Playa Mal Pais, Costa Rica
About 170 km from the Juan Santamaria International Airport, Mal Pais is a paradise for surfers, writers, artists and vacationers. In recent years this small beachfront community has developed into a kind of global village, not unlike Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast, with a quaint mix of lodgings, bars and restaurants. However, despite of the influx of resident foreigners, its peaceful atmosphere has remained unchanged.
The 3-km long beach is scenic with stretches of white sand interspersed with rocky outcrops and lined with emerald forest. For non-surfers, this beach is ideal for chilling-out and shell-picking. For surfers, Mal Pais offers consistent waves, good swells and a long beach break that attract beginners as well as expert surfers. It is also an excellent base for visitors to the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve and those going on boat tours around the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. The maritime sanctuary of Cabo Blanco serves as a nursery for many aquatic species. From your tour boat you can glimpse dolphins, manta rays or whales. Cabo Blanco is about 8 km from Mal Pais via a small road over the hills and via the small village of Cabuya.
In addition, fishing tours, kite surfing, snorkeling, horseback riding, mountain biking and trekking tours are offered by local tour operators. Mal Pais is also a treat for birdwatchers as a huge number of migratory birds call this coastal area home. Nightlife in Mal Pais can be as boisterous or as romantic as you want; there are frequent parties as well as plenty of secluded coves on the beach for just the two of you under the stars.
You can get to Mal Pais by catching a ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera or Playa Naranjo and then drive out to Mal Pais, or hop on a 25-minute flight from San Jose to Tambor, followed by a a taxi ride of less than an hour.