Santa Teresa runs along a single dirt road behind a very long beach at the southwestern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, and for a place this awkward to reach it is remarkably busy. The surf is the reason: a consistent beach break that works most of the year, forgiving enough at the northern end for a first lesson and heavy enough at Playa Hermosa and Mal País to be taken seriously.
The town has changed enormously in twenty years, from a fishing village with one road to a strip of surf camps, yoga shalas, smoothie bars and restaurants that would not be out of place in a much larger town. Prices have followed. It remains, on a weekday out of season, a beautiful and very slow place.
Getting here is the filter. The road in is unpaved and potholed, and the usual route is the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera and then an hour and a half by road; the alternative is a small plane into Tambor.