The day is warm, the sky blue, water green, and the iguanas are all over the road. Must be Tamarindo!

I got to Tamarindo to find that I need to go on a ten mile detour to get to Playa Grande where the PGSC is. (Playa Grande Surf Club) After a few trips back and forth, I finally found the right beach. First thing on my checklist for the next trip? GPS….

After the surf, I headed to my hotel in Tamarindo.

Hotel Flores, off the main drag, Tamarindo

The Hotel Flores. Great little operation, good air-conditioning, clean, roomy, and the only hotel I stayed in that didn’t have any lizards. It’s off the main drag, so you don’t have to listen to the nightlife in downtown Tamarindo. It goes on most of the night.

Long story short, Tamarindo is a fun town, lots to do, and a surfers paradise. Lots of shopping in Tamarindo,  shop till you drop type shopping. If you like nightlife, its a GREAT town. Prices were about what I expected, it is a tourist town, and there’s always haggling to be done. And, if you go in the beginning of June, like I did, kind of off-season, everything was discounted, or buy 2 get one free.

Having said that, I wouldn’t really call it a place for a “Family” vacation. Keep heading down the road to Tamarindo proper. Here there were too many “local entrepreneurs” trying to sell you what you might not want to get caught with. But if you are an adult or couple looking for a great time while in Costa Rica, try Playa Tamarindo, it may be just what you’re looking for.

Next? The rest of Tamarindo….