The southern Nicoya Peninsula is one of Costa Rica's most secluded gems. From the hilly interior the mountains sweep down to the Pacific Ocean, creating some of the most beautiful and solitary beaches of Costa Rica.
The Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica is one of the most attractive and secluded areas of the country. Majestic mountains go all the way to the Pacific making hundreds of beautiful unspoiled pristine beaches.
The access to this tropical paradise has been poor or inexistent but slowly major improvements have been taken place bringing more tourism and development to the area. A good example is Tambor Beach where several hotels and businesses have and are being developed everyday bringing an important contribution to the local and global economy of Costa Rica.
Historically, it has been easier and faster to get to the southern Nicoya Peninsula by Ferry or boat from Puntarenas, so the region belongs to the province of Puntarenas rather than Guanacaste. The roads that connect this area to the northern Guanacaste are still few and in most of them in poor condition.
The Nicoya Peninsula is a transition zone between the Dry Forest that characterizes Guanacaste and the Tropical Rainforest seen main in the Central and South Pacific. This has created a rich ecosystem that is common to both Forests and many animals are seasonal commuters.
There are 2 different seasons in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula region: the dry season that begins at the end of November and until May when the sun dries up the land and vegetation and many trees lose their leaves, and the rainy season starting in May with small rains and increasing little by little into heavy rainfall in period of September to November, when the peninsula becomes incredible lush rainforest.
The temperatures during the rainy season may go down to 24º Celsius, while in the dry season, temperature is approximately 35º C.
It normally takes longer to travel to the Southern Nicoya Peninsula than to other parts of Costa Rica, but it doesn't matter since the area has lots of pretty attractions, extraordinary beaches, national parks and wildlife preserves. The most known spots in the Peninsula are: Tambor, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Cobano, Montezuma, Paquera,Narajo,Samara and Gulf of Nicoya.