Nov 20, 2011

Playa Hermosa means “beautiful beach” and it was named that by the foreigners who moved to the Santa Teresa area in the past few decades.

It’s the least developed of the four sections of the Malpais/Santa Teresa area of Costa Rica, and many think it has the best beach. The sand isn’t as white as Santa Teresa, but the beach is much broader, and it’s great for boogie boarding.

The surfing is awesome too, and it has a right-hand point break. There are at least three surf camps at Playa Hermosa, and many others bring their beginner students here. The waves can become huge here however (up to 20 feet) and like most beaches, when the surf is gigantic, it can be dangerous.

Just south of the main beach of Playa Hermosa is an incredible, huge tidepool in front of Hotel El Rey Patricio, which is a favorite spot for families to take their kids at low tide to learn to swim or snorkel. This large protected pool also has a lot of beautiful sea creatures to see, and nothing dangerous so it’s very safe.

The best restaurant in the area, Koji’s, is also at Playa Hermosa. If you love Sushi, or Japanese food in general, check it out. It’s quickly become one of the favorite places to dine in the area.

Nov 20, 2011

Playa Carmen is the center of the Santa Teresa / Malpais area of Costa Rica.

When you first drive down the hill from Cobano and the farms and jungles above, you have arrived at Playa Carmen. To the left is Malpais, and to the right is Playa Carmen, and then beyond that farther to the north is Santa Teresa and then Playa Hermosa.

Playa Carmen has the best and most consistent surf spot in the whole area. To find it, just keep driving straight when you first drop down from Cobano, and you’ll find the parking area with great waves right in front of you and a beachfront restaurant/pizzeria also.

The largest amount of development is in Playa Carmen. It has the most restaurants, the most hotels, and the most shops of all kinds, including

Two banks (BNCR and BCR) with two ATMs.

One of the best bakeries in Costa Rica.

The best ice cream in Costa Rica (fresh made Italian Gelatto)

Tons of gift shops

Several surf shops, board repairs, and board rentals

Sushi (Umi Sushi)

Pharmacy

Medical Clinic / EMT

All of this is right there in the middle of town and everyone needs to go there once in a while.

Nov 20, 2011

Malpais is the southern part of the Santa Teresa area, and extends all the way to Cabo Blanco Park.

Once you drop down from the mountains to the beach, everything to the south (the left side) is Malpais. Officially spelled Mal Pais, the words mean “bad country” but it really means “badlands” because of the difficulty of living there in the old days when there were no wells, and all the small streams would dry up. Despite the dry climate in Costa Rica’s summer, native Americans had lived in Malpais for thousands of years.

Malpais has some of the most photogenic beaches in Costa Rica. There are several large rocky outcroppings that extend into the ocean, creating small bays and coves, with white sand and a variety of surf breaks. The best snorkeling is in Malpais too.

There are a few great surf breaks, especially well known are Sunset Reef and Mar Azul. However, most of the surfers go to Santa Teresa because of the more consistent waves there. But, if you’re looking for the best surfing around, Sunset Reef is where it’s at, and it’s never crowded.

Malpais isn’t as heavily developed as the Santa Teresa side, because of its lack of long stretches of white sand beaches. There are fewer hotels, although there are many luxury rental villas in the hills overlooking the area. Many wealthy foreigners have sized up the area and decided to buy in Malpais because its less busy. And the two areas are right next to each other so its only a short drive from a villa in Malpais to the restaurants in Santa Teresa.

Nov 20, 2011

Santa Teresa is one of the top surfing destinations in Costa Rica.  Santa Teresa is known for its consistent year round surfing, beautiful white sand beaches (often rated among the most beautiful in the world), it’s large variety of small boutique beachfront hotels, and world class cuisine.

Although it has grown tremendously in the past decade, the town itself is still actually quite small.  There are a few dozen hotels and restaurants, and an equal number of vacation rental houses.

Santa Teresa is a surf town, plain and simple.  Costa Rica has a lot to offer… volcanoes, wildlife and bird watching, white water rafting, scuba diving, etc, but when people come to Santa Teresa, they’re mainly here to surf.