosed coatis! Its 34,000 acres offer a plethora of things to do and see including a 6,000-foot active volcano, healing mud baths, natural hot springs, majestic waterfalls and scenic hiking.
Our recommendation:
- Oropendola Waterfall: Perfect for families, this gorgeous waterfall is less than a mile-long hike, which will give you lots of time to explore other areas of the park.
- Rio Negro Hot Springs & Mud baths: Your trip to Rincón de la Vieja would not be complete without a hot spring-mud bath combo. Some find it soothing and rave about the various health benefits, but we have to admit we just like to play in the mud!
Ostional National Wildlife Refuge
In a nutshell: Sea turtles up close and in person, as far as the eye can see. Need we say more?
Just an hour and half’s drive from Tamarindo lies one of the most magical places in the world, the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. This 238 hectares coastal refuge was officially established by the Costa Rican government in 1984 to protect one of the few Olive Ridley sea turtle’s nesting sites. The 15km of protected beach within the refuge hosts a natural phenomenon called “arribada” in Spanish, where tens of thousands of female turtles visit the Ostional shore to lay their eggs. Nestings occur all year long, but peak activity occurs during rainy season (between July and December).
Our recommendation: The way from Tamarindo includes unpaved roads that often demand 4wd to get there and back in one piece! We recommend arriving around sunset for a guided tour or if you make it in time for sunrise, you might catch a glimpse of some hatchings! It’s important to note that the refuge requires every visitor to have an official guide.
Ziplining at Hacienda el Roble
In a nutshell: Hacienda el Roble gives you the chance to let loose, like for real. See some dope Guanacaste landscapes rightside up, upside down and every direction in between!
Need a break from the beach? Said no one ever. But really, a change of scenery does the body good. Escape the sun and embrace the jungle forest on this safe zipline adventure. The lines get progressively longer and faster as you go and the views do not disappoint. As if this place needed to be any cooler, look forward to a very cool cerveza at the end of your adventure.
Our recommendation: Upside down is the way to go.
