Sámara

Samara is the kind of Costa Rican beach town that travel writers hesitate to reveal, fearing the crowds that inevitably follow. Curving along a five-kilometer crescent of pale sand on the Nicoya Peninsula's Pacific coast, this laid-back village occupies one of the safest swimming beaches in the country — a gentle bay where the surf breaks softly and palm trees lean over the waterline with a nonchalance that feels like a permanent invitation to slow down.

Unlike the overdeveloped resort strips further north, Samara has retained its village character. A handful of unpaved side streets branch off the main road, leading to family-run sodas where casados — the classic Costa Rican plate of rice, beans, plantain, salad, and your choice of protein — cost a few dollars and taste of home. The beach is never crowded, even in high season. Local fishermen launch pangas from the sand each morning and return with snapper, mahi-mahi, and yellowfin tuna that appear on restaurant menus the same evening, grilled whole and served with patacones and a sharp curtido salad.

The surrounding marine environment is remarkable. Isla Chora, a small island visible from the beach, shelters a healthy reef system accessible by kayak or short boat ride — ideal for snorkeling among parrotfish, pufferfish, and the occasional white-tip reef shark. Between December and April, humpback whales pass through offshore waters, and bottlenose dolphins are year-round residents. The Werner Sauter Biological Reserve, a private nature preserve in the hills behind town, protects transitional dry forest where howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, and scarlet macaws are commonly sighted.

For the adventurous, Samara serves as a base for exploring the wider Nicoya Peninsula — one of the world's designated Blue Zones, where residents live measurably longer than the global average. The Nosara yoga community is thirty minutes north. Bejuco and Carrillo, quieter beaches to the south, offer surf breaks and mangrove estuaries teeming with birdlife. Samara's own surf school is one of the best in the country for beginners, with gentle waves that break over sandy bottom.

Samara is typically accessed by tender from expedition cruise ships anchoring in the bay. The nearest airport is in Nosara, though most visitors arrive overland from Liberia or San Jose. The dry season from December through April is the classic visiting period, with reliably sunny skies and warm temperatures, but the green season (May through November) has its own appeal — afternoon showers leave mornings sparkling, hotel rates drop significantly, and the surrounding hills erupt in impossible shades of emerald. Samara is proof that the best beach towns are the ones that never tried too hard.