Colinas de Miramar offers quiet country living, close to the city and beach
Dear Reader,
Cross the deep blue waters of this wide bay and you can stroll on beautiful soft sand beaches...and spot international movie stars, models and musicians. It's set against a backdrop of cloud forests, coffee-growing highlands and towering mountains.
It's easy to get here. I'm just over an hour from a capital city. But few outsiders know about this place. It's overlooked and undervalued. Which is why you can buy a 1.25 acre ocean-view lot from $99,000...
If you're thinking of buying a second home in Costa Rica, this area should be on your shortlist. Here's why...
Location, Location, Location
The place is much easier to get to these days. A new highway opened in January 2010. It connects the port city of Caldera with San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. The new road cuts the drive time from San Jose in half. But it doesn't just make getting to the port quicker. The new highway opens up the countryside around the port, too.
Drive into the hills around the port and you're in a beautiful rural setting with green fields, hills and towering mountains. Many of the mountain slopes afford majestic views of the wide, deep-blue waters of the Gulf of Nicoya. It's quiet in this location, home to little villages, farms and smallholdings.
This place is close to beaches, cloud forests and coffee-growing highlands. But with the new highway, it's also close to San Jose. The drive now takes just over an hour.
It's a quick, easy and comfortable drive to San Jose. So you can take advantage of San Jose's city amenities. These include world-class hospitals like Clinica Biblica and CIMA, movie theaters, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs, and modern supermarkets and shopping malls. You'll see lots of familiar brands like Price Smart, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Walmart.
It takes 90 minutes to get to San Jose's international airport. But this location is accessible from Costa Rica's second international airport at Liberia, too. The drive time from Liberia is roughly two hours.
This place is well-connected and convenient. It's a spot where you can relax in the tranquil countryside... within easy reach of city amenities. Best of all, property prices are still low here. You won't pay premium prices for this location...for now at least.
It's a Place for Fun & Adventure
Even though you're in the countryside, you're not in a remote outpost here. You have a world of amenities on your doorstep...
The setting is beautiful. The towering Tilaran Mountains sweep down to the Pacific Ocean. Sandy beaches, dotted with palm trees, run for miles along the coast.
Small farms and small villages are scattered across the hillsides. The prettiest village is a little hidden gem. It's called Miramar.
The first impression you'll get of Miramar is that it's scrubbed-clean tidy. Exotic flowers in shades of pink, scarlet and cream spill over walls and fences. A small white church with twin red steeples sits on the quiet central plaza.
Formerly a gold town, some of Miramar's old, grand homes are of historic importance. Many homes are in brightly painted wood. Large new homes in landscaped gardens dot the side streets.
The little town of Miramar is a lovely place to spend time
Miramar boasts a doctor, dentist, supermarket, bank, butcher, and hardware store. Little bakeries, cafes and restaurants offer light snacks and hearty meals at low prices. The local farmers market offers fresh produce, cheeses and herbs. It's a lovely peaceful place to spend an afternoon...
If you carry on driving through Miramar, up into the mountains, you reach a mirador (lookout point). The impressive views take in the valley, the farms and majestic hills, out to the Gulf of Nicoya. A restaurant at the mirador serves chilled beers and tasty snacks.
A 20-minute drive gets you to a pretty beach. You can surf, horse ride, go sport fishing, white water rafting, zip lining...take a canopy tour, or enjoy a nature hike...all on your doorstep.
A short ferry ride across the Gulf brings you to the Nicoya peninsula. Nicoya's beaches attract surfers and back packers - and celebrities, too. You could spot Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, or Gisele Bundchen strolling on Nicoya's pretty beaches...
It's On the Rise
This place is overlooked by foreign tourists and property buyers. It's a popular day trip destination for locals who want to relax on sandy beaches. It's quicker and easier for them to get here with the new highway. The cruise ship port at Puntarenas brings in foreign tourists. But most of them head elsewhere in Costa Rica for tours. Only a handful come to this spot, mostly to take zip lining tours.
A nice beach town would bring in more foreign tourists. But there isn't an attractive beach town on this particular strip of coast. The largest towns (Caldera and Puntarenas) are port towns, and they certainly won't win any beauty contests.
But the new road is making a difference. A Hilton Doubletree hotel opened on the outskirts of Puntarenas a couple of years back. There's an upscale private residential community close to the hotel with plans for a golf course.
Land prices in this area have risen sharply in the last 2-3 years, anticipating the opening of the new highway. The construction of the new road triggered a flurry of interest in this newly-accessible location. I've heard of a number of planned residential communities in this area. But only one is forging ahead. It's called Colinas de Miramar.
It's Affordable - For Now
Five minutes from the village of Miramar, Colinas de Miramar is set in 647 acres of gentle hills, streams and centuries-old trees. Situated at the base of the Tilaran Mountains, many of the lots in the community have panoramic ocean views out over the Gulf of Nicoya.
It's the perfect spot for quiet country living, close to the mountains and beach. And you're still close to San Jose's conveniences, thanks to the new road.
The developer of Colinas is a local from the village of Miramar. His well-connected family has lived in the area for generations.
Colinas is a master-planned community. Plans call for a community center, commercial center, swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, and a gym. Road construction is almost complete in the first phase. And the first model home is finished. You can see photos of the model home below.
The model home in Colinas de Miramar
Home lots in this community are large. They average 1.25 acres. That's plenty of room to spread out in. You won't feel hemmed in by neighbors.
Mountain-view lots start from $50,000. Ocean-view lots, with views of the wide bay, start from $99,000.
You can take advantage of developer financing. You pay a third of the price down, and can finance the balance over two years, interest-free.
The interior of the model home at Colinas de Miramar
When you're ready to build, you can either choose your own builder, or buy a home/lot package from the developer. Home and lot packages start from $220,000.
But there is no requirement or timeframe to build in Colinas de Miramar. You can sit on your lot for as long as you like.
Try it on For Size
There's an easy way to see this area and Colinas de Miramar, and decide if it's right for you.
Just contact Colinas de Miramar here. They'll give you lots more information on the area and their development. Then, they'll help you choose a lot, and reserve it with a fully refundable $2,000 deposit. Once you reserve, you have 60 days to come and check out Colinas de Miramar -for free.
Just get yourself to the airport at San Jose, and the Colinas de Miramar team will meet you there. You'll stay in a boutique hotel in Escazu, the nicest neighborhood in San Jose.
Over three days, you'll explore Miramar, the views, the mountains, the beaches...and get a first-hand look at Colinas de Miramar. The Colinas team will pick up the tab for your accommodation, airport transfers and transport.
This isn't a high-pressure sales trip. And it's a no-strings, no-obligation trip. If you decide that Colinas isn't for you, the developer will refund your deposit. It's that simple.
You'll have enjoyed three days in Costa Rica, partly at someone else's expense. Not bad at all...
You can get an information package from Colinas de Miramar here.
This is an early-in opportunity. Prices won't stay this low here for too long. If you want to get the best lot...at the best price...now is the time to act. Contact Colinas de Miramar here today.
Margaret Summerfield
P.S. What have you got to lose? This no-strings trip is the quick and easy way to see if Colinas de Miramar is right for you. Contact Colinas de Miramar here to start planning your trip.
