In this week’s Overseas Dream Home Digest, I’m doing a deep-dive into Costa Rica’s most iconic beach town.
This destination is known for its stunning two-mile-long beach…lush jungle that stretches right up to the sand…and incredible waves that draw surfers from across the planet…
I also rank it as one of the most opportunity-filled destinations on the planet to buy real estate in 2026.
That town is Tamarindo and today, I’ll dig into…
- How Hollywood Discovered Costa Rica’s Best Beach Town
- WATCH: The Incredible Lifestyle on the Gold Coast
- VIDEO: Four Reasons Tamarindo Should Be on Your Radar Right Now
- Plus, Your Questions Answered on Buying in Costa Rica
This deep-dive is especially urgent as—for the first time ever—I’ve secured an off-market deal in Tamarindo for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group. With this deal, RETA members have the chance to own stunning ocean-view condos in a perfect location in Tamarindo. And the RETA-only pricing is mind-blowing.
More on that in a moment…
But let’s begin with Hollywood and how a 1990s surfing documentary set a tiny, remote fishing village on a path toward becoming one of the hottest real estate markets in the world…
Tamarindo’s two-mile beach is the engine of the town—walkable, surfable, and a constant draw for wealthy vacationers and high-value renters.
How Hollywood Discovered Tamarindo
If you’ve ever seen The Endless Summer II, you know how a single image—or a single perfect wave—can put a place on the map.
When that film hit screens in 1994, it showed Tamarindo’s long, peeling breaks to the world. Overnight, the secret was out.
Before that, Tamarindo had been almost entirely off the grid. A tiny fishing village. Sand roads. A handful of families.
Electricity didn’t arrive until 1974.
Phone service? 1996—and people took turns using the one landline. It wasn’t even officially incorporated as a town until 1995.
But the surfers came first.
Then the sportfishermen.
Then the adventurous travelers.
And then… everything changed.
The 1990s and early 2000s brought the first wave of serious development—boutique surf hotels, the earliest eco-lodges. Then luxury ocean-view condos appeared. Gated communities took shape. High-end resorts arrived up and down the coast—Four Seasons, JW Marriott, Westin—transforming this region into what the world now calls the Gold Coast.
At the same time, the real engine of progress roared to life: Liberia International Airport.
A web of direct international flights feeds the Gold Coast year-round—an expanding network with new routes, more flights, and record passenger numbers—making Tamarindo one of the most accessible, highest-demand beach towns in Central America.
Money flowed in.
Companies arrived.
Airlines added direct routes.
Costa Rica—already one of the safest, most stable, most progressive countries in Latin America—became dramatically more accessible.
And Tamarindo became its most iconic beach town.
By the 2010s, Tamarindo had become a global name—the first place most visitors see in Costa Rica, the epicenter of surf culture, nightlife, yoga, fishing, and family travel. Its two-mile stretch of beach became one of the most photographed in the country.
Now, it’s a place where wealthy folks happily spent millions of dollars on ocean-view condos and villas.
For more on how Tamarindo developed, check out this full article on its evolution here.
Costa Rica’s Gold Coast is in northwestern Guanacaste province. It sits at the center of a luxury boom—flagship resorts and private-jet arrivals all help drive demand.
WATCH: The Incredible Lifestyle on the Gold Coast
Today, Tamarindo is the unofficial capital of the Gold Coast.
It offers that quintessential Costa Rican experience. Think warm Pacific breezes…brightly-colored birds flitting through lush jungle…swaying palms…laid-back surf culture…an upmarket, yet bohemian town…and a long, glorious, soft-sand beach that’s the beating heart of the community.
At sunset in Tamarindo, the whole town gathers on the sand. Kids play soccer. Locals ride horses along the shoreline. Tourists sip cocktails as the sky glows gold… It fosters a deep sense of calm and community.
This is a place people want to be—on vacation, for an extended stay, or full-time.
My team put together this video giving you an overview of the incredible lifestyle on offer here and along the Gold Coast. Click below to view…
Here’s a short video that gives you a feel for Tamarindo and Costa Rica’s wider Gold Coast. It shows the beaches, the landscapes, the walkable town, and the natural beauty that make this part of the world so special.
VIDEO: Four Reasons Tamarindo Should Be on Your Radar Right Now
Tamarindo has become the premier beach town of Costa Rica. This is a place that’s active, internationalized, and vibrant…and it has something else too: serious opportunity.
Costa Rica is the original eco-tourism destination. They are very tight restrictions on new development to protect the country’s pristine natural environment.
That means demand here is huge. But supply is tight.
I love this as an investor. It puts a “moat” around your investment and means the right real estate has serious capital appreciation and rental income potential.
In this YouTube video, I walk you through this and share four reasons why Tamarindo needs to be on your radar. Check it out now:
In this video, I tell you four reasons why I consider Tamarindo one of the most opportunity-filled destinations on my global beat.
RETA’s First-ever Off-Market Deal in Tamarindo
Today, Tamarindo is not a cheap market. Limited supply and soaring demand mean prices here are high, particularly for those rare ocean-view properties within walking distance of the beach and town.
To give you just a few examples from new communities here…
For a three-bed condo in a community called Tamarindo 360, you’ll pay over a million. Over $2 million for the penthouse. In the same neighborhood is Air Homes, where you’ll find condos without ocean views in the region of $700,000.
These are the prices folks are paying today in this iconic beach town.
But given the incredible lifestyle, the soaring international demand, and the limits on new development in Tamarindo, the value proposition is still incredible. And there’s a way to boost it further.
That’s by buying here at exclusive, off-market pricing…
Here’s another example: At Villas Mirador buyers are getting great views and amenities but it’s not in the true golden circle of Tamarindo’s walkability. A two-bed condo of 1,463 square feet in Villa Mirador with ocean views is listing for $699,000.
My RETA group uses our group-buying power to negotiate exclusive, off-market deals with developers. That means our members get in first on best-in-class communities…at prices ordinary investors never see.
That’s the case with the new RETA opportunity in Tamarindo.
After at least 16 years of scouting this coast, I’m about to bring RETA members our first-ever members-only deal here.
This deal puts us in the perfect location in Tamarindo, with stunning ocean views and within the true golden circle of walkability. We’ll own a stroll to the beach…a stroll to the town…and with outstanding ocean-view amenities.
And yet, thanks to RETA’s group-buying power, the exclusive RETA-only pricing is incredible—starting from just $392,400 ranging to just $612,800 for the penthouse.
With this exclusive pricing and the incredible moats on development here, I expect gigantic capital appreciation—gains of $307,600 three years after delivery.
And there’s income…
With the new off-market deal I’ve negotiated in Tamarindo, RETA members can own in a perfectly located community with breathtaking ocean views. (Developer’s renders should not be considered final but give us a great idea what to expect.)
Premium condos like these rent like hotcakes here, and I expect—with just a modest occupancy—gross rental yields of 16.2%.
But this is an exclusive, boutique community. And there will be only 31 condos available to RETA members.
Your Questions Answered
Have a comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from a reader recently…
Scott M. asked what the regulations are in Costa Rica concerning foreigners buying beachfront property.
Ronan says: Hi Scott. You’ll be glad to hear that in Costa Rica, foreigners have virtually the same real estate ownership rights as Costa Ricans. This is guaranteed under the constitution, with very few exceptions.
One exception is that only Costa Ricans can purchase land within two kilometers of a national border. Foreigners cannot buy in these zones. This is for national security reasons…many other countries have similar rules in place. This rule really isn’t hard to comply with—the vast majority of expats do not settle this close to the border.
Another rule to be aware of is that no one can own property within 50 meters (164 feet) of the ocean (to allow public access to beaches), and the next 150 meters (492 feet) is classed as a Restricted Zone.
Peaceful, laidback, and safe, Costa Rica has been attracting tourists, expats, and investors for decades.
There are exceptions to this—some parts of Jaco (on the central Pacific) and Golfito (in the Southern Zone), for example, have titled waterfront and beachfront land, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
In general, nothing can be built in the 50 meters (164 feet) closest to the water, and development is only allowed on the next 150 meters (492 feet) through a government “concession.” This is like a lease…although buyer beware, it is not a secure form of leasehold that you may be used to back home…and there are restrictions on foreigners with these concession leases (it becomes easier if the foreigner has been resident in Costa Rica for more than five years).
You are normally only allowed to build tourist ventures (B&Bs, bars, for example) or temporary structures on concession land, not permanent residences.
Bar these rare exceptions, foreigners have all the same rights as Costa Ricans when it comes to property ownership.
The Pacific coast of Costa Rica is the perfect place to watch the sun set.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you have a question about buying real estate overseas or have suggestions for destinations my team and I should put on our scouting list, drop me a line here.
