SJO - Juan Santamaria Int. Airport → Nosara (Playa Guiones Area)

Nosara, and specifically the Playa Guiones area, is Costa Rica's wellness capital: a seven-kilometre surf beach with consistent, beginner-friendly waves, yoga studios and retreats in the jungle behind it, and a low-rise community with no buildings on the sand. Nearby Playa Pelada is the sunset spot and Ostional, to the north, hosts mass sea-turtle arrivals.

The vibe is healthy, barefoot and slow. Roads are unpaved by design, which is exactly why visitors book a driver.

From Liberia Airport the trip takes about 2 to 2.5 hours: paved through Santa Cruz and Nicoya, then the last stretch toward the coast where the road turns to gravel. Our drivers do this route every week and know the smoothest lines and the shortcuts through Guiones' sandy lanes. From Tamarindo allow 2 hours in dry season. Drop-off is at your hotel, retreat or rental door.

• The best beginner surf is at Playa Guiones mid-tide; lessons are everywhere.
• Guiones has no shops on the beach; the restaurants and studios are in the dirt lanes behind it.
• Dust is constant in dry season and mud in green season; bring appropriate footwear.
• Ostional's turtle arribadas happen a few nights a month around the new moon; ask your hotel.