COSTA RICA {PART 2}

After leaving Quepos we drove north up the coast to Tamarindo, Guanacaste.

We made little pit stops along the way as well to places like alligator bridge where there are TONS of alligators just hanging out under this highway overpass {highly recommend stopping there}. We also stopped in Jaco. We stayed for maybe a total of 20 minutes... just enough time to figure we hated the beach, and eat a famous Churchill drink.

The beach was way too crowded/nothing special to us. We are more low key people so we would compare it to Waikiki beach in Hawaii... there is nothing worse than scratchy sand and lots of people to ruin your relaxing beach day.

We spent a total of 3 days in Tamarindo. The little hotel we stayed at had a pool that was heavenly, and each room was it's own little cabana tucked away. The hotel was more for the adult/bar scene which is not really our style so we felt like little kids in an adult playground. Lots of people laying by the pool drinking their drinks.... and then tiny us would be the only ones in the pool actually swimming around... haha also notice my burnt lines...oops.

Although Tamarindo was more of the touristy type area they did have some beautiful beaches. This was definitely the area we went beaching hopping most. Carson votes Playa Conchal as his favorite beach of all time. This beach is a beach made up of very small broken sea shells which makes it very interesting. We spent an entire day on Playa Conchal just relaxing, reading, swimming in the warm water, snorkeling and drinking coconuts.

Tip from the wise... bring your own snorkel gear on your vacations so you can beat the overpriced rentals and you can hop out and snorkel wherever/whenever you want.

Other honorable mention beaches were Playa Grande, and Playa Flamingo.

We took a little run on Playa Flamingo, and then went over to Playa Grande to watch the sunset and try to spot sea turtle {keyword try... no luck for us though} Playa Grande had some of the biggest waves coming in I had ever seen. Rows and Rows of barrel waves, it really was amazing to sit and watch.

Our last day we decided to stay close and walk the strip of souvenir shops, and hang out at Playa Tamarindo. Carson lived his dream by snagging a surfboard and tried out his hand at surfing.

We found some of our favorite food in this area. Our #1 favorite place was the Green Papaya. Their beef enchiladas were heaven. We loved them so much we went 2 nights in a row... Also loved the gelatos shops, and a small pizzeria just outside of town called New York Pizzeria. The owner was an elderly man who was so proud of every pizza he made and chit chatted with us for a bit.

Overall, our review of Tamarindo was very good, but not our favorite area of the country compared to others. We are glad we went but almost wish we would have spent 1 less day there and added it onto somewhere else in our trip. I know I may be bold for saying that since this is the most popular area in Costa Rica, but if you love a vacation that is just to hang on a good beach, shop around/eat food, and tourist attractions then you will love this area. Like I said earlier we loved it but we ultimately are more low key people and find other places to be more relaxing.

Thanks for reading and look for the FINAL Part 3 of our trip coming up later this week!