tamarindo beach

I took surf lessons at Iguana Surf and it was absolutely amazing!! The people who work there are so nice and very chill, and they give the best tips and advice for surfing in Costa Rica! I loved their shop so much I went back the next day to rent a surf board from them, and the prices are great. They made my surfing experience the best it could be and I can't wait to go back!!

This is a tough one to rate.The surroundings, beach and nature are great. The town is a tourist trap. Very expensive. Loud and single minded as in "how to charge and over charge" you for just about everything.Bring your high limit CC.

My family loved Tamarindo Beach. We were out at 6:00 am to catch the early waves and then would go back out and stayed till the sunset. It was good for surfers of different abilities. They have chairs and umbrellas you can rent. (2 chairs and an umbrella $12 for the day) We had chairs from our condo so it was just $4 for an umbrella. The one downside of the beach was the wind would whip the sand all over. My bags were full of sand. We will definitely go back.

Stayed at Sunrise Tamarindo Condos for one week and loved the accommodations and Tamarindo Beach. Beautiful area and wonderful people. More wind than I was expecting on a couple of the days but we just spent more time at the pool with waterfall those days. Took beginning surf lessons at Matos Surf Company with Juan which I HIGHLY recommend, very friendly and excellent instructor, I noticed a huge improvement over the week. Lessons were two hours starting with about 15 min on land instruction, best time to go was 6am or 4 pm which made for less crowded waves.... And a beautiful view of the sunrise/sunset.

The beach is beautiful but it is very crowded for the area. If you love people and dogs, this beach is for YOU. In Tamarindo, there is access to all kinds of food, fun and shopping within a short distance. It's the best spot for tourists to hang out if they are into that sort of thing. The Tamarindo beach is a crowded one!

This has been a weird March, I have heard from the locals that it is not usually as windy as it has been this time but still its a great beach and great surfing for beginners, intermediates, and advanced surfers.

the beach was OK not my favorite, but nice,The water was refreshing, not cold or hot. glad we had a pool too.It's kind of dark sand and the tide really comes up and down fast. I had a couple fun times swimming in the waves, other times it was more about getting out far enough to swim,I liked eating dinner on the restaurants along the beach the best

This is a great place in order to learn how to surf. The waves are not too big, and the water is great for swimming.

Playa Tamarindo is usually very busy and at this time of the year outrageously windy - so much so that it is practically impossible to lie down and relax. The beach is divided by reefs, which at high tide can definitely hurt your feet if you don't know where they are. The best spot on the beach is all the way on the left hand side, where there are less people and less rocks, otherwise my favourite spot on Playa Tamarindo is where the boats take you across to Playa Grande. Playa Grande is indescribably better for swimming and general relaxation!

Tamarindo beach is approximately 1.5 miles in length with gorgeous clean water and plenty of soft sand to play in. The waves aren't too high and the water is shallow for a ways out. If you would like to learn to surf...this is a GREAT opportunity!!! Several instructors to help you and the waves aren't too over powering!! Several beach bars to enjoy a cold drink or a snack and fabulous sunsets from the North end of the beach.Pura Vida!

Beautiful long wide beach, for calmer water head south, for great waves - north. Fun and relaxing (but keep in mind this beach is meant for surfing, not for casual swimming or kids)

Protected estuary, rivers and rivermouth, surfing, lots of sand and activities....Offshore winds most of the year, great fishing, hiking, and plenty of wildlife.

Like this beach and find the waves great for beginners. Even when they are breaking farther out at 4 and 5 feet, you can surf closer in and get a great lesson and experience. Try Iguana Surf nearby for lessons and ask for FiFo - he has been a great instructor for us - twice in the past 15 months. Young, personable, and he managed to get our family on surfboards successfully. He is great to work with and the staff at Iguana are friendly and helpful. We also walked up to Playa Grande which adjoins Tamarindo (took a boat across the small inlet) and enjoyed the national park. Note that the waves on that side are often much bigger - we saw 10-12 foot waves and surfers who were highly experienced. Nearby Langosta Beach is also nice, and you can get a day pass to use everything at the Langosta Beach Club and Hotel for $25 (including access to beach toys and fitness). It's a very nice property. It's an easy ten minute walk from Tamarindo center.

We took surfing lessons here this past week and had a blast! There were a good mix of small and mid sized waves for beginners (like us) and apparently also some areas for more advanced surfers. The temperature was in the low 30s but water was cooler and felt perfect with just a surf shirt. The beach was clean and not very crowded with a good mountain view. The only problem was the dry sand (dark sand), which felt like coal to the feet, so bringing good footwear would be important.

This is not the white sand beach that I prefer, but it is a surfers paradise! We love sitting on the beach and eating and watching the surfers.