Directions from Liberia Airport (LIR) to Nosara

Take Hwy 21 south (runs parallel to Liberia airport) away from Liberia. Stay on this highway until you see a sign for Nicoya pointing you to the right (Local 150). Veer right and follow this road through Nicoya toward Samara and Nosara. About 20 or so minutes out of Nicoya you will see a sign on the right"Hielo"(Ice in English, pronounced yellow). At this point there will be a filling station on your left, I think a Fina Station. Fill up here, proceed in the same direction. You will be going downhill now. The 1st road on the right (local 160), a dirt and rock road is the road to Nosara. Proceed on this road for about 25 minutes. Stay in middle of the road when you can. This road has lots of washout on the sides that are difficult to see, so when you have to be to the side, proceed cautiously. If you need to drive on the left; then, do. Everyone else does. When you come to Cafe di Pari, on the left, turn left. (If you get to Marlin Bill's, you just past it, turn around) Proceed about one-half mile until you come to Harbor Reef(on the left). The next house on the left is our Costa Rica Cottage.

A sign, generally triangular, "Ceda el Paso" says yield-right-of-way (MANDATORY). You will often, but not always see this before a 1 lane bridge. If there is a sign on your side there is not one for the approaching traffic. Approaching traffic will not yield. Virtually all bridges after you leave Nicoya are one lane. Warning, some one lane bridges have no sign on either side.

I think the only towels you need are beach towels. If you want a hair dryer, the ones at the house are 1500 watts.

Closest restaurant to the house: Harbor Reef. Good Food, Nice bar, Nice pool. Nice gift shop. Good internet cafe. You can use your computer (if you have a current virus protector) for half price. Brenda and Randy Bombard are the owners. Brenda also works in their realty shop and our friend Cathy works with her.

Enchanted Forest. Great place to get a massage. Brenda, the masseuse, is also a retired world class kick boxer. Her father, Jim, lives with her.

Recommended Restaurants:

Robin's Ice Cream & Crepe Shop. Robin Lance is the owner.

La Dolce Vita. It is in the little village of Esperanza. Roberto De Silvio is the Italian Owner.

Freddie's, owner, not name or restaurant. When you go towards the Nosara air strip, after you cross the bridge passed the new gas station (Hopefully still not open) the road forks, take right turn (you will soon have a cow field on your left). When the road makes a sharp turn to the left, Harry's is on the left. If you reach the airfield you have gone too far. This is the least expensive of all the places you will eat.

Marlin Bill's. Bill Lancaster & Angie are the owners.

Cafe' De Pari: Restaurant and super bakery.

Casa Tucan. Rusty is the owner and he plays the keyboard for the group.

This by no means covers all the great places to eat. Just a short overview.

Horse back riding and canopy tours can be scheduled at a place on the left between the new gas station"Bomba"and Harry's. I have done the canopy tour and it was great fun. It is an above the trees tour as opposed to an inter-canopy tour like the tours around Arenal.

Luis, Silvia & Stephanie are great, great friends. Luis is also the gardener. He comes most week days about 8:00 AM and he loves a cup of coffee, black with just a little sugar. Silvia is the house keeper. She comes once per week unless you ask for her to come more often. Stephanie is their daughter and a good translator. Gustavo is Luis' nephew and works with Luis. Gustavo likes his coffee like Luis.

You might want to stop in Nicoya for groceries. The stores there are better stocked than what you will find around Nosara. Do not overstock because most people seldom eat at the house. Best coffee is Montana. Best white wine is probably Chilean.

Enjoy.

Harvey

Directions from San Jose airport (SJO) to Nosara

Take Hwy CA 1 north toward Alajuela, San Ramon & Liberia away from the direction of San Jose. Stay on this highway until you reach Limonal. We you see a filling station (At this writing a Shell) on the left you are at Hwy 18. Turn left on Hwy 18 (a nice concrete hwy). You will cross a large new bridge about 15 to 20 minutes down the road and eventually come to Hwy 21. Take it north towards Nicoya. At the intersection to Nicoya turn left (Local 150). About 20 or so minutes out of Nicoya you will see a sign on the right "Hielo" (Ice in English, pronounced yellow). At this point there will be a filling station on your left, I think a Fina Station. Fill up here, proceed in the same direction. You will be going downhill now. The 1st road on the right (local 160), a dirt and rock road is the road to Nosara. Proceed on this road for about 25 minutes. Stay in middle of the road when you can. This road has lots of washout on the sides that are difficult to see, so when you have to be to the side, proceed cautiously. If you need to drive on the left; then, do. Everyone else does. When you come to Cafe di Pari, on the left, turn left. (If you get to Marlin Bill's, you just past it, turn around) Proceed about one-half mile until you come to Harbor Reef (on the left). The next house on the left is our Costa Rica Cottage. If you decide to fly direct to Nosara from San Jose, the airline websites are: www.flysansa.com and www.natureair.com. In the event that you fly Nature Air you will need to change airports. This is a 20- to 40- minute taxi-ride, driving time depending on traffic.

A sign, generally triangular, "Ceda el Paso" says yield-right-of-way (MANDATORY). You will often, but not always see this before a 1 lane bridge. If there is a sign on your side there is not one for the approaching traffic. Approaching traffic will not yield. Virtually all bridges after you leave Nicoya are one lane. Warning, some one lane bridges have no sign on either side.

I think the only towels you need are beach towels. If you want a hair dryer, the ones at the house are 1500 watts.

Closest restaurant to the house: Harbor Reef. Good Food, Nice bar, Nice pool. Nice gift shop. Good internet cafe. You can use your computer (if you have a current virus protector) for half price. Brenda and Randy Bombard are the owners. Brenda also works in their realty shop and our friend Cathy works with her.

Enchanted Forest. Great place to get a massage. Brenda, the masseuse, is also a retired world class kick boxer. Her father, Jim, lives with her.

Recommended Restaurants:

Robin's Ice Cream & Crepe Shop. Robin Lance is the owner.

La Dolce Vita. It is in the little village of Esperanza. Roberto De Silvio is the Italian Owner.

Freddie's, owner, not name or restaurant. When you go towards the Nosara air strip, after you cross the bridge passed the new gas station (Hopefully still not open) the road forks, take right turn (you will soon have a cow field on your left). When the road makes a sharp turn to the left, Harry's is on the left. If you reach the airfield you have gone too far. This is the least expensive of all the places you will eat.

Marlin Bill's. Bill Lancaster & Angie are the owners.

Cafe' De Pari: Restaurant and super bakery.

Casa Tucan. Rusty is the owner and he plays the keyboard for the group.

This by no means covers all the great places to eat. Just a short overview.

Horse back riding and canopy tours can be scheduled at a place on the left between the new gas station "Bomba" and Harry's. I have done the canopy tour and it was great fun. It is an above the trees tour as opposed to an inter-canopy tour like the tours around Arenal.

Luis, Silvia & Stephanie are great, great friends. Luis is also the gardener. He comes most week days about 8:00 AM and he loves a cup of coffee, black with just a little sugar. Silvia is the house keeper. She comes once per week unless you ask for her to come more often. Stephanie is their daughter and a good translator. Gustavo is Luis' nephew and works with Luis. Gustavo likes his coffee like Luis.

You might want to stop in Nicoya for groceries. The stores there are better stocked than what you will find around Nosara. Do not overstock because most people seldom eat at the house. Best coffee is Montana. Best white wine is probably Chilean.

Enjoy.

Harvey