This is a small scenic town of Samara is situated thirty five kilometers south of Nicoya and 245 kilometer west of the San Jose in Guanacaste Province. Samara is a beautiful tropical beach and is one of the safest and most pretty beaches in Costa Rica. Samara has the greatest water sports activities in the whole Costa Rica, deep sea fishing, horseback riding, snorkeling, paragliding, scuba diving, waterfalls and canopy tours.
Samara is an old-fashioned little town, it positioned at the foot of a steep hill. The key road leads straight the town and ends at the beautiful Samara Beach. This beach is a great for a quiet holiday or for a beautiful family vacation. There are several reasonably priced hotels and restaurants are available including the beautiful and luxurious Hotel Punta Islita.
Samara and its nearby vicinity present tourists a best place to calm down and have a good and relaxed time. The visitors can find several kinds of exotic flora and fauna all along the 5 kilometer strip of Samara beach, all along the beach a striking coral reef can be seen that lies just offshore. Samara town has everything from good restaurants, bars, nightclubs to a number of gift shops and a supermarket. This is an excellent place to use as a stopover for the close by national parks and reserves; Samara is perfect place for a calm holiday or a night out on the town. A short boat trip away is the beautiful and remote Isla Chora. Remember, this small town also has its own airfield for small planes.
Samara is a flourishing farming and fishing village is different from others in, Costa Rica, as a few of the country’s most important people having homes here, such as president Oscar Arias Sanchez.
You can reach Samara through a four hour drive from San Jose. If you want to reach town quicker, you arrive by plane at the Liberia International Airport and make a two hours drive to Samara, via Nicoya.
Samara is one of the safest beaches for swimming because of its outer coral reef. Come and enjoy this funky beach town where the locals live in harmony with tourists in a natural and colorful place. Samara Beach is the perfect beach destination in combination with a visit to the rainforest or volcano. From Samara Beach you can also visit four other beaches within 20 minutes drive, each one unique in its sand, surf, and surroundings. There are several places to visit around
Activities
There are several activities and tours are available in and around Samara Beach, such as:
Barra Honda Caves National Park
Guanacaste Canopy Tour
Ocean Safari Tour
Isla Chora Snorkeling Tour
Diving Samara
Dolphin Tour
Kayak Adventure on the River
Fishing Tour
Sport Fishing
Ostional/Camaronal Refuge
Palo Verde Tour
Kayak Sea adventure Tour
Biking
Biking could be an amazing adventure for the vacationers who wish to find out Samara from a different angle. There are several interesting routs for mountain bike lovers during stay in Samara and Carrillo.
Boat Tours
Boat tours are most famous activities in Samara Carrillo Beach. Boat tours can be personalized and the visitors can select the activities that interest the most: sport fishing, dolphins and turtles watch, snorkeling or diving. You can explore the beach, over the coral reef. You can explore the tropical marine life, play with the dolphins and even sail over to a nearby beach to silently admire the nesting turtles.
Canopy Tours
The Canopy Tour is a distinctive eco-experience that gets you on an unbelievable adventure through the splendid Costa Rican forest.
The canopy tour involves passing through from one platform to another along a steel cable suspended up to 30m above the forest floor. The tour is comprised 12 platforms and 10 cable zip-lines that zigzag down a perfect forested valley. The panorama and birdlife is impressive and expert guides give interesting details about the forest ecology during the tour.
Diving
Discover the wonders of the submarine world into the depth of the Pacific Ocean during your stay in Samara and Carrillo. You will get the knowledge and richness of the bay. You will also be able to see different type of fishes such as Barber fish, Pargos, Reef shark, Mantra Ray, Dolphins and sometime even whales, different kinds of Sharks and Barracudas.
There are many Diving Center in Samara and they provide professional PADI OWS Instructor who has experience in scuba diving.
Scuba Training
Diving is a fun activity; enjoy many great dives to new and exciting places. Once you have completed your basic scuba course you can participate in several exciting types of diving. Turn your diving into an adventure and become an explorer and must try new locations in your own area. Try diving with turtles. Have fun with the dolphins. Your diving will become an endless adventure.
Horseback Riding
Horse riding provides you the chance to experience natural world at its most cherished level. The exotic wildlife comprises monkeys, iguanas and several others attractive things to see. Multicolored flora and fauna can be seen all over the place on the majestic trees while riding through the tropical forest. You will cross rivers, glimpse waterfalls and totally absorb yourself in the nature.
The rides will take you to the forest, down to golden beaches, or a top mountains offering impressive views of the area, the island — Isla Chora — and surrounding hills.
Sport fishing
Sport fishing is a pleasure and is a fun. Costa Rica is the home of the best sport fishing and deep sea fishing in the world, with over 79 world records to its credit.
You will be able to catch Yellow Fin Tuna, Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Black Fin Tuna, Sailfish, Dolphin, Grouper, Snapper, Roosterfish, Snook, Dorado and more.
Surfing
Have lesson to learn surf in Samara and Carrillo Beach. Or improve your skills and take advantage of excellent breaks for all levels of surfing. There are several surf schools which provide board if you do not carry your own. The beaches here in Samara and Carrillo and nearby beaches are having fabulous surf breaks. The very important thing that you must understand the ocean, it is very important, the more you know about how waves, wind and tides affect conditions in the water, the better able you are to keep yourself safe, or even rescue others, from danger. Recognizing danger signs and awareness of surf conditions is an essential part of lifesaving.
Ask a friend to swim with you, so you can look out for each other’s safety and get help if needed. Children should always be supervised by an adult. Stick your hand up for help – if you get into trouble in the water, stay calm, and raise your arm to signal for help. Float with a current or rip, do not try and swim against it.
You must remember and follow these advices
- Never swim at desert beaches
- Never ever swim at night
- Never swim under the influence of alcohol
- Never run and dive into the water
- Never swim directly after a meal
Samara Beach has wonderful surroundings.
It is 35 minutes from Nicoya, the cultural and business capital of Guanacaste.
It is 45 minutes from Ostional Refuge, famous for the nesting of turtles.
It is 1 hour from Guaitil, an indigenous little town, where you can still witness some of the Indian culture that is left in Guanacaste province. Guaitil is famous for its pottery, and you can buy directly from the artisans.
Also away only with 1 hour from Playa Grande where Baula turtles (1,500 pounds) lay their eggs.
It is 1 hour from Barra Honda National Park with its several caves that you can visit.
It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes from Palo Verde National Park with crocodiles in River Tempisque, and more than 250 species of birds.
It is only 1 hour and 30 minutes from Liberia, the white town rich of history and culture
Getting to Samara, Costa Rica
By Plane – 40 minutes by plane from San Jose, Sansa flies between San Jose’s Juan Santa Maria Airport and Samara / Carrillo every day.
By Bus – A bus leaves daily from San Jose at 12:00 p.m. from the Empresa Alfaro bus station and the trip takes about 5 hours.
By Car –
From San Jose:
Samara is around a Four and half hours drive from San Jose downtown.
From San Jose follow the Inter Americana Highway North, until the turnoff for the Tempisque Bridge – Puente de la Amistad. After crossing the Gulf of Nicoya, drive directly to Nicoya and from there turns south to Samara.
From Liberia:
Samara is about a two hours drive from Liberia International Airport.
From Liberia, drive directly to Nicoya and from there turns south to Samara.
For more on Samara, click here.
Also visit Costaricajourneys.com to read about Samara here: Samara Costa Rica
