With five kilometers of black sand beaches, top-notch ocean swimming, consistent waves for surfing, and world-record sportfishing, Zancudo should be full of tourists and outrageously high prices to match—but it’s not. Though a small expat community cruises the main road in golf-carts, this beach town has remained mostly undiscovered by foreign travelers. Its seclusion is only interrupted during major Costa Rican holidays (the weeks around Christmas and Easter) and during the first week of February, when Roy’s Zancudo Lodge hosts a large fishing and blues festival that features world-famous musicians.
The public taxi boat from Zancudo returns from Golfito at 12:30pm (¢3000). From Pavones, buses headed toward Golfito (1 hr.; 5:30am and 12:30pm; ¢500) let passengers off in Conte where a bus from Neily heading to Zancudo waits for people to make the connection (noon and 4pm, ¢500). From Zancudo, the only public transport is a ferry to Golfito that leaves from the docks on the north end of town (7am, ¢3000) or a bus to Neily that leaves from Bella Vista (5:30am). Private taxi boats to Golfito and Puerto Jímenez can be arranged through Cabinas Los Cocos (☎2776 0012. US$20 per person).
Situated on a peninsula jutting out into the Golfo Dulce, Zancudo is 15km south of Golfito and 10km north of Pavones (35km by car or bus). The town runs along a 5km beach road with the gulf to the west and the Río Sabalo estuary to the east. The Bella Vista pulpería and bus stop mark the center of town. Waves at the southern end of the beach build enough for some decent surfing, while the northern end mainly attracts swimmers and sunbathers. Mangrove forests surround the Río Sabalo, which runs inland from the middle of town. The dock is located on the estuary, 500m before the northern tip of the peninsula. Most businesses have handmade signs and may be hard to recognize.
There is no tourist office in Zancudo, but for the best sportfishing information, contact Roy’s Zancudo Lodge (☎2776 0008). Adventure tours such as kayak tours of the gulf or mangrove forests can be arranged through the bigger lodges in town.The main pulpería, Bella Vista, occupies a large green building in the center of town, where all buses drop off. (☎2776 0101. Open M-Sa 7am-1pm and 2-7pm, Su 7am-4pm with extended hours during high season.) MiniSuper Tres Amigos, 3km south of the town center, has a slightly larger selection and rents surfboards on the beach, right in front of some of the best breaks. (☎2776 0158. US$15 per day, US$7 per half-day. Open M-Sa 7am-6pm, Su 7am-1pm.) Coloso del Mar, across the street, also rents boards and arranges surf lessons. (☎2776 0203 or 2776 0050. US$20 per hr. lesson.) The police station (☎911 or 2776 0212) is across the street from the school at the north end of the peninsula. Telephones are numerous, but they only work with Costa Rican calling cards. If you don’t have your own computer, Cabinas, Bar and Restaurant Oceano has computers and free Wi-Fi (☎2776 0921; ¢3000 per hr.; open daily 11am-10pm). Coloso del Mar also offers free Wi-Fi at almost any hour of the day.
Accommodations are generally divided into two categories: backpacker dives and luxuriously-equipped cabins. If traveling in a large group, sharing a cabin with a kitchen might actually turn out to be a more affordable—and comfortable—option. The best backpacker deals are usually attached to sodas or bars and are located a few meters from the beach.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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