Both the Tola Riveria area in Nicaragua and the Jaco area of Costa Rica are famous surf spots. They’re also top purchasing spots for international real estate, albeit with property markets at different levels of maturity. Which would you pick, if you had to choose?
Drive along the Tola Rivieira and you’ll pass by a series of surf breaks. Starting from the north there’s the famous left at Popoyo followed by Santana and Rosada just off the Rancho Santana development. Then comes Panga Drops and the lefts and rights at popular Colorado. There are a couple more breaks at Gigante and finally the left point at Manzanillo. Surfers here are spoiled for choice. The landscape too is impressive with beautiful white sand beaches and rolling green hills and dramatic headlands reaching into the sea.
Jaco town is set in a wide curving bay with two easily accessible surf breaks. A little to the south is the long stretch of sand of Playa Hermosa with its multiple breaks. You can find a surf-able wave here year round and Playa Hermosa is the location for Costa Rica’s biggest surf competition.
You’ll be hard pressed to find vacant beachfront land for sale directly on the bay at Jaco. As land is relatively expensive when compared to construction costs, much of the prime land has been converted into high-rise condo projects which make up most of the real estate for sale in Jaco. The real estate on offer in the Tola area is more diverse. You’ll find beachfront lots, ocean view condos, large houses and even ocean view acreage for sale.
Jaco is significantly more developed than Tola. You’ve got brand name hotels, a 18 hole championship golf course and a world class marina (At the Mariott Los Suenos Resort) in close proximity. The Tola Rivieria area on the other hand is accessed by a dirt road and the closest grocery store is located in Rivas at least a 40 minute drive away. There is a 9 hole executive course at Iguana but the hospitality brands have not yet made inroads here. Once the road is paved, this could change of course.
You’ll find good surf in both locations.
But when it comes to real estate, much depends on whether you prefer to purchase in a more emerging location (Tola) or one that is more established (Jaco). Prices of course are lower in Tola, and Popoyo Nicaragua just next door, but you’ll have to wait for the amenities and services one would expect to see in a more mature vacation and second home destination.
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