This month’s Costa Rica calendar from photographer Sylvia Guardia M. is a photo of the Rincon volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Rincon Volcano in Guanacaste Costa Rica

You can download the Guanacaste September calendar here.

Michael Mills just published this short video of Playa del Coco in Guanacaste Costa Rica

New road for Playa Panama Guanacaste Costa Rica announced Luis Liberman, Costa Rica second vice president. $1.5 million will be spent to build a new 2 kilometer road that will connect Playa Panama with route 159, which links the coast to Liberia and the international airport. It was announced Saturday during the anniversary of Guanacaste’s annexation to Costa Rica. The first stage will connect the town of Panama to Route 159 and the second will connect Route 159 with Playa Buena. It will also include improvement of some of the side roads and bridges in the area and creation of new bus stops. These projects are expected to be completed in the next 3 months.

I’ve driven several times on the road from Playa Panama to the Liberia airport, along decent paved roads, so wondered about this and queried my friend, Mike. It seems the locals are also trying to figure out where this is.

I asked about the “city” of Playa Panama -  “there is a small town in Playa Panama that nobody knows about. It was a dirt road just before the hill going over to Hermosa. It was paved recently. There is another dirt road leading off the new road to the Do It that we think is the road they are talking about.”  Hours later, another response: “I just figured out it is the extension of the road leading to the Grand Occidental and what will be the new Westin. The Boulevard as we call it. That dead ends at the old Costa Blanca hotel, remember? It has been juiced up.”

And now you know the rest of the story.

If the work is done by January, I’ll take photos.

Hillside Home in Playa Hermosa Guanacaste Costa Rica

Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste Costa Rica is one of my favorite places in Costa Rica – and according to a recent article on Playa Hermosa in the New York Times, I’m not alone.  If you’re looking for an inexpensive place to live, this probably isn’t the place,  as Playa Hermosa is one of the most expensive places in Costa Rica.  (That being said, you can still get a nice condo there for $200,000 – an easy walk to the beach, but no view) The Four Seasons chose this area for their Costa Rica resort and opened on the Peninsula Papagayo in 2004.  This is a good time to buy your vacation or retirement home there and our colleagues can help you find the right property at a good price.  In contrast to the article, I haven’t found traffic congestion on the area roads (except for downtown Coco), nor have I had a failure of the water supply. I like the feeling of this sleepy beach town of Playa Hermosa (translated as beautiful beach) – especially knowing that the bustle of Playas del Coco is just a 10 minute drive and the international airport is just a 20 minute drive.

Peninsula Papagayo

in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, was the subject of a recent interview Kevin Brass of the International Property Journal recently had with Steve Grubba. Sales have increased this year at Peninsula Papagayo for single family homes, condo/villas and building lots. You may know this peninsula in northwest Costa Rica by the Four Seasons Resort at the tip of the Papagayo Peninsula. According to Grubba, the turnaround started in December 2009. Most of the current buyers are people planning to live in Costa Rica, or spend time there. The Four Seasons branded products have held  their pre-recession values. For the rest of the peninsula, lot prices are down about 30%, condos are down about 40%, and single family homes have held their value. The larger estate homes are in such demand that none are currently available.

Rob and I spent some time on the Peninsula Papagayo in January, had an extensive tour of the peninsula and looked at finished homes, homes under construction, condos, lots and the varied amenities.

View of the Gulf of Papagayo Costa Rica

Playa Hermosa, one of our favorite spots in Costa Rica, is in Guanacaste, on the northern Pacific coast. It’s a quiet town on a crescent gulf, with the Papagayo Peninsula on one end and Playas del Coco on the other. Despite the comments in the recent article in the International Property Journal about sporadic water and electric, in several visits we haven’t seen an interruption in either. And if we did? just head for the beach or jump in the pool and enjoy a relaxed lifestyle. Open air restaurants? Oh, yes, and some of them are fantastic! From the El Velero Hotel to the Four Seasons, you choose your lifestyle. You have choices to buy as well, from a gated community with the luxurious amenities of a  Florida resort to a home on the hillside that’s open to the breezes, overlooking the water, the promontories and the islands.

Here’s a short video on the current look of Playas del Coco in the Guanacaste area on the northwest Pacific coast of Costa Rica, thanks to a RE/MAX colleague there. Rob and I were in Playas del Coco earlier this month – it’s less than half an hour from the international airport in Liberia, Costa Rica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQNQxE19k8

Playa Hermosa Guanacaste Costa Rica

A friend living in Playa Hermosa in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica answered my question about electric and water interruptions:

Hermosa is not a real crazy city. It is a quiet little relaxing place, as you know, and everyone remembers to find time to go and eat breakfast, something we never did or do in the US, where we are always on the go. Hermosa reminds you to stop and enjoy the little things in life, like a cup of coffee with the waves crashing. The electricity really never goes out any more as they spent millions upgrading the power and the water maybe once a month for half a day. But they are in the process of upgrading that system, too, so I think that will be in the past in another year or so. But I always remind myself that I came to Costa Rica to get away from concrete, steel and freeways.

Our colleague Mike relaxing on Playa Hermosa Costa Rica

After reading the article about Playa Hermosa being named one of the top 10 second home markets, I contacted my colleague in Playa Hermosa to ask him about the comment that Hermosa had sporadic electric and water service. We haven’t experienced either on our trips to Hermosa, so I wanted to ask a local. Here’s what he said:

“Hermosa is only about 300 acres and when it is completely built out someday, you are dealing with less than 750 homes TOTAL and there are only two small streets to the beach with NO real town to speak of. It is a TRUE breakfast community which makes for the perfect second home investment. It is close to the action (Playas del Coco 10 minutes) close to the airport (Liberia International Airport 20 minutes) yet you feel like you are miles from everywhere. That is what people want in a second home – NOT Cancun.

Water and electricity, as you know, are in the process of being upgraded as these developments continue to move forward. Remember, this is Central America. So if you wake up and there is no water, jump in the pool, put on a baseball cap, and go to one of those romantic open air restaurants and have yourself a nice breakfast on the beach in paradise!

But 10 years from now, anything you bought today will easily be worth 2 or 3 times what you paid, and quite possibly a lot more!

I remember living in St Thomas back when the power went out every day – life just went around it. And one day this week a client who lives in a nearby luxury condo here in St Petersburg, Parkshore Plaza, came over to our office because the building had no power.”

Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste Costa Rica

Playa Hermosa in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica has been named by the International Property Journal as one of the Top 10 second home markets – their compilation of vacation home destinations offering the best potential for luxury, relaxation, adventure and rental income. Kevin Brass, editor, comments:

HERMOSA, Costa Rica

Never has an airport changed a location as dramatically as the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia transformed Guanacaste, the stretch of rugged coastline on the northwest coast of Costa Rica. No more treks through San Jose and puddle jumpers over the mountains to get to the coast. Instead it’s an easy flight into Liberia and Read the rest of this entry »