Tamarindo · With kids
WITH KIDS
Sandy-bottomed beginner waves, nesting leatherbacks in winter and an estuary full of monkeys.
Learning to surf
The main beach breaks over sand with long, slow whitewater — as forgiving a place to start as the Pacific offers. Group lessons run all morning. Ages 6+.
Las Baulas nesting beach
Leatherback turtles come ashore at Playa Grande from October to February; night walks are guided, capped and require patience. Ages 8+.
Tamarindo estuary trip
A flat-water boat through the mangroves at the north end — crocodiles, howler monkeys and roseate spoonbills, an hour and a half. Ages 4+.
Playa Avellanas rock pools
Twenty minutes south down a dirt road, a long empty beach with tide pools at low water and one famous beach shack for lunch. Ages 3+.
Rips and river mouths
The current at the estuary mouth is genuinely dangerous — swim in front of the surf schools only. Dry season, December to April, is hot and dusty.