Nosara IB World School on an 11-acre campus, running Montessori in the early years into the IB Diploma.
Del Mar is a real part of why families commit to Nosara. It is not a stopover school — people move to that side of the peninsula for it.
Roughly 300 students from many countries, on an 11-acre campus on the Pacific coast.
This is the interesting bit, and it is unusual. Del Mar runs Montessori in the early years — toddler through around 3rd grade — then transitions into the International Baccalaureate, offering both the IB Middle Years Programme and the IB Diploma Programme.
Very few schools do both well. The Montessori start suits parents who want the early years to be child-led and hands-on, and the IB finish means the diploma travels anywhere.
Bilingual in Spanish and English, accredited with Costa Rica's MEP and as an IB World School.
Be straight with yourself about geography. Nosara sits apart from the rest of the coast — it is a separate world down the peninsula, and the drive from Tamarindo is not a school run anybody does twice a day.
So Del Mar is rarely a school you commute to. It is a school you move for. If you are weighing Nosara against Tamarindo or Flamingo, the school question mostly resolves to: Del Mar, or one of the others. Not both.
That is a lifestyle decision as much as an education one. Nosara buys you quiet, yoga, world-class surf and jungle. It costs you convenience.
Montessori is a genuine philosophy, not a label. Some kids bloom in it and some drift. See the early-years rooms in person before deciding it is right for yours.