Las Catalinas

Las Catalinas is a planned town begun in 2011 on a stretch of Guanacaste coast, built to new-urbanist principles: pedestrian streets with no cars in the centre, buildings pressed together in a Mediterranean idiom around plazas and stepped lanes, and everything within walking distance of the two beaches, Danta and Dantita. Behind it a network of around forty kilometres of purpose-built mountain-bike and walking trails runs through the dry forest on the ridges, open to the public and free, which has made the place a destination for riders as much as for the beach. Restaurants, shops and rental accommodation occupy the ground floors.

What you actually see

• The car-free centre - the pedestrian streets and plazas.
• The trail network - the forty kilometres of bike and walking trails behind.
• Playa Danta - the main beach at the foot of the town.
• Dry forest ridges - the woodland the trails run through.

When to go

December to April in the dry season for the trails and the beach; the wet season greens the forest but makes the trails muddy. Trails are best ridden early before the heat.

Honest expectations

The town is a private development and everything in it is priced accordingly. It is new and can feel more like a resort than a town. There is little that is Costa Rican about the architecture. The trails are open to all but are hot by mid-morning.

Nearby

Playa Flamingo lies south; Potrero is between them.