Costa Rica Real Estate Pacific NorthWest

Retirees and others looking for a prized piece of real estate in Costa Rica have six regions to choose from, and one of them is the Northern Pacific zone, which encompasses the northwest region of Costa Rica.

The Northern Pacific zone is made up of vast plains and is drier than the Central Valley, where the capital of San Jose is located, as well as the regions of the central and southern coastal zones. But Costa Rica’s Northern Pacific zone boasts some of the country's most beautiful beaches, breathtaking views, history, culture and, that’s right, nightlife.

At the heart of the region is the city of Liberia, the capital of the Guanacaste province, which is home to all of the above attractions.

Liberia, located 125 miles north of San José on the Pan-American Highway, is one of Costa Rica’s fastest growing cities. It is known for its colonial architecture, and is a growing cultural Mecca with restaurants, hotels, several museums, lots of shopping, a public hospital and the Daniel Oduber International Airport, which offers more than 40 weekly flights to the United States.

The city is good stopping-off point to Guanacaste's many beaches, which are now more accessible with the new Tempisque Bridge, which opened in 2003. The bridge, which replaced ferry across the river, spans 780 meters and serves as a launching point for major development of the Guanacaste region.

This bridge has helped to gap the gulf between the Nicoya Peninsula and San José and the rest of the country. The bridge and other infrastructure improvements have helped make the region a hot spot for real estate development.

Another big development in the region is a new wild animal park, Africa Mía, a 100-acre open-air zoo with free-roaming animals.

Real estate buyers will find a wide range of condominiums in the region, on both isolated and popular beaches, with prices ranging from $100,000 to $750,000 depending on location. Some new developments also include gated communities and golf resorts, always popular with retirees. For those wanting to build their dream home, undeveloped beach and oceanview properties are available in some areas.

A number of high-end hotel and resort developments have been built in Guanacaste in recent years, like the Four Seasons Resort on Playa Blanca, the 370-slip La Marina Papagayo on Manzanillo Bay, a new 200-acre upscale hotel at nearby Punta Cacique, and the new $15 million Marina Papagayo.

Besides beautiful white sand beaches and the swimming, diving and fishing opportunities they offer, visitors and new residents will find lots of restaurants, bars, discos and casinos throughout the province of Guanacaste.

For more information on Costa Rica, contact Lic Giovanna Barrantes at 1-800-979-4174                      or at , or go to .