• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The Harmony Hotel   (Photo: Courtesy of Harmony Hotel)

Choose a hotel near Playa Guiones, which has consistent swells and a sandy bottom, making it the best beach in Nosara for beginner surfers. The most luxurious (yet hardly expensive) is the Harmony Hotel (from $160), an ecofriendly property just a short walk from the Guiones sand. All standard rooms come with private back patios that let you shower outdoors while listening to the squawk of exotic birds.

Get even closer to nature by staying at the ten-room, balcony-lined Casa Romantica (from $71), a couples-oriented hotel that’s tucked snuggly into the jungle just two minutes by foot from the beach. Despite the generously sized swimming pool, the lodging does skimp a bit: It charges $10 a night extra for an air conditioner.

For more space and privacy, rent one of the four high-ceilinged cottages—all with kitchens, futoned living rooms, and patios—at Villas Canadiense (from $70). The property is just over 200 yards from the beach, while the nearest restaurants, bars, and other services are no more than a ten-minute walk away.

Published on November 14, 2007 as a web exclusive.