Hello gkane!

The correct answer to your question is: Yes, you can wing it! 🙂 My recommendation, though, would be to book in advance. Nosara, Samara, Mal Pais (Santa Teresa), and Montezuma are all very popular destinations. They’re also fairly small destinations compared to larger beach destinations (Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio, etc.) that have seemingly endless accommodation options. We travel around the country often during the high season (when you plan to visit) and we purposely book at least a month or two in advance for stays in smaller beach towns. While there will likely always be a room available somewhere, you may miss out on staying at properties that have clear advantages, such as proximity to the beach or restaurants, great service, complimentary amenities like air conditioning or parking, and/or fair prices. We’ve found that the longer we wait to book, the more slim the pickings are, and we usually end up overpaying for what we get.

Of course, part of the fun of travel is winging it, so if you don’t have specific criteria in mind for what you want to get out of an accommodation, and you’re comfortable making do with whatever you get, moving from place to place and stopping/staying on a whim is an option that’s always on the table.

Pura vida!