Blue Surf Sanctuary

My wife and I stayed in Mal Pais in 2004 and have been eager to return to the Nicoya Peninsula ever since. We found a great place in Blue Surf Sanctuary. We stayed for five days before meeting extended family in Jaco, where we booked a house for a family vacation. We had a great time in Jaco but Santa Teresa is next level chill (yet plenty of fun things to do too - something for everyone!), from outstanding restaurants to close, remote beaches to the welcoming and friendly nature of everyone we met. Laleska and Maykol (apologies if I misspelled!) were so helpful and friendly, from restaurant recommendations, help with ATV and surfboard rentals, to general conversation about the the area. When Laleska found out my son loved skateboarding, she offered to find a board and show him the skatepark (next time for sure! Surfing and wandering took up our time :) Our son, ever attached to the hip these days with COVID, etc., was comfortable enough to walk down to talk or hang out around the common kitchen area while we were gathering things to head out (and we totally felt comfortable with him doing so - they were great with him and us). Leading up to our trip, Kelly and staff were incredibly helpful, quickly answering questions and helping with some last minute accommodations. I made a separate recommendation for surf lessons with Toro (he is a great dude) but he was outstanding with our son (and me). Our son popped right up and Toro gave me tips that really helped shake off the rust. By the time we got to Jaco, we were both catching waves left and right. I noticed some comments about the noise. Yes, the bungalows are right by the road. There was road construction one night and you do hear vehicles. However, it is near the end of Santa Teresa, where there are way less vehicles. Additionally, it's such a quick and easy walk to the beach (and Rocamar - SUPER friendly staff, great vibes and quality delicious food right on the beach). We love the place, location and friendships we made. We've already been talking to friends about renting all four bungalows and taking over the fun compound! I should have mentioned, we also love the communal open kitchen handout area and pool.

The surfing lessons without a doubt was the highlight of our trip. Toro was a great teacher and catered to our individual abilities so that we each had a rewarding experience. It's obvious how much he loves teaching and surfing, which made it even more fun to hang out with him in the waves. Other things to praise: communication was very easy and efficient. Prior to our trip and during, all of our questions were answered. The place was clean, comfortable and had a great chill atmosphere.

We enjoyed our stay. Pablo is excellent at what he does and we are grateful to have met him and use his services and his knowledge of the area to help us with our trip. Our place was very clean, and it is evident that this place typically is very clean. I am not sure what some of those reviews were about in the comments, but everyone has different standards of what they need to see in accommodations, and so may be traveling isn’t such a good option for some of those people, and we were grateful to have stayed in such a clean and lovely place. As far as the road noise that some have written about, there Is only one main road in this town and all the hotels, hostels, and any place to stay are all generally within 100 to 300 yards of this road. Everyone uses this one road. We did as we came into town. People on their motorbikes and on their ATVs all use this road. It is not a consistent noise, but the occasional loud motorcyclist does go by, and you will hear it, as you would hear it in pretty much any other hotel in this town. If you are a light sleeper, it would be good for you to get some air plugs if you think that would be a problem. If you are generally bothered by things like this, you may prefer staying in a more developed resort town that has big insulated hotels. We will definitely stay here again when we are in Santa Teresa, and we will use Blue Surf Adventures and hire Toro again to be our surf guide. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, talking with Pablo, and do highly recommend this business.