Experience Nature Firsthand
Playa Olón
If you want to avoid the hippy scene and partying in Olón has a very broad and long sandy beach which also has good surf conditions with both left and right beach breaks. You can stay on the beach all day. The central part of the beach has kiosks and restaurants with excellent shade
Olón has a short Malecón which has recently been refurbished with a nice red-brick road. The Malecón is lined with lots of restaurants serving a good variety of menus. There are public toilets provided at each end of the Malecón. It is well organized, the beach is very clean, and there are life guards during high season and some weekends
In high season, parking is in short supply, so its advisable to come early or park a few streets back from the beach. Don't even bother going in too close, or you'll get stuck behind a big bus that's unloading passengers, and completely blocking the road
The beach town of Olón features lots of attractive beach homes available for rent, some are in the hills, some in gated communities on the beach, and many are individual homes along the beach. There are quite a lot of foreigners from all over the world living in Olón
If you are staying in Olón for any amount of time, you'll quickly discover there is not much in the way of shopping, not even a decent supermarket, so you will need to go to Montañita for most supplies Due to the beauty of this beach and the lush tropical surroundings of Olón, vacation rentals and real estate prices are higher than most other coastal areas, but still very affordable. A room for one or two people at a hostal on the beach is $35 night. There are 3 or 4 hostels right on the beach
The peace and tranquility is only broken by crashing waves and the bird song from a wide variety of bird species including humming birds which are abundant in the area. On the beach you sometimes find iguanas and may occasionally spot wild horses. Tropical jungle extends down to the beach, and offers several hiking trails leading to two pretty waterfalls.