Villa Encantada is located in south Jaco, on the Pacific Ocean side of Central America. Jaco is the closest beach to San Jose (and will be even closer once the new highway opens in July 2010), bringing locals on weekends and making it a popular tourist area for visitors due to its proximity to Los Suenos Resort and Marina, surfing beaches, offshore fishing, access to several other beaches and Wildlife Refuges.
The Villa is beachfront and Jaco’s black sand beach is beautiful. Flanking both sides of this 2.5 mile beach are two rivers that feed into the ocean. On the northern part of the beach visitors can access a completely undeveloped island that locals have nicknamed “Monkey Island” (for all the monkeys seen there) by simply crossing over the river during lowtide (just be careful and watch the tide because you don’t want to get caught over there with high tide – you’ll feel like you’re on an episode of Survivor Island). Local fishermen snorkel for lobster among the rocks and horseback rides are offered literally at the beach gate entrance of the Villa.
The Villa is on the south part of the beach. Several restaurants and bars are within walking distance to the Villa. Surfers often come to the beach but don’t bother anyone – they’re into the surf!
The town of Jaco is a bustle of restaurants, shops, clubs and bars, and gives visitors access to amenities not often found in rural, tropical destinations – banks, pharmacies, convenience stores, real estate offices as well as visitor services for surfing, fishing, four wheeling (ATV tours), horseback riding, mountain hiking, bird watching just to name a few.
Jaco is known for its surfing, specifically playing host to the annual Billabong International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games, bringing an estimated 70,000 visitors from 35 countries to the area in late July and early August.
Costa Rican Currency is in colon (colones, plural). The exchange rate stays constant, ranging from 520 to 600 colones per US dollar.