A Costa Rican Honeymoon: Tamarindo

Tamarindo was the first town that we stayed at in Costa Rica. It is a very cool "surfer town" with a laid back vibe... perfect for relaxing after the wedding. The beach is expansive and there are plenty of restaurants within a short walk. If you are up for a bit more activity there also lots of tours out of Tamarindo, much like most of the tourist areas in Costa Rica. While we here here, we decided to focus on relaxing so lots of beach & pool time and dining.

We stayed at Tamarindo Village which is a small secluded hotel with villas. For the same reasons we selected this place I would not recommend it... We loved the villas and that it was a bit removed from what I will call "the strip." However this meant we were hiking up and down a muddy road to get to the beach or to anywhere to eat. If I were to "replan" our honeymoon I would stay at Hotel Capitan Suizo or Hotel Tamarindo Diria.

Hotel Capitan Suizo looks gorgeous and is directly on the beach. We stayed at a different hotel owned by the Small Distinctive Hotels in Costa Rica group and based on that wonderful experience would try another one of their hotels.

{Image via Hotel Capitan Suizo}

Hotel Tamarindo Diria has a perfect location and very pretty grounds. You would be able to walk down the beach to a variety of restaurants or down the street to rent a scooter.

{Image via Hotel Tamarindo Diria}

For breakfast Grinds was one of our favorite restaurants. It is a little ways from the beach but worth finding. The same location becomes Kahiki in the evenings and we had one of the best dinners in Costa Rica here. The chef is European and moved from New York... and they had the best mojitos of the trip!

{Image of Kahiki from author's personal collection}

Nibbana Bar is another wonderful option for drinks and/or dinner that I would recommend. The atmosphere and service are great... And they make yummy drinks. It is a pretty open air restaurant on the beach with a great view for a sunset.

{Image of Nibbana from author's personal collection}

Several people recommended Nogui as being one of the best restaurants for dinner but we were pretty unimpressed. However, maybe we just didn't order the right thing...

Overall, Tamarindo is a fun place to vacation... whether you are looking for relaxing by the beach, taking surf lessons, or going on tours to volcanoes. Enjoy!

Comments

[Jennifer]

I am loving this series! We are planning a honeymoon to Costa Rica soon, so this is all great info in addition to all the research we've done!
Thanks!

[Lyndsy]

Oh my gosh! It all sounds so amazing and too perfect! All Elon and I want to do for our Honeymoon is relax, eat, and drink. I hear Costa Rica is amazing!

[Jennifer]

We just booked ourt room at the Hotel Capitan Suizo! EEK! We are excited, thanks again for these great re-caps and recommendations!

[Tara]

Jennifer- Yay! That is awesome. You will have so much fun!