Location: Nicoya
Top Things to do in Nicoya
Countries
The 10 Best Things to do in Nicoya, Province of Guanacaste
Nicoya, a city on the Nicoya Peninsula of the Guanacaste province, Costa Rica, is one of the country's most important tourist zones; it serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks. According to the 2000 census, the city's population was 13,334; second in the province only to Liberia. The city is the district seat of a cantón of the same name, which in 2013 had 24,946 residents.
Restaurants in Nicoya
1. Puerto Carrillo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 72 reviews
Reviewed By ccone413 - San Francisco, United States
My boyfriend and I were staying in nearby Punta Islita, but found the beach there to be very volcanic and rugged with silt-filled water. We took about a 30 minute drive north (due to bad roads, not the distance) and found Puerto Carillo! The beach is beautiful! Long crescent beach - easy to walk the whole thing. Lighter sand (but still hot!), and clearer water. There are some good waves here if you like to boogie board. It wasn't too hard to get in past the break, but you need to be careful or you could get pummeled. I'd classify the water as warm. Due to the lack of amenities, it was not overly crowded. Personally, I find that to be a good thing. No bathrooms. No restaurants. No shower/rinse facilities. There are a couple of vendors set up along the street selling coconut water, shaved ice, and a guy renting beach chairs/umbrellas. We paid $10 for two beach loungers and an umbrella and it was (necessary) heaven. There are some palms along the road that you can escape to if you don't feel like springing for man-made shade. Just be sure to bring everything else you need for a day at the beach along with you (towels, books, sunscreen, food, water, etc.) because you won't find it there!
2. Casa de Arte Curime de Nicoya
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Arr Gallery with a beautiful garden full of Sculptures and objects. Mostly recycled material. Contemporary Art Gallery. Galería de Arte. Jardín de esculturas. Arte contemporáneo.
3. Sabanero Horse Ventures
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Customized horse expeditions through the mountains and beaches of beatiful Costa Rica. We will take you to spectacular places not seen by many tourists. Every detail will be perfectly coordinated so you can just enjoy your trip and relax, always hanging around with a local. Groups from 4 to 10 riders. From one day rides to 10 day adventures. Experienced and well cared horses.
Reviewed By rfeeds
Perfect in every way ! Jorge, Margo the family so welcoming.Great horses , beautiful country and culture . no detail is too small.."Macho" will make it happen. Laid back, peaceful , great food . Five star to historic ranch house. Home cooking to top chefs. This trip will give you all of this. So many favourite things.. Howler monkeys and Brahma cattle, sea turtles hatching, beach vultures..Rodeo !! we will be back !! Thank you for getting my cowboy back in the saddle . Les and Don Richardson Ranch Haida Gwaii B.C ????
4. Barra Honda National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 136 reviews
This park is best known for its well-preserved limestone caves.
Reviewed By N4521MAdanielab - Anchorage, United States
I guess i never in my lifetime make something as extreme as the expedition to the caverns, so far was a great and complete workout (not for people with health issues) jajajaja i really enjoy the effort for make it possible, was a challenge for complete, the guide was right before started the experience and recommended us bring more water, lots of hike, wildelife, she take the time for explain to us with a map and a wildlife guide all the plants and animals species we found during the route, the trail for car and 4x4 was closed due damage for severe rains so was longer than usual, but we really enjoy it a lot. The view of Barra Honda town was priceless, i recommended watched first before the caverns and seat for a moment on the chair and rejoy with that awesome view.
5. Curu National Wildlife Refuge
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 351 reviews
Privately owned, this refuge has excellent birding and wildlife watching.
Reviewed By Mari245 - San Jose, Costa Rica
This place is fabulous. There is ample opportunity for birdwatching, lots of fauna, nice trails, hordebackriding and two beautiful beaches. My favorite: Curú, even over the white beach of Quesera. We did the horseback trip to Quesera which takes a little over 1 hour one way, two other trails and had the best time staying in the super basic zero frills cabins! Lots of photo opportunities!
6. Church of San Blas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 23 reviews
Reviewed By wsohara - Montreal, Canada
An absolutely beautiful, if low key, church in the heart of Nicoya. There has been a church on the site since 1544. The present one is ancient, having withstood several devastating earthquakes over the centuries. It has recently been restored to its former glory, so ignore any old photos you see. The church is surrounded by the town square, an active and exciting park under the shade of trees as old as the church. Well worth a visit to Nicoya anyway, but especially to see this historic site.
7. Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 162 reviews
Reviewed By aml888 - San Francisco, United States
There are two options for hiking in this beautiful preserve: a shorter ~2 mi trail and a 6 mi (10K) loop out to the beach. We chose the longer trail to the beach. Finding the reserve and parking is easy. The fee is $12 USD per person and can be paid in dollars, colones or via credit card. The trail is almost entirely shaded, a huge relief on a hot sunny day, but it is not an easy trail. There's a lot of elevation change, at least several hundred feet cumulative in each direction (you basically hike up to a high point and then down to the beach, then back up and down again on the return). Some areas are a bit technical (big steps up/down, lots of roots and rocks in some spots) but not terrible, just slow going. The real challenge is the heat. Be sure to bring a lot of water, more than you think you'll need. We each brought about 500 ml and wish we'd brought twice that. And wear sturdy hiking shoes (we wore trail running shoes, which were fine). If you wear flip flops, be prepared to be miserable. Also, while fine in the dry season, the footing would likely be quite treacherous in the rainy season. The beach at the end is very pretty. We arrived at low tide and it was quite rocky by the water; even an hour or two later the water would probably have been up to the pretty white sand. There are no facilities (restrooms, potable water) at the beach but there are several nice picnic tables. The mileage according to my GPS watch was almost spot on at 3 mi each direction. It took us approximately 1.5 hrs to hike out and a little longer coming back (tired!). One disappointment - we did not see many monkeys, birds or other wildlife (we started the hike at 9:20am so maybe it was too hot by then). We celebrated surviving our jungle hike with cold beer at La Selva Brewery, a few km on the road back to Montezuma. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this hike if you're up for a bit of a strenuous walk through a beautiful jungle.
8. Playa Manzanillo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 29 reviews
La playa no esta turísticamente desarollada, las puestas del sol desde allí son increibles. Desde el restaurante Puesta del Sol Dorada, cual ofrece comida tica deliciosa, se puede admirar. Enfrente la playa rocosa, mejor para banharse es la playa más al norte en dónde hay piscinas para echarse una banhadita. Allí, envez de conchas, se encuentran piedras en diferentes tamanhos y colores.
Reviewed By hoffman5 - San Jose, Costa Rica
This beach is a little bit down from Playa Punta Uva, which is our favorite beach in the world. Playa Manzanillo is almost as good. The water is a little less clear but still incredibly beautiful. The waves are fun to jump in, not enough for surfing but perfect for body surfing or boogey boarding. The beach was almost empty except ourselves. Highly recommend.
9. Diria National Park
10. Rancho Humo, Protected and Nature Conservancy Reserve
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
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