After some days in the heights, we travelled to down to the beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula. We had done some reading on where the best spots would be but all looked like superb destinations. Our minds were finally settled for Sámara. The trip was about 4-5 hours and as we entered the peninsula, we started to get a feeling of a more beach like atmosphere. Going through the dense forest along the road taking all the small  turns we were finally at our destination and could gaze upon the Pacific Ocean.

Our house was just a the entrance of the small town of Sámara. It was a small condo where we had booked 2 rooms. It was equipped with pool and an outdoor kitchen. The pool was very nice, espicially in the middle of the day where it was too warm at the beach.

At our pool we made a new friend. This iguana fell from one of the palm trees while we rested at the pool. Fortunately, it did not land on top of any of us.

Boat tour

Unfortunately January was not turtle season, so we booked some seats on a boat hoping to spot some dolphins. It was a small boat with no waterslides or loud music, which suited us all just fine. It took some to reach the spot and on the way we saw a pack of manta rays jumping our of the water. This was just the beginning of our sea safari.

All of a sudden, a humpback whale was spotted in front of the boat. We all just managed to get the iconic sight of it diving with its tail above water, woah!

Some snorkeling was also included where some underwater life was seen. Enjoying the ride on the sun deck on the lookout was just relaxing with the cool breeze on our skins.

A few Pacific Spotted Dolphin also came by the boat. Before returning we were encircled by an orca. We followed it for quite some time, and had a great chance to observe the beautiful mammal.

This boat trip really did meet all our expectations. We had no intentions of seeing all the animals we did. Our thoughts for the trip were to get some cool air and have a break from the beach. Especially while a lot of the things we saw here was the first time I think it made an extra deep impact on all of us.

Playa Sámara

The beach was perfect for relaxing and enjoying some family time all together. When you enter the beach from the town of Samara you get a beautiful view of the cove which stretches for about 4-6 km. It is very shallow, making it perfect for playing in the sand and providing waves perfect for body boarding.

We had expected more people here, but it wasn’t crowded at all. It was very pleasant and you could really live the pura vida here. We took a trip to Liberia to exchange our rental car, from a 7-seat to a 5-seat model, as Camilla’s sister would go back to Denmark after spending the first two weeks with us on our journey here in Costa Rica.

Santa Elena | Arenal | Samara | Glamping | Montezuma | Puerto Viejo | Manuel Antonio