Santa Teresa is a hip town on the west coast of Costa Rica’s, Puntarenas Province. Unlike neighbouring Nicaragua, the area has been welcoming tourists for many years, despite it being a hard to reach destination. The white sand beaches have perfectly formed waves (all year round) and palm trees stretch as far as the eyes can see. The rugged coast attracts surfers and beach lovers alike. Despite a steady flow of tourists and a huge expat community in the area, there are certain things that are ‘behind the times’ so to speak...

I found it incredible that the beach and all of the nature around Santa Teresa is so untouched! Wild beautiful beaches with palm trees and no commercial buildings overlooking them. We have friends living in the area, and like they said, the boutique hotels and independent businesses thrive in Santa Teresa.

We had initially planned to spend three days in Santa Teresa with kids but we ended up staying three weeks! I found it very easy to penetrate the community, so we felt at home, and our little one attended kindergarten as well as the school holiday kids camp. She was so happy, we decided to stay for longer. Besides from the kids camp, there was plenty to do and enjoy. Here is our play, eat and sleep guide to Santa Teresa with kids.