• Playa GuionesKilometers of sand, and the walk is the visit. By noon there is nowhere to stand out of the sun. Swim only on a small day, and stay on the inside.
  • Ostional Wildlife RefugeA longer dirt drive north. Leave in the morning. The refuge is a nesting beach with a guide and rules, not a quick look from the parking lot.
  • Playa PeladaA short walk or ride north. The reef makes this the swim. The long sand you came from is the wave. Noon is open sun, so go early or late.
  • Nosara river mouthNorth of the reef beach: quiet water, birds, and a current at the mouth. Keep it a walk along the edge. Do not treat it as a second swim.
  • Turtle nestingOlive ridleys come at night, with a guide, and lights stay off. Do not expect one on a daytime walk. In the dry months, ask if any are due.
  • Guiones surf breaksSeveral peaks along one beach, sand under them, better shape early. Beginners stay on the inside banks. The afternoon breeze chops the faces.
  • Beach yogaA class on this sand, in the morning, then the wave if you want it. You can book the same day. You do not need a full retreat week to join.
  • Tide poolsRocks show pools only at low tide. High water covers them, and then there is nothing to see. Read the tide before you walk out. The rock is slick.
  • Sunset walkThe beach faces west and it is long. Start before the last minutes or the walk back is in the dark. Come with time to sit, not at the last glow.
  • Nosara Biological ReserveForest off the sand, on its own hours. Go in the morning and do not leave the trail. In the green months the path is mud, so ask first.

For breaks and seasons, see best surf spots in Costa Rica. For studios and retreats, see yoga in Costa Rica.

The landscape is long beach, dry forest, and wildlife refuge. You are likely to see olive ridley turtles, howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, coatis and shorebirds. The plants around them are beach almond, coconut palm, mangrove and dry-forest trees behind the surf.

Around Playa Guiones, howlers call from the refuge forest at first light. Olive ridleys are a night landing in season, not a sight from the board shop. Shorebirds work the wet sand early.

Ostional Wildlife Refuge and the Nosara Civic Association protect the nesting beach, dunes and forest buffer.

In Playa Guiones, nesting beaches need low lights and a guide who follows the rules. On the trails, stay on the marked path.

The climate is tropical dry forest. It is hot and breezy. Consistent surf. It is dry from December to April, wetter from May to November. Playa Guiones sits at sea level.

In the greener months the morning is still usable, and the rain tends to wait until afternoon. The countrywide calendar is in the best time to visit Costa Rica.

The nearest airport is Daniel Oduber in Liberia. Juan Santamaría in Alajuela is the other option. From the Central Valley the road crosses mountains, so the drive takes longer than the map says.

The last stretch is slow, and often dirt. Leave while you still have daylight. Buses, shuttles, and rental cars are compared in getting around Costa Rica.