You can stay in hotels such as El Capitan which are beach front or you can park you car and walk aroun or through the hotel strip. Just pick a good spot and be careful of rocks
Note this spot is best AT EARLY MORNING AND AFTERNOON unless you enjoy the 6 inch wave you get during the day. :) Also ask the locals about The Rock whick is a fun little wave walking distance from the Hotel Capitan.
Nice for beginners
Super crowded with longboarders. Nice -little- wave. If you want epic go elsewhere. If you want to chill out and dodge beginners and watch them freak out when a 6ft set wave comes through this is the place. I had fun, but I'm at the tail end of being a beginner. Nice town too.
comment by Anonymous, 2008-04-08 19:53:53
No complaints
I just spent a month in Tamarindo and I have to say that I was very impressed. Sure, they're having issues with overdevelopment, but still years behind any beachfront or ski town in the US. It sounds like the locals are getting organized and seem to still have an opportunity to slow things down.
All of the local people I met were extremely friendly and helpful. I'm not sure what it was like a few years ago, but I only saw one low-key pot deal and no prostitutes. The police presence was noticeable and I felt comfortable walking around at all times.
I was in the water every day and I only had one incident where I noticed nasty water -- it actually burned my arms when paddling. Keep in mind this was 1 day in 30.
Based on the comments here I had really low expectations of my visit. I had completely the opposite experience. I surfed almost every break in near solitude -- just be reasonably smart about when you go out. Afternoons when the surf schools are in full swing are definitely to be avoided.
comment by Anonymous, 2008-02-11 19:04:01
It would appear there is still something in the water.
My wife, daughter, and I were just in Tamarindo Jan. 31st & Feb. 1st. My daughter and I waded across the northern tidal estuary to Playa Grande both days. My wife choice not to. We have now returned to Colorado. My wife is OK. My daughter & I both are still exhibiting some form of contact dermititis - splotchy rash, widely scattered in small spots about th size of a dime, that we attribute to wading across that tidal estuary: the rash is only on the lower parts of our bodies, up to about where the water was as we waded across. It would appear there is still something in the water. Nogui's still has the best coconut cream pie on the planet though!
comment by Anonymous, 2009-04-07 17:23:14