Im planning a trip with at least 6 to maybe 10 of my buddies,mostly couples, to the area.  Never been to the area before so before i book on AirBnB i figured Id give a shout here.  Anyone have recommendations on places to stay.  Not trying to live luxiourious but not trying to rough it either.  Flying into san juan early may and staying for a week.  Give me the run down.

The capital is San Jose. Traveling with 6-10 surfers?

Let me be the first to say"thats too many". Instant crowd.  Ha Ha are you Brazilan??

Couples?  Grande Area?

Luxurious is Reserva Conchal  to the North of Grande but close

Romantic/nice and less pricey is EL Jardin del Eden  in Tamarindo

Grande is sick.

If you are traveling with couples idk if I would reccommend playa grande.

Not much to do other then surf , eat/drink, and relax.

Tamarindo is close by but can be a quite a hike down the beach if you do not have rental car and the $1 ferrys across the rivermouth usually stop by sundown.

Check out Nosara only ~2 hours south of Grande, and same amount of travel time from san jose, Nosara has the same vibe as grande but on a larger scale and with a few more things to do for the ladies. The town is starting to become a little more busy and crowded, but my fiance loved it there and she does not surf.

If you're there as couples and happen to pass near Jaco on your way back to the airport, a sunset dinner at the Villa Caletas hotel is worth the stop.
Amphitheater Restaurant at Villa Caletas Hotel, La Herradura

Skip Grande for Tamarindo for the ladies sake, you'll get more water time.

I stayed at El Jardin del Eden, very nice, a plus for the ladies.

I'd recommend the Best Western in Tamarindo for max benefit of men and ladies. You can see the rivermouth break, nice bar, sat TV,restaurant, pool and on-site surf shop with board rentals.

In Playa Grande I like the Rip Jack Inn. It's close to the break, has a very nice restaurant, and good hosts. Let me know if you need help putting together a trip (rental cars, hotels, boat trip, etc.)

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You should be fine going to Grande @ los tortugas...close to a couple bars and not far from tamarindo and little hawaii.  Not a ton of peaks at grande though and it only breaks well on high tide..I would go to Teresa/Mal Pais area IMO

This is VERY important, in fact I would say that basically sux from mid out-going to mid-incoming. If you are only gonna be there a week, check a tide chart and if it is low tide at early/mid morning .... stay somewhere else.

Hell ...... you might as well go to Nosara as it has alllllllll kinda stuff to keep non surfers happy. Spa's, yoga, chain real estate agencies, obnoxious 4 wheeler rentals, crowded restaurants were you need a bleeping reservation ...... so it is pretty well screwed already

Damn I miss the Costa of the 80's

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second this, a bit more to do than grande but I think it's a little cooler than Tamarindo area. waves are pretty darn good too, especially if you catch it on a big south as there are some nice left points just out of town and a killer right around montezuma that come alive during a big south swell.

While we are on the grande subject has anyone surfed that cove to the north of the big rock on the north end of the beach? Thought it looked really cool when I climbed the rock and looked over..

I agree totally with what is mentioned above. I stayed at Rip Jack Inn in play grande with wife... I loved it she got bored. Tides really matters at this break!! My opionon was heavily crowded when good...When I was there...But got very little water time was keeping wife happy. Im with LB Larry on Nosara ...Everything is as he mentioned...plus Beach is soo spread out with many breaks....Lots of un hassled waves when I was there. The Girls won't get bored there. Mal Pais area is my Favorite but seamed like a hike....could of been my traveling partners.. haha. Just make sure you keep the women happy and everyone will have fun!!

Playa Grande is pretty much surf only with not much around as many have said.. If you are going to stay, RIPJACKS Hotel is a great option

Nosara is full of old F-ers. I'll be contributing next month.

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Need more water time. Plenty of time left to make $$

PLaya Langosta was a great trip, rocks, river mouth and beachy

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snakes.  you no local, you best be careful. don't surf there much no more.  grande jay has left the building.

with chicks, yeah, nosara for the yoga and food and other places. waves are decent enough.  LOL, we called it old mans in the 80's when we first went due to the soft waves, but they are still plenty fun, and it gets plenty big.