Montezuma Real Estate & Travel Guide

Montezuma is the bohemian counterpoint to Santa Teresa — a tiny, jungle-wrapped village on the southeastern coast of the Nicoya Peninsula where howler monkeys outnumber cars and the soundtrack is waterfalls and reggae. Long a hippie and backpacker haven, "Montefumar" has kept its laid-back, alternative character while quietly attracting a second wave of artists, yoga teachers, and remote workers.

The town itself is small — five blocks of restaurants, juice bars, surf shacks, and family-run hotels — set against a dramatic coastline of rocky coves, white-sand beaches, and the famous three-tiered Montezuma Waterfall. The water is calmer and clearer than the surf coast, making it a favourite of swimmers, snorkellers, and families.

The real estate market is much smaller than Santa Teresa's. Inventory is dominated by jungle homes on the surrounding hillsides, small B&Bs in town, and larger fincas in the back country. Prices are well below the Santa Teresa side of the peninsula: a brokerage's listing data (2 Costa Rica Real Estate) for August 6 to September 6, 2026 showed an average asking price of about $637,000 across its 8 Montezuma listings, against about $1.56 million across 200 in Santa Teresa. The median asking price of our own Montezuma listings is shown at the top of this page. Buyers tend to be lifestyle-driven rather than yield-focused.