Once you get to Santa Teresa, you’ll be greeted by miles of white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and some of the best waves in Costa Rica.
There are plenty of things to do aside from just lounging on the beach or going for a surf. You can take a day trip to one of the nearby nature reserves or hire an ATV and wizz around the jungle.
Get your bucket list ready. In this guide, we’ll show you the best things to do in Santa Teresa and how to experience them.
Need help planning your trip? Check out our tips for visiting Santa Teresa — you’ll find the best restaurants, where to stay, how to get around and more!
Top tours in and around Santa Teresa
- 3-hour horse riding tour in Curu Wildlife Reserve for $25
- 1.5-hour surfing lesson (including GoPro footage) for $60
- Tour of Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve for $70
#1 Relax on Santa Teresa’s beaches
Santa Teresa is a beach destination, so if lounging on the beach all day, every day, is what you want to do, that’s perfectly acceptable!
Especially as Santa Teresa’s beaches are just so beautiful!
There are plenty of beaches to choose from, with each of them offering certain characteristics. Some beaches are perfect for surfing, whilst not a great place to swim.
To help you get to know some of Santa Teresa’s main beaches, here’s a rundown of them:
Playa Carmen
Playa Carmen is the beach in front of the northern end of town. It’s a wide, golden-sand beach that’s lined with palm trees, offering a bit of shade.
The waves and currents are pretty strong here, so swimming isn’t recommended. However, it’s great for intermediate and experienced surfers.
Playa Santa Teresa
Playa Santa Teresa is just south of Playa Carmen. This beach offers whiter sands and plenty of places to grab a drink or a bite to eat in one of the many restaurants that line the beach.
Tide pool – Hermosa Beach
At low tide you’ll find a tide pool at the northern end of the beach. This forms a swimming pool in the sea. Here it’s deep enough to go snorkelling and swimming, whilst being protected from the currents that can make it dangerous to swim at the other beaches.
Playa Hermosa
Playa Hermosa is a bit further north from the main town of Santa Teresa, but definitely worth the journey. The beach feels unspoilt and tropical with its hundreds of palm trees. If you want to learn to surf, the waves here are great for beginners.
#2 Take on Santa Teresa’s waves and go surfing
The word is spreading about the great waves that frequent Santa Teresa. This is a good and a bad thing. More people get to enjoy the waves, but it also means the small beach town may become touristy and too busy.
So get down to Santa Teresa as soon as you can, no matter what level of surfer you are.
There’s a mixture of wave difficulty in Santa Teresa, catering to all types of ability.
Here’s where to head to depending on your ability:
- Playa Carmen: All levels – great for beginners
- Playa Hermosa: All levels – great for beginners
- Playa Santa Teresa: Intermediate/Advanced
Where to rent your surfboard or get a lesson?
- 1.5 hour surfing lesson (including GoPro footage) for $60
- Surfboard rentals start from $10 per day
#3 Swim and cliff-jump at Montezuma Waterfalls
Fancy swapping the salt water for some fresh water? Head to Montezuma waterfalls.
Montezuma offers in total 3 waterfalls, ranging from 5-25 metres in height. The cascades are stunning, plus a great place to go swimming and take part in some cliff jumping.
The top and bottom waterfalls are the ones that you’re able to swim in. There’s no access to the middle one.
If you want to get the adrenaline pumping, then check out the top waterfall. Here you’ll be able to jump from around 5 metres and enjoy the rope swing. You can easily spend the whole day around these falls.
How to visit Montezuma Waterfalls
We love to hear it! Although many waterfalls in Costa Rica charge an entrance fee, the entrance to the Montezuma waterfalls is completely free. There’s a trail that begins in Montezuma town and can be followed for around 20 minutes before you’ll reach the bottom waterfall.
From there you can use the steps, albeit pretty steep steps, to reach the top waterfall.
How to get there
As the name suggests, the waterfalls aren’t in Santa Teresa, they’re in Montezuma. If you have your own car, the drive takes only 35 minutes and parking costs just $2.
You can also use the public bus that runs between Santa Teresa and Montezuma multiple times a day that costs $2.50 each way.
It’s a fun and cheap day out!
#4 Explore the wildlife at Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
Visiting Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve can be a great way to escape the beach for the day and venture into the jungle.
Cabo Blanco isn’t just any nature reserve, it was actually the first one in the whole of Costa Rica, established in 1963.
It’s also one of the least visited parks, so the peace won’t be disturbed by hundreds of other tourists. The park encompasses 1,270 hectares of mixed forest, with around 150 species of trees – and that’s only the ones that have been identified.
The forest is also home to a large variety of animals including deer, anteaters, howler and capuchin monkeys, coyotes, racoons, coatis and many more. Plus over 240 species of birds!
How to visit Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve is situated on the eastern side of the Nicoya Peninsula. It’s a 1-hour drive from Santa Teresa and can only be reached if you have a car.
The nature reserve is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so make sure to plan accordingly. It’s open from 8am-4pm and costs $12 per person to enter.
For those without a car, your best option is to join a tour. For $75, you can join a 5-hour tour that includes transportation and an English-speaking guide to teach you about the reserve.
New to Santa Teresa? Check out this compact Santa Teresa guide to find the best areas to stay, restaurants you don’t want to miss and many more tips for your visit to Santa Teresa!
#5 Visit Curu wildlife reserve, the first private nature reserve
Another first when it comes to nature reserves on the Nicoya Peninsula. Curu Wildlife Refuge was Costa Rica’s first private national wildlife refuge.
The reserve protects threatened and endangered forested habitats such as mangroves, forests and coral reefs. Alongside this, there are still low levels of cattle grazing and fruit production, proving that agriculture can still work sustainably alongside nature.
Curu is teeming with wildlife. You’ll be able to spot two of the monkey species in Costa Rica – white-faced monkeys and spider monkeys. Plus many other beautiful creatures like macaws, deer, coatis, iguanas and hundreds of species of birds.
There are several trails throughout the park, varying in length and difficulty. And as a bonus, there’s even a protected beach where you can go for a swim, after a hot and sweaty hike.
What else can you do?
If you don’t fancy using your own two legs, you can switch to four legs instead. You can explore the nature reserve by horseback!
Book your horse riding tour here:
1-hour horseback tour for $15
3-hour horseback tour for $25
#6 Take part in a yoga class
Santa Teresa has a somewhat hippie vibe, and with that usually comes yoga.
Yoga is a great way to release stress, strengthen your body and connect with your mind. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before, yoga can be done by anyone!
You’ll be able to find yoga retreats lasting from 3 days to 3 weeks, or daily sessions for a couple of hours.
Where to find yoga
The Selina Hostel offers their own yoga classes at sunrise and sunsetfor $15 per class. Casa Zen also has a number of classes per day and the option to buy class passes to save money.
A lot of the hotels and resorts in Santa Teresa offer yoga retreats. Casa Zen has a 4 night retreat starting from $120 per person. As well as the yoga practise, a lot of them also include surf lessons, other excursions and delicious food.
It’s the perfect place to escape from the stresses of life and rejuvenate your body.
Book here: Sunrise and sunset yoga classes for $15
#7 Take to the skies and go ziplining through the jungle
Just 15 minutes from Santa Teresa, at the entrance of the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, you’ll find Mal Pais Canopy Tour.
It’s the place to add some adventure to your beach retreat. The canopy tour is just under 2 km long, with 11 platforms set amongst the trees.
Enjoy soaring through the trees on ziplines that are 500m long! Try to remember to take in the views too whilst you’re screaming with excitement.
The 2-hour canopy tour costs $55. Transportation can be added for an additional $10.
Top tip: One of the best places to go zip lining in Costa Rica is actually in Monteverde. One of the adventure parks even has the longest zipline in Central America!
#8 Go on an ATV adventure
Hiring an ATV can be a great way to get around Santa Teresa. They handle the pretty tricky roads well and allow you to explore jungle trails that cars wouldn’t be able to go down.
If you don’t fancy going on an adventure by yourself, you can also join an ATV tour that will take you deep into the jungle, with stops at the beach for a swim.
See here the best booking options we could find:
- ATV rental for 8 hours: $50
- ATV rental for 24 hours: $70
- ATV 4-hour guided tour: $105
#9 Take a day trip to Tortuga Island
Tortuga Island is located on the other side of the Nicoya Peninsula from Santa Teresa. If you’ve been looking for a tropical paradise, then Tortuga Island is the place to visit.
Sun-lovers will be happy to see a number of sunbeds to spend the day relaxing on. Whilst water babies will be thrilled at the sight of the hundreds of fish that dash around the boat as you make your way to the island.
What else can you do?
The day on Tortuga Island is likely to fly by with so many things to keep you busy.
Aside from lying on the beach, you can go snorkelling, diving, hiking or eating your body weight in delicious food.
The boat trip from Santa Teresa beach to Tortuga Island takes about 45 minutes and if you are lucky, the ride will be accompanied by dolphins, jumping manta rays or even humpback whales.
The best way to visit Tortuga Island from Santa Teresa is by joining a day tour. This way everything is arranged for you and a boat cruise is necessary to get to the island.
A 9 hour snorkelling tour from Santa Teresa with rates from $100. This includes transportation, lunch, drinks and snorkelling equipment.
#10 Watch the sunset on the beach
The sunsets on the Pacific side of Costa Rica are just incredible! The sky becomes alive with shades of purple, orange and pink, creating one of the best sunsets you’ve probably ever seen.
Watching the sunset becomes part of most people’s daily routines in Santa Teresa. Everyone grabs a beer at around 5:30pm and heads down to the beach to watch the spectacular show.
It’s a great way to mingle with other travellers and an added bonus – it’s free!
#11 Explore the underground world of Barra Honda caves
There are lots of national parks in Costa Rica, but Barra Honda National Park is slightly different. It’s main selling point is it’s 42 caves, of which only 19 have been explored by humans.
As you climb 35 metres down into the cave, you’ll feel like you’re entering a whole new world. All around you you’ll be surrounded by towering stalagmites and huge stalactites!
You’ll be grateful for your torch once you’re down there, as that will be the only source of light. It’s definitely the place to face your fear of the dark!
How to visit Barra Honda Caves
You can enter the national park for $10 per person, but this won’t give you access to the caves.
The only way to enter the caves is with a guide, which costs $25. The tour lasts for around 3-4 hours and also includes a fair amount of hiking to get to the caves.
You’ll need to make a reservation in advance and the only way to do so is to ring the ranger station +506 2659 1551. Unfortunately, they don’t have a website.
Unfortunately, the caves aren’t that close to Santa Teresa and are nearly a 3-hour drive away. If you’re visiting Tamarindo, this may be a better place to reach the caves from. However, as many travellers prefer to stay in Santa Teresa instead of Tamarindo, we didn’t want to leave out this great activity.
Most popular ways to get to Santa Teresa
Rounding it up
Now you’ve picked the best things to do in Santa Teresa, it’s time to start ticking off that bucket list. Not sure how to plan your trip? Our guide is here to help! You’ll find out how long to stay in Santa Teresa, where to eat, how to get around and more. Happy planning!
Best places to stay in Santa Teresa
Lua Villas - Treating Yourself
It’s impossible not to feel relax as soon as you step into this tropical oasis. Everywhere you look in Lua Villas, there’s a piece of nature. There’s also a swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzi, open-air yoga space and even private yoga lessons on offer.
Instead of just a room, here you’ll get villa style accommodation with private kitchens, patios with garden or pool views and plenty of space to make yourself feel at home. The interior is spectacular.
- Swimming pool and jacuzzi
- Yoga deck
- Stunning gardens
- Spacious and beautiful villas
Studio rooms start from $80 per night
Cuatro Vientos Lodge & Apartments - Mid Range
After a day of cycling, snorkelling or surfing in Santa Teresa, you want to return home to a place that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. That’s exactly how Cuatro Vientos Lodge & Apartments makes you feel.
The interior of this place oozes tranquility with it’s use of rustic wood, nuetral colours and open-air design. The hosts are incredibly friendly, and welcome you to make use of the communal cooking facilities and terrace areas.
- Beautiful design
- Great location
- Wonderful hosts
- Barbeque facilities
Double rooms start from $50-80 per night
Salty Enthusiasts Share House & Villas - Budget Friendly
It’s not easy to find budget-friendly accommodation in Santa Teresa, especially somewhere that’s actually nice to stay in. Salty Enthusiasts sits more in the mid-range catergory, but it’s one of the best affordable places to stay in Santa Teresa, and it’s beautiful.
The hotel feels like a massive treehouse, meant for relaxing and providing comfort. You can opt for either a dorm bed or a private room. Both are super clean, comfortable and thoughtfully designed. It’s a great place to meet other people too. They have lots of communal areas to chill out, and a shared kitchen.
- Close to the beach
- Sociable atmosphere
- Choice of dorm or private room
- Shared kitchen
Double rooms between $15-50 per night
Kate is a travel content creator, writer and founder of Stay Wild Travel, a tour company running group trips for women beyond your typical destinations. Her full-time travels have taken her to almost 60 countries, and she doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon.
Aleksandra is a writer and editor who recently moved from Hong Kong to London. She’s worked and studied in four countries (and counting) and picked up a new hobby in each of them. She’s a big fan of long train journeys so you can count on her to take the scenic route, finding a few hidden gems along the way.
