Costa Rica

Montezuma

One of the most tranquil areas on the pacific side of Costa Rica located in Punta Arenas province of Nicoya Peninsula. In the small village of Montezuma you will be surrounded with tropical nature, large beaches for swimming and surfing that give you space even on the busiest day, rivers, waterfalls and a friendly atmosphere that the locals and travelers who settled in will give you. As most tourist parts of Costa Rica are getting westernized, in Montezuma everyone try to maintain the simpler life style.

What to do?

·    Playa Grande – The 6th beach of Montezuma's coastline (which is separated naturally by rocks) is the most famous one. It takes about 45 minutes walk (through the forest on marked trails) or 1.5 hours walk (along the beach climbing rocks) from the left side of Montezuma in order to get there. A wide and beautiful open beach. Good waves for surfers and plenty of space to everyone. If you go for a whole day, it is recommended to go straight to Playa Grande and every 1-2 hours go back on the direction of town and stop at another beach. Each has its own special feel.

·    The Montezuma Waterfall – in order to get to the waterfall you should walk about 20 minutes south of town. After crossing a bridge you should see the hotel & restaurant La Cascada and next to it the path that leads you to the place where the waterfall starts. In this path you will cross some small natural pools and finally arrive to a beautiful 15 meters high waterfall which is 1 out of the set of 3 waterfalls. Jump into the refreshing clean water and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the place. There is a trail that leads through the woods around and up this waterfall where you can get to the other 2. The trail is steep, muddy and slippery so it is more than recommended to come here with closed shoes and not alone. Getting to the other 2 waterfalls (which are less impressive than the first one) might be a bit dangerous. Don’t jump from top of the waterfalls, there were few travelers who died this way. In one of the other 2 waterfalls there is a rope to swing and make a Tarzan jump. It is great fun and quite an adventure but please be careful.

·    Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve – ranks as one of the most beautiful places on the pacific coast of Costa Rica. Definitely a place to go if you love to hike. The Reserve offers choice of trails inside the moist tropical forest. Hiking while hearing monkeys roar, lots of kinds of birds sing and iguanas walking everywhere is really nice. Still it is quite a walk and parts of the road are muddy, so you better come with closed shoes. One of trials (about 4.5 km. each direction) gets to a beautiful bay with white sandy beach and lots of trunks and pebbles. Don't forget to take water and snacks with you - there are no shops in the reserve.

·     Chico's bar at night has a great atmosphere, nice music, pool table, etc.

Where to stay?

·         Pension Arenas – on the beach close to the center of town. Basic rooms with fan. Shared toilets and showers with cold water. Don't expect much for the 6$ you pay for a private room.

·         Hotel Lucy – a bit isolated but the nice atmosphere and the balconies turning to the ocean might be worth 10 minutes walk to the center of town. 10$ for a private room.

Facilities:
There are lots of tourist agencies in the center of Montezuma that offer renting any kind of snorkeling, diving and surfing equipment. It is also possible to rent a bike.

Special tips:

·    There is no bank in Montezuma. Some of the travel agencies accept traveler's checks but you should get here with cash money. Especially because you might want to stay here for more than just couple of days.

·    When arriving to Montezuma, some locals might try and "help" you to find a place to stay. They will usually lead you to a nice expensive hotel they know which is "by chance" owned by a friend of theirs even if you said you travel on low budget.
In any case they will ask you to tip them for their service. Avoid using these "services".

·    There are buses going from town to the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve. If there are not a lot of tourists in town you might schedule with the driver special time to get back.

·    The ones who continue to Jaco should consider taking a Taxi Boat (reservations through the travel agencies in advance). It is an hour ride instead of a day on the roads and definitely worth the 30$.