Six towns on this coast, and they differ far more than they look on a map. Answer honestly and we will tell you where to start looking, and why.
The six towns, and who each one suits. Turn on JavaScript for the picker.
Real infrastructure, neighbours, services you can walk to, and 25 minutes from the airport. Everyone else on this coast is a weekend drive away, so you can decide about them from here. It is where Robbie tells almost everyone to spend their first year.
Watch for: Not the prettiest beach on the list, and not quiet. If those two matter most, read Hermosa and Ocotal.
Hillside homes over a calm dark-sand bay, five minutes from Coco when you want a restaurant. Suits people who already know the area, have their people, and would rather look at the sea than walk to a coffee.
Watch for: You drive for everything, including at night. Hard on a first year and hard on anyone arriving alone.
Calm swimmable water, a long clean beach, quiet residential streets. Families and retirees choose it for exactly those reasons and rarely regret it.
Watch for: No busy main street and no nightlife. Not the cheapest option, and a slower place to meet people if you arrive alone.
Surf, restaurants and nightlife within walking distance, a social life fast, and the strongest rental market on the coast. The most international town in Guanacaste, for better and worse.
Watch for: Crowds, prices, more English than Spanish, and an hour from the airport. If you want quiet or want to keep costs down, look elsewhere.
A national park beach with serious surf, low density, dark skies and building rules that keep it that way. For people who surf, want space, and actively want somewhere that cannot become something else.
Watch for: Nothing within walking distance, a small community, and you drive everywhere. Almost nobody lands here first.
Ten minutes inland, prices drop and Spanish comes back. More house and more land for the money, Costa Rican neighbours, and no high-season price swings. The beach is a short drive.
Watch for: Hotter without the sea breeze, fewer English-speaking services, and a harder landing with no Spanish. Works best for people who have already done a year on the coast.
A picker is a place to start, not a verdict. Robbie's standing advice is to rent in Coco for a year whatever this says, and explore the rest at weekends. The area guides have the long version of each.
Forty-five minutes on video. Your situation, the towns that fit it and the ones that do not, and a written recap afterwards.
Ask an Expat · $99