PURA VIDA

Costa Rica is a country with so many different landscapes and climates to experience.  After our week long trip to Costa Rica, we have some must see and do recommendations!

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Getting there:

An easy flight from Chicago to Panama City to San Juan International Airport.  

*Side note: If you have a long layover in Panama, it is VERY easy to get through customs and spend your layover in the city.  A layover over 6 hours would definitely be doable. We grabbed our passports, hired Carlos Panama Tour (a recommendation we got from one of the airport employees), and explored Panama City for a few hours.  Don’t miss the Panama Canal!

Transportation: Since we had multiple destinations we were trying to reach in Costa Rica, we decided to rent a car.  If you're planning on staying in the same location, it would not be necessary and you could utilize public transportation or shuttles. However, if you are going to rent a car we would highly recommend Adobe.  In Costa Rica, there are laws about which insurance you need to have while renting a car and Adobe includes insurances in their quoted price, while we had heard some other companies did not. We also got a brand new, small SUV at a very reasonable price.  

The rental location is a short trip from the airport, but they offer a shuttle ride and it was not too much of a hassle! Adobe also provides Wifi hotspots for rent and a GPS (do not opt out of the GPS). Be ready with some Costa Rican Colones (their currency) as there are a few tolls on the way out of town.  

If you're nervous about driving in a different country, don't be! It was very easy and traffic was not bad at all!

Currency: Their national currency is the Costa Rican Colones, but many places take the U.S. dollar as well.  I’d be prepared and have both. We were able to exchange currency and use ATMs at the airport before leaving.

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OUR TRIP! We opted to spend a few days at the beach and then a few days in the mountains.  There is so much to do and see in this small country- definitely do your research to decide what your highlights are!

JACO BEACH, COSTA RICA

A beach town just south east of the capital.  We spent four nights here, with our main attraction - learning to surf!

STAY:

We stayed a small B&B called Tortruga del Mar on Hermosa Beach (just south of Jaco), a quieter, black sand beach, with huge waves, which means great surfers.  We found it on AirBnB and would highly recommend it.

EAT/DRINK:

There are many places on both Playa Hermosa and in Jaco to eat and drink.  We tried a variety, from traditional Costa Rican places to taco joints, but all were great.  

Check out: TacoBar Jaco, The Green Room, Graffiti, Pizza Pata, Soda Jaco Rustico

SURFING:

There are a ton of surf schools, but we went with Soul Surf.  It is locally owned by a family and we had so much fun. We paid for two days of surfing lessons, but they will customize your experience to whatever you’d like- excursions, yoga, surf camp, etc.  We had two instructors for the four of us and we all were surfing on the waves even on day one! Highly recommended. Just remember to wear a one piece or bring a rash guard and lots of sunscreen. We spent hours out in the water! We all were first time surfers and got up and rode the waves without a problem!

MANUEL ANTONIO:

We also took a day trip down to Manuel Antonio National Park.  Just be prepared to be overwhelmed. The park itself is beautiful, however it is packed with people (disclaimer: we went on a Saturday) both inside the park and leading up to it. People will try to sell you parking and tickets miles from the park. To avoid confusion, drive as far as you can to the park before you park in a lot. There will be a lot of signs and people yelling at you to park in their lot because it’s the “last lot before the park”, but they are lying.  Keep your windows up and continue to drive, there are open lots right near the entrance. Our parking cost around $5.

You then buy tickets for entrance to the park at the door, there are park attendants outside that can help you but make sure they are official. You then have the option to purchase a guide in addition for $20/person. If you are there to see wildlife and want an informative tour, definitely hire them. We skipped a guide for this activity. The park has lots of easy hikes, a few beaches to explore and lots of hidden animals.  Be careful, the monkeys are very friendly and there are several rules about bringing food into the park.

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

• Explore the beach  

• Every Saturday in Playa Hermosa there is a surf competition that starts at 4pm. Grab a drink at Backyard Bar and enjoy the surf and sunset!

• Hike up the local hill just across the street from our hotel for some incredible views of Jaco

• Stop at the local farmers market in Jaco

MONTEVERDE, COSTA RICA

The last half of our trip was in Monteverde.  A city up in the mountains! Come prepared- you go from hot, beach weather, to still warm, but cooler mountain weather up in the clouds.  We packed layers for the windy, cooler nights.

The journey up the mountain was an adventure in itself.  Be sure to fill up with gas before you turn off the main road, as the last hour of the drive is on a gravel road, straight uphill with nothing else in sight.

STAY:  

There are so many places to stay in Santa Elena.  We stayed at Cabinas Tinas Verdes- which we found on AirBnB.  It included a great made to order breakfast, had an incredible deck with a view and was centrally located.  

EAT/DRINK:

There are many places to eat and drink as this is more of a tourist town.

Check out: The Treehouse, Taco Taco, Monteverde Beer House, Orchid Cafe, The Open Kitchen, Tico y Rico, & Bar Amigos.

ACTIVITIES:

The activities out of Monteverde are endless and mostly geared towards tourists. This is where we spent all of our money, but we had so much fun adventuring! Here's what we did:

• Canyoning

• Night walk

• Monteverde Cloud Forest

• Don Juan Chocolate and Coffee Tour

• Suspension Bridges.  

There are a number more we did not do because we had already been ziplining, or we just didn’t have the time.  Talk to reception at your B&B and they will help recommend activities for your group.

Our trip to Costa Rica was one of our favorites, so much so that we were planning on moving there for coffee bean season to help pick coffee beans.  It is a beautiful country with wonderful people. If you have any specific questions about our time, feel free to reach out.

Pura Vida!

Steph and Taylor