PUERTO VIEJO, Costa Rica — Rain-forest zip-lining. White-water rafting. Sea kayaking. Surfing, hiking and snorkeling.

The lengthy list of outdoor activities posted at Banana Azul, a beachside lodge just outside this Caribbean coastal town, would please even the most jaded adventure traveler.

But Melani Gordon, 31, an Internet marketing entrepreneur from San Diego, is ready for a break.

“It’s hammock time,” she says, grabbing paperbacks and heading toward the palm trees beside a nearly deserted Playa Negra.

Indeed, chilling out — albeit amid crashing surf and seaside jungles rife with noisy howler monkeys — remains the primary draw for visitors to the reggae-infused towns that line Costa Rica’s southeastern shore. Long a stop on the Central American surfer circuit, Puerto Viejo, along with smaller beach towns Cahuita and Manzanillo, has always attracted the international backpacking set. But now an increase in midrange lodging and restaurants, coupled with continued interest in the country’s adventure and eco-tourism offerings, are luring a more varied crowd.

That’s evident at places such as Banana Azul, a whimsically designed open-air hotel that’s almost always full, even in the October off season. (Unlike the Pacific side, which can get record rains in the fall, the Caribbean generally stays dry — big storms this week being an exception.) Most guidebook authors agree that the best Italian food in the country is served at La Pecora Nera (The Black Sheep), a restaurant opened by an Italian expatriate down the bumpy coastal road in Cocles. And in a nod to those who seek relaxation at the hands of others, the first Western-style spa — Pure Jungle Spa, offering products made with indigenous cacao and coconut — opened at La Costa de Papito bungalow hotel in 2005.

Still, a trip here feels like a well-kept secret: Of the 1.8 million visitors who come to Costa Rica each year, only 282,000 visit the Caribbean side. While Pacific Coast provinces such as Guanacaste are flush with condo towers, gated communities and luxury resorts, the black and golden-sand beaches stretching south of Limón on the Caribbean side remain virtually development free. Prices reflect the difference: Restaurant meals are $10-$20 a person, and even the more upscale hotels run $50 to $90 a night.

And that’s just fine with most people who already live here. In Puerto Viejo, developers tabled a proposal for a luxury marina after residents and conservation groups claimed the project would erode the town’s laid-back dynamic and nearby coral reefs. Likewise, locals have mixed feelings about plans to pave the pothole-ridden dirt roads leading into Puerto Viejo.

“It’s inevitable, the development, but it will be slower here, hopefully,” says Kevin Reilly, property manager of Global Creek, one of several yoga retreats built amid the jungle.

Costa Rica land for sale: Closing Cost Traditions

It is customary for the buyer and seller to share equally in the closing costs. This can be negotiated. There are three closing costs: government taxes and fees, notary fee, and mortgage costs.

Land for sale: Government taxes and fees

This includes a real estate transfer tax of 3 percent; a registration fee of 0.5 percent; and documentary stamps (agrarian, hospital, municipal, bar association, national archive and fiscal stamps) totaling approximately 0.55 percent.

Purchasing Costa Rica land: Notary fees

The notary who drafts the transfer deed is entitled by law to charge 1.50 percent of the first one million colones of the sales price, and 1.25 percent on the balance. However, many attorneys will accept much less since a property with a high value involves the same work as a lower priced property.

Nestled on hilltops overlooking the Pacific are Hacienda Dorada’s three luxurious custom made villas; all elegant, spacious, and surrounded by sights and sounds of the jungle. Each villa is but a walk to a secluded white sand beach. This beautiful retreat is the perfect vacation for the most discriminating group or family

These remarkable villas are tucked away on 500 acres of privately owned jungle in a remote area of the Nicoya Peninsula, near by villages offer quaint restaurants and shops. The official name of the beach is Playa Barrigona (a.k.a Playa Dorada) but is rarely marked on any map of Costa Rica and known only to a few. Due to the quiet and solitude, the Olive Ridley turtle travels thousands of miles across the Pacific to lay its eggs here. Property fronts two white sand beaches. Hacienda Dorada is near two villages, Samara and Nosara that offer a choice of friendly and attractive restaurant, however, unlike other Pacific Ocean resorts, it is also a thriving fishing and farming community. There are cowboys and cattle drives, fishing boats returning at sunset, tree nurseries and reforestation projects and many other authentic and vital activities. There are unusual plant and animal species, ancient Indian sites and coastal and mountain nature trails.

There is even a Nosara art gallery with its own resident artist. Also can attend morning yoga classes at the Nosara Yoga Retreat. Massages available in the privacy of your own room by a professional.

You can spend your daytime hours relaxing on the beach or you can entertain yourself with a variety of activities like:
Horseback riding - along the beach and scenic nature trails, Surfing throughout the wide expanse of Nosara, also Canopy Tours above the forest floor using a network of aerial trails and tree platforms (Its a new experience here in Santo Domingo, a few minutes from Sámara); Snorkeling at the coral reef in the midst of fantastically colorful tropical fish or Bird watching adventures with over 100 tropical species.

Parque Valle del Sol, exclusiva zona residencial 3 amplias casas con jardines alrededor, 4 habitaciones , 3 ½ baños, estudio , sala de Tv, cocina totalmente equipada con sobre de granito, cuarto de servicio con su baño. Acabados de lujo, pisos de mármol.

Casa A: 476m2 Venta: $485.000 Alquiler: $3.200
Casa B: 598m2 Venta: $650.000 Alquiler: $4.000
Casa C : 453m2 Venta: $485.000 Alquiler: $3.200