Santa Teresa and Mal País

Santa Teresa runs for several kilometres along the Pacific at the southwestern corner of the Nicoya Peninsula, a beach break that works almost every day of the year with a consistency that built the place. Twenty-five years ago it was a fishing settlement at the end of a track; now the single dirt road behind the beach is lined with hotels, yoga studios, restaurants and surf shops, and the population is heavily international. Mal País, immediately south, is quieter and keeps the fishing boats. The road is still dirt, which locals have resisted paving on the reasonable grounds that it is the only thing slowing the growth.

What you actually see

• The beach break - consistent surf along several kilometres of sand.
• Sunset - straight into the Pacific, which is the daily gathering.
• Mal País - the quieter fishing end to the south.
• Playa Carmen and Playa Hermosa - the other breaks along the strip.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and busiest. May to November brings rain, bigger swell and much lower prices, and the road becomes considerably worse. Christmas and Easter are extremely busy and book out far ahead.

Honest expectations

The main road is dirt and in the wet season it is genuinely bad, with dust in the dry season coating everything along it. Development has run well ahead of infrastructure: water and power supply are unreliable and there is no sewage system to speak of. Prices are high and rising. Riptides along the beach are strong and there are no lifeguards.

Nearby

Montezuma is half an hour east; Cabo Blanco is between them.