Avellanas Beach

Avellanas is one of the most beautiful beaches of the Tamarindo area. There is nothing but pristine beach wilderness with crooked old trees providing shade backed by scrub, mangroves and pasture land.

Avellanas has no village and there are no shops. It is just a scattering of small, laid-back hotels and cabinas where surfers hang out.

A long ribbon of beaches unfolds until Tamarindo's Playa Langosta in the north and Playa Negra in the south. Some stretches of beach are rocky with tide pools, other parts have fine white sand and turquoise colored waters.

For most visitors the biggest attraction of Playa Avellanas lies off shore. Avellanas boasts some of Costa Rica's best surf spots drawing surfers from all over the world.
In high season, and on weekends however, the surf breaks in Avellanas can become quite crowded as local wave riders from the Tamarindo area also come to surf here.

The focal point of Avellanas is Lola's bar with its seaside parking area. In high season a guard watches over the lot. Nevertheless leave no valuables in your car, and take also care of your stuff on the beach.

Lola's bar is one of the nicest beach lounges in Costa Rica. It offers stylish and comfortable beach furniture with a front row view to the surf, and their pizza is famous. The bar was named after the capricious diva of Avellanas: Lola, the mischivious, big pig who used to bathe in the surf of Avellanas.

Surf conditions in Avellanas are perfect throughout the year with swells coming in both from the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Dry season is from December - April with blue skies and steady offshore winds.
Avellanas offers a variety of different surf spots spread out along the beach. Most breaks are for experienced surfers.

There is no public transportation to Avellanas. From Tamarindo it's a 16 km drive via Vila Real. Follow the signs to Hacienda Pinilla, from where you continue for another 3 km. The previously precarious road has been fixed and you can now reach Avellanas even during rainy season.