Planning a Trip

Getting There & Departing

By Plane -- Sansa (tel. 877/767-2672 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2290-4100 in Costa Rica; www.flysansa.com) flies to Carrillo (15 min. south of Sámara) daily at 6:30am from San José's Juan Santamaría International Airport. The flight might stop first at either Punta Islita or Nosara and takes approximately 1 hour; the fare is $93 (£47) each way. The Sansa flight leaves Carrillo for San José at 9:30am.

Most hotels will arrange to pick you up in Carrillo. If not, you'll have to hire a cab for between $8 and $10 (£4-£5).

Nature Air (tel. 800/235-9272 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2299-6000; www.natureair.com) also has one flight daily to Punta Islita that leaves at 9:40am from Tobías Bolaños International Airport in Pavas. The fare is $111 (£56) each way. The return flight for San José leaves at 10:40am. Nature Air also flies between Punta Islita and Liberia, Puerto Jimenez, and Quepos.

By Car -- Take the Interamerican Highway from San José. Forty-seven kilometers (29 miles) past the turnoff for Puntarenas, you'll see signs and the turnoff for the new La Amistad bridge. After crossing the bridge, continue north to Nicoya. In Nicoya, head more or less straight through town until you see signs for Playa Sámara. From here, it's a well-marked and paved road all the way to the beach.

To drive to Samara from Liberia, head out of town on the main road to the Guanacaste beaches, passing through Filadelfia, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya. Once you reach Nicoya, follow the directions outlined above.

By Bus -- Alfaro-Tracopa express buses (tel. 2222-2666 or 2685-5032) leave San José daily at noon and 6:30pm from Calle 14 between avenidas 3 and 5. The trip lasts 5 hours; the one-way fare is $6.50 (£3.25). Extra buses are sometimes added on weekends and during peak periods, so it's always wise to check.

Alternatively, you can take a bus from this same station to Nicoya and then catch a second bus from Nicoya to Sámara. Alfaro-Tracopa buses leave San José roughly every hour between 5:30am and 5pm. The fare is $4.80 (£2.40). The trip can take between 4 and 5 1/2 hours, depending if the bus goes via Liberia or the La Amistad bridge. The latter route is much faster. Empresa Rojas (tel. 2685-5352) buses leave Nicoya for Sámara and Carrillo regularly throughout the day, between 5am and 9pm. The trip's duration is 1 1/2 hours. The fare to Sámara is $1.50 (75p); the fare to Carrillo is $2.20 (£1.10).

Express buses to San José leave daily at 4 and 8am. Buses for Nicoya leave throughout the day between 5am and 9pm. Buses leave Nicoya for San José roughly every hour between 5am and 5pm.

Interbus (tel. 2283-5573; www.interbusonline.com) has a daily bus that leaves San José for Playa Sámara at 8:15am. The fare is $35 (£18) and they will pick you up at most San José-area hotels.

Orientation

Sámara is a busy little town at the bottom of a steep hill. The main road heads straight into town, passing the soccer field before coming to an end at the beach. Just before the beach is a road to the left that leads to most of the hotels listed below. This road also leads to Playa Carrillo and the Hotel Punta Islita. If you turn right 3 blocks before hitting the beach, you'll hit the coastal road that goes to playas Buena Vista, Barrigona, and eventually Nosara.

Fast Facts

In case of an emergency, dial tel. 911. To reach the local police, dial tel. 2656-0436. There's a small medical clinic in Samara (tel. 2656-0166). There is also a branch of the Banco Nacional (tel. 2656-0086), on the road to Playa Buena Vista, just as you head out of town. If you need a ride around Samara, or to one of the nearby beaches, you can hire a taxi by calling Balto (tel. 8361-4167) or Jorge (tel. 8830-3002).