Casa Taman

LOCATION NOTES

• 2-minute walk to grocery store
• 2-minute walk to several restaurants and shops
• Short drive or bike ride to a big selection of restaurants and shops
• 10-minute walk to fitness center
• 10-minute drive to clinic & town Mal Pais
• 40-minute drive to golf course

Santa Teresa, a string of beaches on the southern tip of Costa Rica’s northwestern peninsula, has an edge-of-the-world vibe that still feels remote and inspires dreams of relocation. Driving down the dusty dirt road that connects the area’s four beaches — Playa Carmen, Playa Hermosa, Santa Teresa and Mal Pais —you will wonder what your life would be like in a town that experiences almost year-round sunshine (punctuated by the occasional biblical rainstorm, sure) and consistent 80-degree temperatures. This road that runs parallel to the beach has many cute cafés, restaurants, some galleries and the odd fashion boutique dotted among the surf shops.

Once a sleepy fishing village, Santa Teresa is now an increasingly luxurious surfer’s paradise filled with people who have made this particular fantasy their reality — and the occasional detox-seeking celebrity who likes living it for a week at a time. In addition to native Costa Ricans, or “Ticos,” there are American chefs, Australian surf instructors, French cafe owners and Argentine hoteliers.

An outer ripple of Costa Rica’s countrywide eco-tourism boom, Santa Teresa’s international community blossomed in the 2000s as foreign adventure-seekers discovered its confluence of natural attractions: white-sand beaches, reliable, long-breaking waves and innumerable species of wildlife. And while New Age hippies still populate the town’s scores of yoga studios, Santa Teresa is now evolving to cater to the growing number of comfort-loving families who have discovered its amazing beaches and lay back charms, including its proximity to the pristine 3,000-acre Cabo Blanco nature reserve, five miles to the south, and an increasing array of excellent small hotels, villas and restaurants.