Christmas & New Year’s Week for those in the vacation rental business is about the equivalent of the April 15th week for a US accountant or the first week of school for a school teacher… You know turbulence is going to happen and some things are going to go wrong, but you never know exactly when, where, or how.
The one thing we find out for sure: Nosara is not for everyone, and this is never more apparent than the holidays. After all, some people are more used to resort style vacations, or locations without some of Nosara’s challenges.
Nosara experiences frequent power outages, water issues, bugs & animals, monkeys start yelling at 4:30am, crowded lineups & restaurants at peak season, and as everyone experienced Xmas week: occasionally heavy winds. I forgot to mention security issues, high prices compared to other places (ex: Nicaragua is way less crowded & about 30% of the price), bad roads, & we could keep going, but you get the point by now.
Ironically, some of these issues are frequently part of the charm to our town for many of us.
Complaints are frequent, refunds &/or compensation often demanded for inconveniences, while the reality is the booking agency often has zero control of this situation.
Being a property manager is one of the most challenging jobs in our area. There’s no Home Depot, Walmart, or equivalent to immediately get supplies or needed items. Plus during peak weeks solving issues is not as simple as it is at a resort or standard hotel in a normal destination.
Nosara is sort of out here in the middle of nowhere & there are only so many service providers available; especially during peak weeks.
Normally for rentals, it’s not like a hotel room or resort, where someone can simply be transferred… Around here, the normal situation when someone is moving from one rental property to another is there are different owners between the properties who control financial decisions, and sometimes multiple property managers &/or booking agents.
Tempers often flare and booking agents who are doing their absolute best to help often are powerless while enduring the wrath of an unhappy Nosara visitor needing a place to direct their anger.
It’s times like this when some people learn Costa Rica might not be for them… Other times, people are initially upset by the inconveniences here. But then, during their stay, they feel more peaceful, healthy, happier, and what seemed like such a big deal at the beginning of their trip is not such a big deal by the end.
So Nosara may have its inconveniences, which at first are difficult, but this town is sticky! People who are upset at the beginning of the trip often are extremely happy by the end. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen… Some of the most angry people I’ve ever seen at beginning of trips, end up, falling in love with this place, and sometimes even moving down here or at least visiting on a regular basis to tap into the energy of this place (lots of vortex ‘woo’ talk on the Nosara Podcast & around town if you want to hear more).
This is a prime example of Pura Vida happening, or at least this often comes to mind for me. Almost all of us initially visit, and or move here with a different mentality that originated where we are from. After doing significant time here, we have a way of opening up and learning to roll with things more so than where we are from. I’ve learned this personally, and continue to do so, even after 2 decades of business experience in Costa Rica & 15 years of living here full time.
My advice: If you’re visiting Nosara at Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years Week, Presidents Week in February, or Easter (Semana Santa), know the town is pretty full & running at or close to max capacity & service levels are lower than many people are used to experiencing.
So if you, or your family are higher maintenance, extremely high-level of service, demanding type of folks… Maybe consider visiting Nosara at a different time 🙂
But if you’re looking for a festive, upbeat, atmosphere, with much more happening than normal… Christmas or New Year’s week could be a really fun time.
Just keep your expectations low, and try to find some joy in the inconveniences of this strange, yet beautiful, place called Nosara.
