NORTHERN PACIFIC COAST/ GUANACASTE

This region gathers three fourths of the entire country´s beach hotel infrastructure, a phenomenon due to the breathtaking beauty of the northern-pacific coast. Travelers from all destinations and with every possible budget will be able to find a place suiting to his or her needs. Guanacaste has everything from luxurious five star resorts and condominiums to inns and youth hostels ranked in the highest positions of the Lonely Planet World Guide.
Guanacaste offers one of the most extensive and pristine beach-scopes in Costa Rica. Some are white sand beaches with soft waves, perfect to take in the sun, sail, or scuba dive. While the darker sand beaches are bursting with nature and have waves of such great scale that they attract first class surfers from all over the world.

Nowhere else in Costa Rica will you see so much color as in Guanacaste. The national costume, music, dance, and the national fair originate in Guanacaste, where Costa Rica’s cultural traditions are kept alive.  

Guanacaste is situated in the northern part of the country, covering a major portion of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The Northern Pacific region begins at the border of Nicaragua and ends at Punta Cerritos, which is located 22 kilometers west of the town of Santa Cruz and down into the Nicoya Peninsula. It comprises an extension of approximately 100 kilometers along the Pacific Coast.

Currently, due to the incomparable beauty of its landscapes, hot climate, and fertile nature, Guanacaste has become one of the most visited places by both local and international tourists. One of the easiest ways to get to Guanacaste is to fly into the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia. Tourism has blossomed in this region, thanks partly to the opening of this airport, which receives flights from all over the world and especially the continental U.S.

SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK
The first national park in Costa Rica, the Santa Rosa National Park, was founded in 1972 to commemorate the Battle of Santa Rosa. This was a historic battle fought in March 1856. The oldest as well as the largest national park in the country, Santa Rosa National Park is today part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area. It protects a sizable portion of the last tropical dry forest in the world.

Located in >Guanacaste province, the Santa Rosa National Park encompasses a huge chunk of the Santa Elena Peninsula - 49,515 hectares to be precise. This park is not to be missed when visiting beautiful Costa Rica. This park has two sectors: Murciélago Area and Santa Rosa itself. Located in the northern part of the Santa Elena peninsula, Murciélago features several beaches, including El Hachal, Danta, Coquito, Santa Elena and Blanca. The administrative area offers parking, picnic tables, bathrooms, drinking water, and camping sites. There are viewpoints and trails as well.

The Santa Rosa sector shelters the largest tract of tropical dry forest in Central America. Here wildlife includes white - tailed deer, howler and white-faced monkeys. This area features two beaches: Naranjo, which permits camping, and Nancite, which is operated as a biological station, where olive Ridley turtles come to nest.

RINCÓN DE LA VIEJA NATIONAL PARK
This national park is home to Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. This volcano is the grandest of fiery giants that make up the Cordillera of Guanacaste. It extends over 14,083 hectares (35,000 acres), and is divided into two sectors: Las Pailas and Santa María. The volcano has two peaks – Rincon de la Vieja (5,925 feet) and Santa Maria (6,256 feet). The park contains nine volcanic craters and one lagoon called Los Jilgueros. These areas have trails to the craters, waterfalls, and hot springs.

LAS BAULAS NATIONAL MARINE PARK AND TAMARINDO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
These wilderness areas are located mainly in the Playa Grande area and in the Tamarindo estuary. Las Baulas Marines National Park protects 1,100 acres (445 hectares) of Pacific shoreline and an additional 54,000 acres (21,850 hectares) out to sea, safeguarding environments vital to leatherback turtles. The magnificent white-sand beach of Tamarindo Bay suits the leatherback’s need for a deep-water approach that minimizes the distance it has to crawl to nest. Nesting giant leatherback turtles is the park’s main tourist attraction. Largest of the world’s sea turtles, the endangered leatherback is protected in Costa Rica.

LA AMISTAD BRIDGE
Inaugurated in 2003, this bridge has replaced the ferry service that for many years allowed crossing of the Tempisque river. A significant work of engineering, built with cooperation from the Taiwanese government, the bridge spans 780 meters and serves as a launching point for major development of the Guanacaste region.

BULLFIGHTS AND RODEOS
Costa Rica’s cowboy (sabanero) culture has been part of the traditional Guanacastecan way of life for centuries. Riding bulls serves to prove a sabanero’s manhood – a tradition kept alive at towns’ festivities (fiestas civicas) where bull-riding rodeos are everyone’s favorite part of the entertainment.  The sabaneros ride the enraged bulls bareback and display their rope-handling skills, accompanied by much whooping and hollering.

The possible tourist activities available in the Northern Pacific Region are diverse. There are numerous recreational activities and sports related to culture, adventure, nature, and even health.

HORSEBACK RIDING
A pastoral region, Guanacaste offers this activity in coastal areas and in the mountains and their communities. Horseback-riding tours are available through tour operators or family-owned farms that rent horses.

CUISINE
Typical towns are characterized by sodas (small restaurants serving local food), cafes, and restaurants where visitors can sample the cuisine of Guanacaste. Cañas, Tilarán, Liberia, and mainly Santa Cruz stand out as communities with traditions in typical food and drinks.

SPORT FISHING
This is one of the Northern Pacific region’s main attractions. Artisan and recreational fishing are possible, but of greater interest are the tournaments in which several world billfish records have been broken. The fish are returned to the water after weighing in.

BIRD WATCHING
Bird watching is possible mainly in protected areas. Many sites offer the opportunity to “get with the birds,” with Palo Verde, Curú, Isla Bolaños, and Tenorio Volcano National Park among the biggest.

DIVING
This adventure or recreational activity is becoming more and more popular in Guanacaste, thanks to its excellent diving sites. There are specialized companies that normally offer services abroad. Important sites include the Gulf of Papagayo and the Santa Catalina islands.

SHOPPING FOR HANDICRAFTS
The handicrafts of Guaitil of Santa Cruz and San Vicente of Nicoya are made of pure clay using the traditional and ancient techniques of the Chorotega indigenous group. Ornaments, urns, flowerpots, vases, plates, decorative whistles, and other figures are fashioned and may be bought for their fine finish and interest in several parts of Guanacaste. Visitors can also acquire other kinds of handicrafts fashioned out of jícaro (a kind of gourd) or the thipa plant, from which various paper products are made of.