Restaurants
Restaurants in Parrita, offer typical Tico food and casados. My favorite seafood restaurant is Chepe, go to the highway, head south and it will be on your left just after crossing the bridge over the Parrita river.
Also recommended are: restaurants, Pilones and Huetar.
Silvana, who works at Alazan is an excellent cook and you can negotiate with her on creating a meal at the house.
Los Almendros Restaurant
Further away—recommend use GPS, Los Almendros Restaurant, Esterillos Oeste for Asian Fusion and Caribbean food.
Alma del Pacifico
Alma, we were told about this by people at Alazan and have been many times now! Love it and enjoy the pool and the spa as well, decadent but well worth it! Spectacular resort, if you eat there you can use the beach. When the Sea Almond trees have nuts, there will be Scarlet Macaws.
El Avion
Hotel Costa Verde, simple and great! Cocktails, beer and burgers…
Here are a few highlights of popular places and activities within a 20-60 minute drive of Alazan:
– Endless beaches and coastline – Playa Palo Seco, Playa Bejuco, Playa Bandera, and Esterillos Este, Centro, and Oesteare all magnificent beaches and all are within a 20-30 minute drive of Alazan. Esterillos Oeste is popular with surfersand is one of the only beaches in Costa Rica to have lifeguards on duty.
– Iguana Chocolate Farm tour – Just up the Parrita River valley from Alazan, this cute little farm offers tours and sells a variety of cacao products.
– Rainmaker Conservation Project – The Rainmaker Conservation Project that offers canopy tours and lots of wildlife.
– Rancho Mastatal – Just 40 minutes up the valley from Alazan, Rancho Mastatal offers courses in sustainable building, bamboo construction, biodigesters, and Permaculture.
– Villa Vanilla – This spice farm outside of Quepos offers fabulous tours for those who love food or have an interest in biodynamic farming.
– Manuel Antonio (the town) – Manuel Antonio is a small, world renowned resort community that features fabulous restaurants and bars but thankfully, no high-rises! Enjoy sunset cocktails and dinner at any one of a number of excellent eateries. There are several dance bars as well for those who haven’t burned themselves out already at the beach.
– Manuel Antonio (the National Park) – This is one of Costa Rica’s smallest yet most famous national parks. For good reason: This park is jam packed with wildlife (almost 300 species of mammals and birds), hiking trails, primary and secondary rainforest, and white sand beaches. In 2011, Manuel Antonio was listed by Forbes as one of the world’s 12 most beautiful national parks.
– Quepos Farmers Market – Quepos has a fun farmers market on Saturdays. Skip the grocery stores and buy your product here (or at the many roadside stands)
There are many, many other activities in the area. Click here for an abbreviated.
Tours & Activites
· Mangrove Boat Tours
· Kayak Tours
· Deep Sea Fishing Tours
· Guided Mountain Bike Tours
· Mountain & Banana Bike Rentals
· Horseback Waterfall Tour
· Sea Kayaking
· Jet Ski Safari
· Surfing Lessons
· Whale/Dolphin Watch Tours
· Snorkeling and Scuba Diving
· Zip Lines
Beaches & Surfing
Board rental and sales – Chucks WOW, in Jaco and Nika Boards
Chucks is in Jaco, the end near the Best Western. He has a lot of choice and is from the US. Nika has great boards and is closer than Jaco.
Esterillos Oeste
The wave is one of the best on the central pacific – not for learning mind you! But if you got some skills then the outside reef is superb and on low tide the pools offer swimming and snorkeling. I have seen juvenile tuna, bass, puffers, angel fish and much, much more!
Esterillos Centro/Bejuco/Bandera
I will cover all of these in one – The beach is all the same, it runs from Esterillos Oeste to Bandera. The further south you go the heavier the wave. However for learning, Centro is good and even down to Bandera, the wave breaks further out and you can ride and learn in the white water. Oeste tends to break right on the beach.
Barranca
If anyone gets into surfing this is an amazing left hand wave, it can run for over a kilometer on a good day… and I have had it on a good day! River mouth point break near Caldera and don’t listen to the stories… no crocs and no surgical waste! Water is clean and the wave is amazing but can get crowded on weekends.
Location:
Getting to Alazan has gotten much easier! New highways and bridges have made the drive from San Jose, Manuel Antonio and Dominical much simpler, safer and quicker. A new eco-friendly golf and ocean club, and a new luxury marina are both within 20 minutes from Alazan and are now operational!
