A great vacation spot, an inviting beach, and a jump off point for various excursions around the Pacific coast, Tambor, Costa Rica, is a place with many possibilities.

Tambor is at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula and serves as a resort, beach community and a port of call with both ferries and flights going in and out of Tambor with regularity. The Naviera Ferry in Tambor runs daily trips to the ports of Paquero and Puntarenas, if you care to extend your Costa Rica adventure. Tambor also maintains domestic flights with Nature Air and Sansa Air.

Tambor itself has a wonderfully analgesic effect on its inhabitants and visitors. Mangrove forests backup the beach with its rolling waves that can lull you into a state of repose. The community began as a simple fishing village, but has developed some over the years. It is not as big as some of the other resort areas nearby, but it has a regular population of visitors and residents.

Tambor’s horseshoe shaped Whale Bay (Bahia Ballena in Spanish) is a good point from which to set out in a kayak or other form of watercraft. The beach is of a gray tinge after years of the sea mixing igneous rock with that of the seashells of past creatures. Along with an ORU Kayak, you may like to bring a swimsuit, snorkeling gear, a camera, binoculars (for whale watching) and some neoprene boots.

Some of the other attractions in Tambor include the Curu Wildlife Refuge; a 1,496 hectare bird watchers paradise, Tortuga Islands; for possibly the best diving around and horseback tours of the mountains in the region where you can see all the way to Montezuma and its epochal cataracts. Local accommodations include Hotel Barcelo Tambor Beach, Villas De La Bahia Playa Tambor, Hotel Mar Y Sol and Cabinas & Restaurante Cristina.

Tambor is very accessible with its airport, ferry and the road along the Nicoya Peninsula. Driving time from Liberia’s international airport in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, is three hours and six minutes. Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela, Costa Rica is about four hours and eleven minutes with the use of the ferry, and around four hours and thirty minutes if you wish to keep your car on the land. San Jose is about six hours when taking the ferry, and it is around the same amount of time when going around the Gulf of Nicoya.

Beach: Playa Tambor 
Location: Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Items to bring: swimsuit, snorkeling gear, a camera, binoculars (for whale watching), some neoprene boots
Distance from San Jose:6 hrs (approximate)
Distance from Liberia: 3 hrs 6 mins
Hotels nearby: Hotel Barcelo Tambor Beach, Villas De La Bahia Playa Tambor, Hotel Mar Y Sol, Cabinas & Restaurante Cristina
Ways to get here: rental car, taxi, private shuttle, bus, ferry, plane