We wanted a vacation that would give us a good feel of what everyday life is like in this country so we choose a small eco-village on the north pacific side of Costa Rica, just outside of Tamarindo. El Sabanero is quaintly nestled in the hills of Guanacaste providence about 15 minutes from the beach town of Tamarindo. Under new management, the hospitality that was extended to us during our stay at El Sabanero is something we have never experienced on any other vacation. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Liberia, Costa Rica, the managers Harold and Susi, were there to greet us and take us to our cabin. The warmth that we received during our stay is something we have never experience at any other lodge or hotel we have ever been to. They made us feel welcome in every way they could and went the extra mile to help make our stay as enjoyable as possible. They offer a daily shuttle to and from Tamarindo and Playa Avellana Beach, and the lodge has a nice bar and restaurant incase you are thirsty or hungry. The views of the mountains and valley are breathtaking and if you like wildlife, you can even hear the monkeys roaring off in the distance (yes.. they actually do roar!). The cabins are comfortably furnished and have wifi connection if you are like me and can’t go anywhere without your laptop! You can check out their website at elsabanero.com if you want more info.
Most of our time was spent at the beach or eating.. nothing wrong with that right? LOL.. Our favorite beach was Playa Avellana Beach which is a popular surfing beach about 15 minutes from the lodge. It is a long stretch of white sand that has recently been discovered by surfers and is now renowned for its barrel surf. You can rent surfboards for $15/25 half-/full-day, and go fishing for $50 per hour. And even though there were people there, the beach did not feel crowded and we never had to worry about stepping over or around people like we did when we visited the more touristy areas like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. It was almost as if we were the only ones on the beach. If you are hungry or thirsty, Lola’s (rustic beachfront restaurant and famous for its namesake giant pig) offers great food and drink (including alcoholic, cappuccino and espressos) and everyone is as friendly as can be. Try the Chicken Pizza … it is fabulous! It is made on a large tortilla shell spread with Pesto sauce, pine nuts, fresh tomato slices, chicken and grated Parmesan cheese. This is the one recipe that I brought home with us and when it’s pizza night at our house I make our pizza way now… I really prefer it over the heavy pizza dough crust that we are more accustom to here in the states.
Another beach we liked was Playa Flamingo with its stunning white sand and clear blue waters. The sunset on this beach was awesome and truly the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Also if you get into deep sea fishing, marlin, tuna, swordfish and snapper can be found off the coast all year around making this area extremely popular with fisherman.
Tamarindo is a small resort town of about 2000 people that’s main draws is surfing and eco-tourism. The town itself is quite colorful with plenty of local Tico flavor. Here you can find several bakeries, an outdoor vegetable market, an art gallery, pottery stores, a beauty spa and more than 40 restaurants, bars and discos with cuisines to suit every palette. It also offers nice shopping with everything from t-shirts to wooden crafts to street vendors offering handcrafted treasures. If you have cash, you can usually negotiate a lower price on souvenirs, but since merchant fees are quite costly in Costa Rica, shop owners are less likely to negotiate a lower price for those using plastic. So save yourself the effort and just pay the ticket price if you plan to pay with plastic.
If you are interested in golf, there are several excellent golf courses in the area with Hacienda Pinilla considered the best course in the country. It is an ecologically friendly championship course with perfectly manicured fairways, wide bunkers and lush putting greens. The Hacienda Pinilla has also been certified by The Audubon Society. I am not a golfer but my husband played this course and he said this is the best and most challenging course he has ever played. He also said it offered an abundance of wild life including Capuchin monkeys that could be seen sitting in the trees surrounding the course.
Most locals in this are walk or ride bicycles to get around and many of the roads are still unpaved so if you are driving be prepared for potholes and ungraded roadways. There are no stoplights and very few stop signs in this area. I’m not even sure they have speed limits here… I surely never saw one.
There are many other activities in the area that we did not have time to experience including an active volcano, rain forests and zip line experiences. We will save those for another time as we are already planning a trip back to this country. So if you are looking for a laid back vacation where you truly have an opportunity to relax, feel like a local and don’t want to feel rushed or crushed by hordes of other tourists, then please consider a trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. You won’t be sorry.
Most of our time was spent at the beach or eating.. nothing wrong with that right? LOL.. Our favorite beach was Playa Avellana Beach which is a popular surfing beach about 15 minutes from the lodge. It is a long stretch of white sand that has recently been discovered by surfers and is now renowned for its barrel surf. You can rent surfboards for $15/25 half-/full-day, and go fishing for $50 per hour. And even though there were people there, the beach did not feel crowded and we never had to worry about stepping over or around people like we did when we visited the more touristy areas like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. It was almost as if we were the only ones on the beach. If you are hungry or thirsty, Lola’s (rustic beachfront restaurant and famous for its namesake giant pig) offers great food and drink (including alcoholic, cappuccino and espressos) and everyone is as friendly as can be. Try the Chicken Pizza … it is fabulous! It is made on a large tortilla shell spread with Pesto sauce, pine nuts, fresh tomato slices, chicken and grated Parmesan cheese. This is the one recipe that I brought home with us and when it’s pizza night at our house I make our pizza way now… I really prefer it over the heavy pizza dough crust that we are more accustom to here in the states.
Another beach we liked was Playa Flamingo with its stunning white sand and clear blue waters. The sunset on this beach was awesome and truly the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Also if you get into deep sea fishing, marlin, tuna, swordfish and snapper can be found off the coast all year around making this area extremely popular with fisherman.
Tamarindo is a small resort town of about 2000 people that’s main draws is surfing and eco-tourism. The town itself is quite colorful with plenty of local Tico flavor. Here you can find several bakeries, an outdoor vegetable market, an art gallery, pottery stores, a beauty spa and more than 40 restaurants, bars and discos with cuisines to suit every palette. It also offers nice shopping with everything from t-shirts to wooden crafts to street vendors offering handcrafted treasures. If you have cash, you can usually negotiate a lower price on souvenirs, but since merchant fees are quite costly in Costa Rica, shop owners are less likely to negotiate a lower price for those using plastic. So save yourself the effort and just pay the ticket price if you plan to pay with plastic.
If you are interested in golf, there are several excellent golf courses in the area with Hacienda Pinilla considered the best course in the country. It is an ecologically friendly championship course with perfectly manicured fairways, wide bunkers and lush putting greens. The Hacienda Pinilla has also been certified by The Audubon Society. I am not a golfer but my husband played this course and he said this is the best and most challenging course he has ever played. He also said it offered an abundance of wild life including Capuchin monkeys that could be seen sitting in the trees surrounding the course.
Most locals in this are walk or ride bicycles to get around and many of the roads are still unpaved so if you are driving be prepared for potholes and ungraded roadways. There are no stoplights and very few stop signs in this area. I’m not even sure they have speed limits here… I surely never saw one.
There are many other activities in the area that we did not have time to experience including an active volcano, rain forests and zip line experiences. We will save those for another time as we are already planning a trip back to this country. So if you are looking for a laid back vacation where you truly have an opportunity to relax, feel like a local and don’t want to feel rushed or crushed by hordes of other tourists, then please consider a trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. You won’t be sorry.