🏄 Santa Teresa
Tamarindo's more laid-back, pricier cousin
Cost of living
~$2600/mo
Typical wifi speed
40 Mbps
Safety score
7/10
Best months
Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
English ease
8/10
Nomad community
Growing
Santa Teresa is Costa Rica's surf-and-work boom town — coworking options have exploded to keep pace with demand, though they run pricier than the rest of the country. It's a more laid-back, less developed alternative to Tamarindo's nightlife-driven scene, at a real cost premium.
Why nomads love it
- Laid-back surf-town pace, less nightlife-driven than Tamarindo
- Coworking scene has grown rapidly to match nomad demand
- Same Digital Nomad Visa as the rest of Costa Rica
Watch out for
- Genuinely expensive for a beach town — often compared to Austin, Texas on cost
- Internet is noticeably slower than Tamarindo's — Starlink is common for serious remote work
What a month actually costs
| Accommodation (furnished 1BR/studio) | $1500 |
| Food & groceries | $400 |
| Coworking hot desk | $250 |
| Local transport | $80 |
| SIM / mobile data | $20 |
| Gym, fun & everything else | $350 |
| Typical monthly total | ~$2600 |
Directional estimate for a mid-range solo nomad — lean living can run 30% less, comfort-first 50% more.
Coworking spaces
Selina Santa Teresa
Surf-and-work anchor, social calendar, beachfront
$250/mo · 45 Mbps
Casa Prana Coworking
Quieter, jungle-adjacent, smaller focus-first space
$200/mo · 40 Mbps