The southern part of the Nicoya Peninsula is actually in the province of Puntarenas. The area is more humid than further north in the peninsula, but still dryer than the Central Pacific zone across the Gulf of Nicoya and further to the south. The summer can be scorching and the unpaved roads extremely dusty, covering the roadside foliage in beige powder. Biologically, the region represents a transition zone between the dry forest climate and the tropical rain forest. The flora and fauna is as a result a mix of the two climates.

The area is more hilly than mountainous, with the highest peak being 755 meters. Inland from the beach towns under development, those hills are often draped with cow pastures. Other hillsides can be quite steep and densely forested, which makes for pretty valley views. Montezuma and the road from Paquera to Naranjo have particularly good examples of those views. That latter is so high up that you can see the curves of the coastline and all the little islets speckled across the Gulf of Nicoya.

The temperature in this region can drop to as low as 22ºC in the rainy season, but most of the time it’s much warmer. During the summer, it can get as hot as 36ºC on a scorcher of a day. The rainy season in this area generally runs from May to November with most rain appearing in September and October. Annually, between 120 – 180 inches of rain fall on the peninsula. Often the region experiences an Indian summer (veranillo) in July and August.

The southern part of the Nicoya Peninsula has several wildlife refuges along the coast, including the Cabo Blanco National Reserve and the Romelia Wildlife Refuge. These reserves and refuges are nice places to visit. They also act as a buffer zones to stem the tide of over development.

In this part of Costa Rica you are likely to see kikajous, armadillos, sloths, deer, howler monkeys, motmots, parrots, frigate birds, hummingbirds, and many more species of animals. Plant life is abundant as well.