Tamarindo Travel Tips

The weather in Tamarindo ☀️

The climate in Tamarindo is divided into two seasons, a dry season, often referred to as high season, and a rainy, or green, season.
The dry season runs from December to April, and in those months it rains very very little. 
In May the green season starts (it starts to rain) and lasts till November. In the first few months of green season it can rain quite a bit, with typical tropical “showers”, but it’s also common to have days, and sometimes even weeks, with almost no rain at all. September and October are the rainiest months.


Both seasons have their advantages: the dry season is perfect to enjoy warm weather and sunshine ☀️ and the rainy season offers more tranquility, due to fewer tourists, more comfortable prices, and nature is presented in all its most beautiful shades of green! 🌿

What should I pack?
 👙🕶️

Tamarindo is a beach town, and it’s warm year round, so you can pack comfortable, casual and light clothes.
Your wardrobe should definitely include bathing suits, shorts, shirts, flip flops, sunglasses and a cap/hat.
Also, sunscreen, insect repellent and an after bite are highly recommended, but can also be found in the shops in town.
If you are visiting Tamarindo in rainy season, bringing a rain jacket is a good idea.
And if you are planning to do some activities, tours or hikes a lightweight daypack and comfortable hiking boots should be part of you luggage.

Airports ✈️

The closest international airport is located in Liberia, about a 60-minute drive away and there is also a domestic airport in Tamarindo.

Is the local water safe to drink? 🚰

Tap water is generally safe to drink in most places in Costa Rica, it may have a different “taste” though. 
At Capitán Suizo we offer filtered water in our restaurant and we have a few filtered water distributors in the hotel area.

Swim & surf in Tamarindo 🌊

Tamarindo in general is known as one of the safest beaches in the country, the currents are gentle and the beach is flat with almost no inclination. 

During low tide, the waves are very small which makes swimming enjoyable for everyone.
During high tide, the water level rises and therefore waves become bigger and are ideal for surfing or boogie boarding.  

Capitán Suizo is located at the end of the bay where the waves are the calmest which is why the beach at our end is also ideal for beginner surfers.
For advanced surfers, the river mouth is a perfect place to surf. 

Costa Rica's Wildlife 🐒🦝🦜


Costa Rica is known for its amazing nature and wildlife and in Tamarindo you can see quite a few animals. Birds, howler monkeys, squirrels, gray and green iguanas, geckos, skunks, and raccoons are some of most common animals in the area. With some luck you can also spot nocturnal wildlife such us armadillos, collared anteaters, porcupines and opossums.

If you are looking for a hotel set beneath native trees and nestled between rich, organically maintained gardens which home and attract a wide variety of wildlife, Capitán Suizo is a great option 😉

Compiled by Milena Re
Marketing Assistant – Hotel Capitán Suizo
February 24th, 2022

The best tips from our concierge

The concierge desk is located near the pool in a cozy outdoor environment. There our concierge Rosa, who knows everything there is to know about the hotel, Tamarindo, car rentals, domestic flights, taxis and much more, will gladly help make your stay as fun, adventurous or soothing as you wish.

Rosa, our concierge.

We asked Rosa what her best recommendations are, which you can find below:

Hi Rosa!
Among the tours and activities we offer at Capitán Suizo, what is your best recommendation?

To see animals and be in nature what I can recommend the most is a day tour to Tenorio Rain Forest.
It is a very nice tour, you can do different walks in nature and you may see several animals, such as sloths, toucans or red frogs.
You leave at 6.30 a.m. from the Hotel, make a stop for coffee (it is a 3 hour drive) and once there you do the various activities. After the hikes and activities you will have lunch and be back at the Hotel by 5-5:30 p.m.

What is the best selling tour here at Capitán Suizo?

What sells the most here are the surf lessons.
Because Tamarindo Bay has some of the calmest currents of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, it is considered one of the safest beaches for water sports, and therefore is a very ideal place to learn how to surf.

The Catamaran tour is also a top seller. 

It is a half day tour, it starts at 1.30 p.m. and ends after sunset, at around 6 p.m. 
You sail in the bay of Tamarindo, along Playa Grande and other beaches, until you reach a good place where you can take a refreshing swim or do some snorkeling. It is possible to see dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life and at the end of the trip you can admire a beautiful sunset.

A tour with a lot of adrenaline?

For a tour with a lot of adrenaline I recommend the Guachipelin day tour. 
This tour offers several activities, you can go tubing in the river, do canopy/canyoning and visit the hot springs.

I can also recommend the Tenorio river rafting day tour, an excellent option for rafting in Guanacaste.
This river offers a great deal of adventure and action with its class III-IV rapids, twists, turns and drops. During the 2 hours of paddling down this amazing river, you will also pass through smoother sections where you will be able to admire the lush forested riverside inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife.

A more chill tour?

For a quieter tour I can recommend the tour to Palo Verde.
This tour consists of a 2-hour boat trip on the Tempisque River in the Palo Verde National Park; the most important nesting, reproducing and feeding site for resident and migratory birds in Costa Rica. It focuses on watching and learning about rich ecosystems that provide food and shelter for the different species that inhabit this area such as water birds, crocodiles, iguanas and monkeys.
After the boat tour you will have a typical lunch and visit Guaitil, where craftsmen produce (under the influence of the indigenous people “Chorotega”) pots, vessels, ocarinas and other objects with clay.

A recommendation for children/families?

For families I recommend the mangrove tour, the "Tamarindo estuary by boat" tour. It is a very quiet tour 10 minutes from the hotel, which lasts 2 hours. You can explore the estuary by boat and see various animals, and the kids really enjoy it!

What is our guests' favorite activity?

Our guests' favorite things to do are surfing, use the boogie boards and the stand up paddle boards.
At our concierge we offer boogie boards, surf boards and SUP boards.

For more information about activities and tours you can visit our website.

Compiled by Milena Re
Marketing Assistant – Hotel Capitán Suizo
January 21th, 2022

Capitán Suizo’s New Year’s resolutions

Expand our organic garden

We are working on our organic garden using biodynamic agriculture, in order to be able to offer the freshest and most organic products in our restaurant.

Give a sustainability tour

We want to offer a tour of the Hotel to our guests, going through some interesting points from a sustainability point of view. On the tour we will explain the various practices we use at Capitán Suizo and give some information about native trees and plants.

Increase the life quality of our team

Starting in January the entire Capitán Suizo team will work only 5 days a week, instead of 6.
We are one of the first hotels in Costa Rica to implement this work system and we hope that this will greatly improve the quality of life of our team, so they can enjoy more of their free time, hobbies and time with their families and friends.

Maintain and improve our sustainability practices

As we do every year we want to work on our sustainability practices and improve them where we can. This year we would like to use fewer plastic bottles, replacing them with recyclable glass bottles.

Increase the variety of activities offered to our guests

We want to offer more activities to our guests. Since last year we have been offering yoga classes in front of the beach, and this year we would like to start offering salsa classes in our restaurant.

Continue to support the community and socio-environmental projects

We want to continue supporting our community. We are building trailers that ADIT (Tamarindo Community Development Association) will be able to use as offices and rooms for their collaborators.
We will also continue to support associations and foundations that work for the welfare of animals, the environment and people, such as Strobel Stiftung and the Pack for a Purpose initiative.

Compiled by Milena Re 
Marketing Assistant – Hotel Capitán Suizo 
December 31th, 2021

4 beaches near Tamarindo

Playa Langosta

Playa Langosta is located just south of Tamarindo and is within walking distance from Capitán Suizo.
Langosta has a different vibe then Tamarindo, it’s more residential, more private, and “fancier” then its neighbour. Small bed & breakfasts, condos and rental homes can be spotted from the shore.
It is a locally well-known area and an excellent beach for those looking for a quieter atmosphere. 

It’s perfect for long walks, watching the sunset, sunbathing and for the many tide pools.
It’s also pretty famous amongst more experienced surfers, with left and right breaks. 
Currents can be strong, and swimming is not recommended everywhere.
There are some sandy and some rocky parts and just after Occidental Tamarindo there is an estuary. 

Playa Langosta is a nice place, within walking distance from the Hotel, for a change of scenery, so go check it out!

Playa Grande

Playa Grande is located just north of Tamarindo and is part of the Marino Las Baulas National Park.
It is a quiet, laid back place, with a few restaurants, hotels, small supermarkets and some surf shops along the main street.
Playa Grande is a long stretch of brown sand beach, pearly blue waters and almost no trees and is known for its excellent surfing conditions. It is the ideal destination for surfers who find Tamarindo a bit too crowded. The waves are accessible to surfers of all levels and the surf breaks are consistent and moderate.
As the currents can be quite strong, swimming can be challenging, so be careful.

The beach is open to the public, but remains a highly protected area because it is considered to be the most important nesting site of the Leatherback turtles.
Leatherback turtles, also called Las Baulas, are one of the largest marine reptiles and can weigh up to 700 kg!
The area was named a National Park in 1990 and since then, with big conservation efforts, the numbers of one of most endangered sea turtles begun to rise. 

If you want to know more about the majestic Baulas or if you would like to organize a tour to Playa Grande, please ask our concierge Rosa, she can give you more information.

Playa Avellanas

Playa Avellanas is only 10 km, a 30 minute drive, from Tamarindo, and offers tan sand, turquoise waters and world-class waves.
It’s one of the best beaches for surfing in Guanacaste.
The swells are spectacular throughout the year, coming from both the northern and southern hemisphere.
Because of the strong currents, swimming is not recommended. But walking, sunbathing, relaxing in the shade of one of the many trees, reading a book or having lunch at Lola’s can be great alternatives! 

Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal is located 2 km from Playa Brasilito and around 20 km from Tamarindo.
The name Conchal (from the Spanish word “concha” which means shell) comes from its typical sand, which is composed of millions of tiny crushed shells.
It has some of the clearest waters in Guanacaste, and swimming and snorkelling are great activities!
Other water sports are offered here as well, like deep seas fishing or scuba diving.

Compiled by Milena Re
Marketing Assistant – Hotel Capitán Suizo
November 29th, 2021