Photo credits

The whole bay

Aerial view across Tamarindo Bay from the wooded hills above Playa Langosta: sailboats at anchor and the beach curving north past the estuary to Playa Grande.

Playa Tamarindo

Playa Tamarindo on a clear afternoon: golden sand, a red-flowering tree and palms shading a beachfront terrace, and a few swimmers in the shallows.

Pacific rhythm

Surfers silhouetted in the waves as the sun sets over the Pacific at Playa Grande, its light running across the wet sand.

Low tide

Low tide on Playa Tamarindo: dark rocks exposed on the wet sand, small waves, and a line of boats anchored under a cloudy sky.

Mangrove

A dense wall of mangroves standing on tangled stilt roots above the brown water of the Matapalo River, in the Tamarindo estuary.

Swell

Glassy green waves breaking in late-afternoon light at Playa Grande, beside a dark rocky headland, with a sailboat on the horizon.

Playa Langosta

Aerial view of Playa Langosta: surf breaking along a rocky shore and a narrow strip of sand, with red-roofed hotels, a pool and dirt roads among the trees.

Estuary resident

A crocodile resting on a muddy bank of the Matapalo River, below the mangroves of the Tamarindo estuary.

Las Baulas

Panorama over dry forest and mangroves toward the beach of Las Baulas National Marine Park on an overcast day.

From above

Aerial view of Tamarindo: red roofs among dry-forest trees above a long curve of beach, sailboats anchored in turquoise water, and the estuary and Playa Grande stretching north toward the hills.

At water level

A view from water level across choppy blue sea under a bright, cloudy sky, with the red edge of a surfboard in the foreground.

Where the river meets the sea

Aerial view of Tamarindo’s beachfront and the mouth of the estuary, where a sandbar meets the turquoise bay, with dry hills rising behind the town.

Protected coast

A wide, quiet beach in Las Baulas National Marine Park: shallow water over a sandbar, surf rolling in, and a low forested shore under tall clouds.

Twilight

Twilight over Playa Tamarindo: a clear sky fading from deep blue to orange at the horizon, boats anchored in the bay and wet sand reflecting the glow at low tide.

Last light

The sun setting over the Pacific at Playa Grande, with rows of waves and a few surfers waiting beyond the break.