How to savor a Family Adventure in Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Updated: Aug 30
The cook shooed the iguana from the dining room but he would always return, lumbering along like a golem in search of a lettuce leaf. She must do this every day, because when we were there, she had HAD IT so she chased him with a broom scolding him all the way out the door. That’s just an ordinary lunch on the Nicoya peninsula on the northwest coast of Costa Rica. A “Blue Zone” noted for its healthy living, Nicoya is becoming a popular destination.
Sandy beaches stretch out for miles along tropical forests dotted with tiny surfing villages.
Luxury hotels have started to move in but we found a cozy and reasonably priced hotel in Montezuma called El Jardin (under $200 in the high season) complete with a local howler monkey family that traveled across the tree canopy while we enjoyed the pool below.
Montezuma is a lively hippie enclave offering tasty restaurants with easy access to Montezuma Beach. It was a great place to set up as our home base as we explored the southern tip of Nicoya.
The drive from Montezuma to Santa Teresa takes about thirty-five dusty and bumpy minutes and is best done with four-wheel drive, but you’re rewarded with one of the most pristine beaches in the world. The access road along the beach is sand with a few clearings that serve as parking lots. We locked our car out of habit but it was probably unnecessary because there is very little crime here; people are too busy catching waves and enjoying “pura vida”. The kids enjoyed rolling in the shallow surf, peering into tide pools and chasing crabs in the sand.
When we returned to our car another troop of howler monkeys has settled in the trees just a few feet above our car. My kids delighted in their thunderous calls. Maybe it was a good thing that we had locked the car after all!
Another highly recommended day trip from Montezuma is the Reserva Natural Cabo Blanco (https://nicoyapeninsula.com/naturereserves/cabo-blanco/). We took a short hike through the woods here spotting a deer and listening to yet another howler monkey family wailing in the trees. We also spotted capuchins near the parks main visitor center.
After dinner in Montezuma we retreated to the hotel pool to cool off and unwind hoping for one last glimpse of monkeys in the trees.
