Guanacaste Costa Rica

Beautiful pristine beaches, amazing National Parks and a great variety of activities, await in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, one of the biggest provinces in the country.

Guanacaste Costa Rica Size

Guanacaste spans over 6,800 square miles with a population of 288,488 (annual growth rate of 2.3%). Guanacaste is, without hesitation, the richest coastal area of Costa Rica, with more than 125 miles of Pacific coast. It offers its visitors the gift of nature, from isolated beaches to rocky points covered with tropical dry forest.

What to do in Costa Rica

You can rent sport fishing equipment, go parasailing, scuba diving, or water skiing. You can play golf on courses designed by PGA professionals, or you can spend your days shopping and your nights dinning in gourmet restaurant.

History of Guanacaste Costa Rica 

The region known today as the Cantón de Nicoya is part of a vast territory that was occupied by the Chorotega tribe during the pre-Columbian era. It was part of Nicaragua until 1824, when, on July 25, Nicoya decided to be part of the State of Costa Rica by popular election. Guanacaste is an essential part of the Costa Rican heritage. It has preserved it own culture and folklore.

The name of Guanacaste derives from the náhuatl (native tribe) word cuauhnacaztli, which means “place of the ear tree”, referring to a tree in the region whose seed pod is shaped like a human ear. This tree also has the honor of being Costa Rica’s national tree.

Guanacaste Weather

The weather is warm all the year, but like the rest of Costa Rica, the region has two well defined seasons: dry and green. Temperatures are constant throughout the year, even during the green season, ranging from 70° and 85° F. The dry season is from November to March. Bathers can work on their tan, while flowering trees create a colorful backdrop. The “green” or wet season is from mid May to November. Even during the green season showers are mainly during the late afternoon or night-there is still a lot of sun to catch!

Liberia Guanacaste Costa Rica: The Capitol

Liberia is the capital of the Guanacaste province and is located four miles from the International Airport. According to most recent census, is the ninth largest city in Costa Rica with a population of 40,977 and is growing at a rate of 2.5% annually. Though small by North American standards, it is quite large in comparison to its Guanacastecan neighbors to the southeast, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya. The city center features a modern-style church, as many Costa Rican towns do, facing a plaza surrounded by locally-owned shops and restaurants. Liberia has hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, supermarkets, shopping malls, cinemas, etc.