New York Times selects Costa Rica’s Nosara for list of places to visit in 2012

The New York Times travel desk published Friday a list of the 45 places to visit during the year. Nosara in the northwest province of Guancaste occupied the 41st spot on the list.

“With sandy beaches, warm, jade-green waters and rolling waves that rarely get too big, the remote jungle community of Nosara on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica has become the ideal spot to learn to surf,” the New York Times wrote.

The article cites the area’s Guiones beach as a spot for quality hiking, visiting a turtle refuge and great waves. In addition, the newspaper mentioned the number of surf schools that have “popped up all over town” and made Nosara an excellent home for “surfing geeks.”

Panama, the only other Central American country on the list, placed number one due to the country’s booming economy, growing number of high-profile skyscrapers and of course, the canal.