Things to do near Tamarindo

Johnny's sits on Playa Avellanas, 30 minutes south of Tamarindo and about an hour and a half from Liberia airport. Nearly everything below is a day trip from the gate, and Alberto books all of it — you do not need to organise a thing before you arrive.

How far is everything?

• The beach — 3 minutes on foot
• Lola's — 7 minutes on foot, and where most surf lessons start
• Hacienda Pinilla — 10 minutes. Golf, tennis, pickleball
• La Esquina de Avellanas — 13 minutes on foot, for coffee and a bakery
• Tamarindo — 30 minutes. Restaurants, shops, nightlife, fishing boats
• The big supermarket — about 25 minutes
• Rincón de la Vieja — roughly 2 hours, worth a full day
• Liberia airport (LIR) — about 1 hour 30 minutes

The last stretch of road into Avellanas is dirt and genuinely rough — guests mention it. If you are renting, take four-wheel drive. If you would rather not deal with it, our two 12-passenger vans cover the airport run and excursions. Directions and transport →

In the water

Surfing. Avellanas works nearly year round and suits mixed ability, which is why surf schools bring whole camps here. There is a forgiving beach break near the river mouth for anyone learning, a reef further south for people who know what they are doing, and Little Hawaii off the point when a big swell arrives. Green season, May through November, brings the bigger swell. Lessons start from Lola's, seven minutes up the sand. More on surf camps →

Sport fishing out of Tamarindo. Boats run offshore for sailfish, marlin and mahi mahi, and inshore for roosterfish and snapper. Sailfish and marlin are strongest December through April; inshore fishing holds up all year. Half and full days both work from here, since the boats are a 30-minute drive. More on fishing →

Estuary tour. Birds, crocodiles and mangrove, best at dawn. The mangrove boardwalk just north of the beach is a few minutes' walk and free.

Whale watching. Humpbacks pass the Guanacaste coast between roughly July and April — two separate migrations overlap here, which is why the window is so wide.

On land

• Zip line canopy tour — two hundred feet up through the trees
• Horseback riding on the sand at sunset, straight from the beach
• ATV riding along the beach and the back roads
• Rincón de la Vieja — hot springs, waterfalls, mud pots and hikes on an active volcano. A full day, about two hours each way
• Monkey park — a rescue and release centre for native wildlife
• Golf, tennis and pickleball at Hacienda Pinilla, ten minutes north. Pickleball groups →

Turtles

Olive ridleys nest on this beach. Hatchlings run for the water roughly July through December, usually at first light. It is not a ticketed attraction with a visitor centre — you either come across it or Alberto tells you where to look that week. For the bigger leatherbacks, Playa Grande north of Tamarindo has a protected nesting beach with guided night tours from October through March.

A day in Tamarindo

Thirty minutes up the coast, Tamarindo has the restaurants, bars, surf shops and supermarkets that Avellanas deliberately does not. Most groups based here drive in for an afternoon and dinner once or twice a stay, then come back to a quiet beach. It is a good arrangement — you get the town when you want it without sleeping in it. Playa Avellanas vs Tamarindo →