the sandpiper inn is 400 yds from the backyard bar. It's cheaper, cleaner, and the owner can score you the dank. ... and don't go to Jaco unless you want **** stolen. Plus the waves are weak there. Stick in Playa Hermosa or head to Manuel Antonioo... great break there.
Hermosa Palms is not as far south as Esterillos. If you travel down the road past the Tree, its literallys right after the pig farm. Pretty much right next to it.
CR Family Vacation Playa Negra in Guanacaste was great. Great Right hand break infront of the Hotel, nice beach for my 2 year old play on at low tide with all the tide pools. Plus the hotel has a pool and the entire staff were very kid-friendly. http://www.playanegra.com/en/
Jaco is shady although you can still have dinner with the family and walk around for a night out. Just be aware if you walk past half the bars there will be 100 hookers offering their services. The one surfer type bar was good no hookers there mostly all surfers and pretty chill. Apparently they round up the hookers every few months and send them back to Columbia as most come from there. I happened to be walking out of a bar and didnt have my passport on me on one of these nights and they loaded me in a bus with all of the hookers and took me to the police station. Anyone without a passport had to go total BS but sort of funny as I had to wait there while my buddies ran back to the Backyard and got my passport at which time they let me go. Moral of the story bring your passport out at night if you plan on going to Jaco and dont want to sit in the police station with 72hookers. And no I wasnt with them I literally stepped one foot out of the bar and got grabbed my buddies were behind me and stayed in when they saw it and didn't get nabbed...lesson learned.
I went to Hermosa a few years ago with my wife and 3 kids. The kids were 10 and 8 at the time. Hermosa wasn't the best beach for kids. The swell was pretty small but we wouldn't let them in the water and they were stuck with the pool. The kids are familiar with the ocean and swim on the swim team. Luckily we were only there a couple days. We did drive down to esterillos one day and they swam and surfed there. I also thought Jaco was a dump. If it were me, I would look for something around tamarindo. Negra is nice and it would be safe for him to play in the pools and on the beaches unless it was really big. It's also a short drive to Avellanes and if you want some bigger barrels you can drive to Marbella.
This brings up a really good point. You can't look at a trip like that as if were a trip to OCMD. The beaches almost ALWAYS have surf so the whole playing in the water thing is not much of an option. Plus most of the beaches are dark sand that get REALLY hot durning the day so morning and evenings are best for chilling on the sand. Most importantly. You aren't in the USA!! You are in a foreign country and subject to their laws and customs. Bottom line is that you don't have the same rights there as you do in the US so don't expect that. CR is probably one of the better places as far as that goes but you could still run into trouble if you assume the same rules apply there as here. PS--I don't think Tamarindo is much better than Jaco.
Costa Surf Tours! right in Esterillos. Run by the Gleasons, local Jersey guys probably know them. be sure to check that one out
Ya man I will never forget that place and it will probably be the only place I would stay in Hermosa area now. It was really a great time. One night we had only surfers staying at the Inn and the hotel restaurant was closed for the day. The owner (Greg) and one of the guys that live on the grounds (Arin) went to the store and bought all this food and we had a big ass cookout and a huge fire on the beach. It was only $10 a person. It was like 9 of us drinking brews and eating amazing home cooked food while sharing war stories. The owner was actually that guy who flew a bike over the English channel. He also rode cross country on a bike without stopping once. Some crazy ****!!! P.S. this was in March which is not the BEST time to go for waves in Hermosa and we had head high waves the whole time with 3 of the days being 8-10ft. Like I said the swell got so big it was sort of closing out Hermosa so we headed north to Boca and scored some of the longest point break surf I have ever seen.
I must agree here. The sand was so hot you actually had to run from the hotel property to the water and my feet would sting for like a hour after. There was one time we waited at the edge of the water and had to yell up to the people sitting at the hotel bar to go get our sandals and throw them down to us. That sand it HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with most of the rest, don't even go to Hermosa if you are with the fam. Go to either Manuel Antonio or anywhere on the Nicoya from Mal Pais up to south of Tamarindo. Also don't be scared to leave the beach for a few nights and check out the cloud forests or volcanoes. I used to not want to be anywhere but the beach and just surf nonstop but now when I go it is nice to go somewhere else in the mountains.
Don't even go to Hermosa?? There's hardly surf in Manuel Antonio. If you want consistent uncrowded barrels, go to Hermosa. Its a great place, far enough away from Jaco. Plenty of great places to eat all up and down the road. Go to Hermosa if you're serious about surfing. The kids and wife can play in the pool. Take them hiking or to the butterfy reserve one day. Plenty of exploring all of you can enjoy. Oh, and i forgot to mention. If you get a nice steep south swell, it will fill into Escondida and you can have your family watch you get barreled out of your mind from the boat. World class left reef break, with beautiful jungle background. Launch from Herradura, don't pay more than $15 bucks.
if you are going in december you should go up north...like tamarindo,avellanas, playa negra...waves are really good that time of year ..with mostly strong offshores...ive been goin to costa for 15 years and have caught some of the best waves of my life up north in december..jaco and hermosa have slowly turned into a drug infested prostitute ridden party town!!...fun to hit with the boys but not the wifey and a 2 year old
Believe me I know Hermosa well, and have scored awesome waves there. There is more to do in those other places I mentioned when with a family, including nicr panaromas etc. If you know where to go you will find awesome waves in Manuel Antonio and the other places I mentioned too.
Hermosa Alternatives Check out Marea Brava for a really big condo at a good price. Eat at the Jungle Surf Cafe. I stay at Loma del Mar Surf Club on Calle Hermosa but I would not recommend it for a 2 year old. Steep hills and deep pool. lomasurfclub.com has 2 BR villa for $75 to !00 a night. 5 minutes to the break. With them you surf with the rovercam.com dawn patrol. Have a great trip. Say Hi to Freddy!
