Adventure and exploration of the Northwest Corner. Traveler Tips and Reviews
How to do Seven (7) ish Adventure-Filled Days in Costa Rica!
I have traveled a lot internationally by myself or with other lonely planet friends but I haven’t done much traveling overseas for a few years (Thanks Covid) and since I got married where our schedules have become much more complicated. So this was our first trip as a family (me, hubs, and my oldest stepdaughter). More importantly, it was their first “out of the US” (and Canada) trip. It was a great reminder that some of my accumulated travel knowledge isn’t always common. So I’ve compiled some potentially helpful hints or reminders below. Let me know if you used any of the advice or found it helpful.
Choosing your Airport:
This was our first trip to Costa Rica, so we flew into San Jose on Southwest. Our criteria for picking a destination was
- a Southwest Airline Destination (we had tons of points plus they are the best – they offer free changes on all their flights)!
- Somewhere we could rent a car.
- Outside the US (don’t forget your passport!)
- Spanish Speaking (so my stepdaughter could practice her Spanish:)
San Jose is the capital and we booked the flights on a whim before we had planned the rest of the trip – the result was a lot of extra driving around the country. We made the best of it as it did allow us to see the countryside we might have otherwise missed.
However, if you are looking for a little less jostling in the car, you can also fly into Liberia on Southwest. If you don’t care to fly into the capital, are more of a beachgoer, and aren’t as keen to see city sights, consider flying into Liberia. These are the only two international airports in the country. There are a few other smaller regional airports if you have some extra cash and want to take some regional hops.
San Jose Airport:
There are bathrooms, standard rental car companies, and a line of taxi drivers eager for your business as you walk out the main baggage doors. It’s a decent-sized airport with plenty of amenities. There’s a currency exchange available if you want Colons right away as well – but more on that later.
General Guidelines:
Rental Cars:
- Unless you are going to stay in one location or have an extremely flexible schedule that allows for travel on local transportation, I highly recommend renting a car.
- MAKE SURE YOU RENT a 4-wheel drive vehicle – preferably one that has some clearance, but don’t go too big – some of the roads can become pretty narrow. There are a lot of areas with unpaved roads littered with HUGE potholes. In one case a literal river crossed our path.
- In some of the more rural areas, it seemed like there were more ATVs and Dirt Bikes than actual cars. We also saw two groups of locals on horseback in the mountainous areas.
- If you have decided to rent – reserve your car before you arrive. They sell out and prices go up. There are several rental companies inside the terminal – and a few that hold signs outside a short distance from the door. These will take you on a shuttle to their office location where they try to upsell everything, just like they do in the US 😉 We used one of the shuttle sites – Adobe rental car – because the external rental companies tended to be slightly more affordable…..and we had waited too long so several were also sold out!
- rental insurance – we used our AMEX card so everything is covered, but if you don’t have a credit card that offers you coverage, consider getting their insurance – but its up to you – the car might get banged up on the roads if you are planning to drive far.
Hotels
I spent most of my planning time looking for hotels – I was looking for authentic (ish) hotels that allowed cancellation up to a week out, with breakfast and more than a 4-star rating under $150 a night for 3 people… pretty specific. I did stray out of my parameters for the last two hotels mostly because everything was sold out near our scuba spot and everything in Santa Teresa was pricey (no breakfasts either!). I found it to be easiest to book everything in one place – so I used Booking.com which kept everything on one app and allowed me to chat with each hotel. I also tried a free version of Wanderlog which was great for building an itinerary and including travel times and suggested activities.
Most of the hotels we stayed at gave us wristbands and real keys. The wristbands gave us guest privileges at the pools, breakfast, and any associated property amenities.
Cell Phone/Connectivity
We have Verizon cell plans so we called to see what plans are available for international travel. We chose to add the option for international calling on two of our cell phones and not the 3rd. It was $10 a day if you used the roaming and included 2GB of data. We used my husband’s phone every day for GPS, calls, and internet searches but I only used the international option on mine for 3 of the days – mostly because I had incoming calls I had to take. The rest of the time, I left my phone on NO Roaming and opted to use WiFI wherever it was available instead. There was Wifi available at each of our hotels and most establishments (coffee shops and restaurants). Sometimes the wifi didn’t reach our rooms but we could easily hang out in the lobby for a bit if we needed it. note. Cell coverage was intermittent at best in the more rural areas.
I did use my husband’s hotspot in a pinch once or twice to communicate with the hotels on apps through my phone. We also learned too late that the rental company also offered satellite wifi for the cars at $10 a day which would have allowed all of us access for the same price. Thats a great option worth exploring if you need/want connectivity.
Must Try Local Treats:
- Fresh Cut Coconut water on the side of the road
- Rice Pudding from an old lady stand
- Unusual fruit from a fruit stand
- Local coffee
- Traditional breakfast
Before our trip we decided we wanted to be active so we decided on hiking, surfing and scuba diving interwoven into all of the site-seeing and cultural immersion. Here’s what we did in a week.
Suggested Itinerary Overview:
Day 0- Fly In
Day 1-2: La Fortuna – Hiking and Hot Springs
Day 3: Monteverde – Hiking and Mountain Views
Day 5-6: Southern Nicoyan Peninsula – Beach and Surfing
Day 7: City or Fly out
One Week Played Out:
Day 0
We flew in super late and found our way to the rental sign for Adobe outside the baggage claim. We had to wait at least 15 minutes for the shuttle which took us to their office building. It was clean and well-maintained. They only allowed one individual into the desk area where they went through the litany of insurances and upgrades available. The rest of us waited in a small area with all the available cars. They had a small tv, water cooler, and folding chairs. When our representative was finally released, we threw our stuff into the car and eagerly hit the road around 9:30 pm Central Time.
The trip to La Fortuna was both comical and scary in the dark. As soon as we left the city, the roads began to deteriorate. The roads began winding more, increasing in incline and becoming less smooth. The potholes began appearing more consistently and stray dogs were constantly on the road. It took 3 dizzying hours from San Jose to La Fortuna which was only 82 miles (131.5km). Once you leave the city, there aren’t consistent street lights along the “roads” which makes it much trickier at night on winding roads. If it wasn’t so late, I imagine the views headed up the mountain might have been beautiful.
I had warned our hotel that we would be arriving late and thankfully they waited up. I DID get a message via the booking app around 11:30 pm asking again when we would arrive. We rolled up to the Arenal Waterfall Lodge around 00:30 and I woke up the attendant who had fallen asleep on the couch waiting.
Day 1 – La Fortuna: Hiking and Hot Springs
Our hotel (Arenal Volcano Lodge) was comfortable – it was mostly open air – which seemed to be a theme throughout the country. Halls were open air, but the room had AC and we kept it cool! We had a beautiful view of the valley from the deck and the property backed up to some hikes which we tried on Day 2.
We woke up at a leisurely hour and ate the local breakfast – rice and beans, plantains, fresh fruit, and coffee. I’m not as much of a coffee drinker at home – more of a tea gal, but the coffee in CR was so good I couldn’t help myself.
After the included breakfast we ventured out to do one of the two volcano hikes. La Fortuna is most known for the Arenal Volcano – so it is worth seeing. We had heard 1968 was better maintained so we gave it a shot. It was a very easy hike. Too easy for our taste honestly, as we are all avid hikers. However, it gave us the opportunity to see this landmark which is worth seeing. NOTE: the 1968 Hike costs $23 per person which we thought was pretty steep. Paid hikes seemed to be a trend everywhere we went. Nature was not free. Honestly, I’m not sure the fee was equal to the hike’s value… it was more of a $10-15 hike.
At the end of the hike, there was a small cantina offering snacks and drinks but we bypassed that and opted to hang out on the suspended mesh net overhang with a view of the volcano.
Although the hike was a little bit of a disappointment we did enjoy the view at the end. We left the hike looking for our next adventure. I had heard of free hot springs on the route we were traveling and we found them. Unfortunately we weren’t dressed to plunge and were pressed on time too. We parked to take a look and saw several people sitting among the rocks in the stream. It looked appealing and next time, I would definitely plan to try them.
Note. Even though the hot springs were free, parking on the street was not. The attendants in yellow vests required payment of $5. Since we had already purchased tickets to a finished hotsprings resort we headed back to change. We purchased tickets to Baldi’s resort through our hotel because they offered a modest discount. Baldi’s included access to 25 hot spring pools and dinner. There are several other great hotsprings resorts in the area ranging from affordable to opulent- check out this blog for a more detailed comparison of the options available.
Baldi’s worked out great for us – It was well maintained, busy but not overly crowded. There were pools with varying themes and temps ranging from 62 to over 100 degrees. There was even a pool with a crazy assortment of waterslides. My personal favorite was the super hot pool at the top of the resort – it was a waterfall running over 109 degrees. I normally take hot hot hot showers so this was heaven for me. Full disclosure – I had an annoying eye stye for several days prior (not contagious) and it was cleared up at the end of the night – thanks to the amazing hot mineral springs! The resort had lots of places to lounge and enjoy the atmosphere but it was a pretty popular place so it wasn’t necessarily secluded or quiet. Nonetheless, we loved it!
Day 2 – La Fortuna Epic Hike and Driving
After the hot springs, we all slept really well! We got up and had the traditional breakfast again (rice, beans, plantains, eggs and fresh fruit) before heading out to do an epic hike.
My stepdaughter and I love hiking, so she found an incredible hike “Cerro Chato” that was reportedly “closed” but online posts seemed to indicate people were still doing it – we took our chances and started the hike. A hotel staff member was waiting at the end of the hotel property/entrance to the hike and he warned us that it was closed and there was no emergency support in this back area. He made sure we knew it was at our own risk and discretion. It sounded like our kind of challenge… so we continued.
It was a serious scramble – full body climb. there was significant erosion so roots were hovering feet above the mud. There were several narrow spots and spots that had no foot grip, at times relatively dangerous for non-seasoned hikers. We continued with the promise of an emerald volcanic pool at the end. We found it! My stepdaughter and my husband couldn’t resist a dip. We came across a few other hikers doing the same thing. It was apparently a popular challenge.
It took about 5 hours round trip. She sprained her ankle somewhere on the hike on the way down but muscled her way back. We were stopped by the conservation police towards the end of the trail. They wanted ID’s and took pictures of our packs etc… They threatened arresting climbers to take them into custody for crossing into this closed portion of the forest. ummm we didn’t happen to have our IDs on us…. and They let us go but gave us a warning and continued stopping people.
We warned all the upcoming traffic hikers about the po-po and turned nearly a dozen people back. Even some that had paid a fee to access the shared start of the trail. Most people were severely and understandably disappointed. After observing the erosion for ourselves, we understood why they were closing the hike – it made sense – they wanted to allow the trail to rejuvinate. There are a plethora of other hikes in the area – so even though this trail isn’t available – there are other options.
If you aren’t a hiker – explore the town!
We climbed into our rental sweaty, muddy and exhausted but exhilarated. We began our beautiful scenic drive to Monteverde. It took about 3 + hours on a bumpy only partially paved route. The scenery was breathtaking.
We stopped for the night at the Green Tree B&B. We only stayed one night but enjoyed it. The owners were extremely friendly, they offered a home-cooked traditional breakfast (even better than the first one we had) and patiently answered questions about places to go and things to see. The bungalow-like rooms are all lifted into trees with wooden walkways for those of us that were dragging luggage. The rooms were clean, neat, and cute.
The only thing I’d warn you is beware of the treacherous road approaching the B&B – Waze will take you the shortest route down this extremely steep gravel road… the owners messaged us to let us know there was another route in through town that would add 20 min. We didn’t heed their warnings and took the road less traveled and lived to tell you about it.
Day 3 – Monteverde
After a yummy breakfast, we headed out for a popular hike called El Tigre which boasted 11 waterfalls. Again there was an entrance fee ($15pp)- but this time it was worth it! It was a long moderate hike with hanging bridges and waterfalls – there was even a few areas to jump in and take a dip… who could pass that up? The first half of the hike was all downhill…. which meant the backside of the hike was all uphill – ugh. We chose to walk the whole thing – but they do offer an option to ride a horse or an ATV up the backside for an additional $30.
One of the nice amenities to this hike was the free juice, tea, and coffee at the cafe/gift shop at the start and finish.
That was all we really had time for in Monteverde, we didn’t get to the Cloud Forest, but we heard it was pretty similar.
After the hike we got back into the car, sweaty, exhausted and exhilarated again for another 3 + hour drive towards the northwest coast of the Nicoya Peninsula.
Day 4- Scuba Diving the Catalina Islands
We spent the night along the way – I won’t even mention the name of that place – it was super sketchy… a 5 block room complex owned by a Russian family, who only took cash payment and didn’t really maintain the room. no hot water. weird paint scheme. We all felt pretty bad after that stay – we didn’t sleep well and the thick inch of dust on the fan circulating in the room probably didn’t help our respiratory health. We chose not to connect to their wifi to be extra cautious. The only reason we stayed there was there were no other options. We changed our itinerary last minute to include Scuba earlier into our trip (to allow 48 hours between dive and flight). Everything else within a 45 min drive was booked solid or $700 a night for New Years. So instead we slummed it and we have a story about staying in a russian mafia money laundering establishment which gave two of us a respiratory infection. No breakfast was included in our mafia stay so the evening prior we went to the grocery store, and bought some yogurt and snacks for the boat ride.
Tired as we were, everyone was still excited about the potential to see manta rays and sharks. We used Scuba Dive Cost Rica. They were great! they communicated through email and WhatsApp (everyone uses WhatsApp there) prior to our arrival to prep our paperwork and get gear sizing. They were extremely responsive beforehand and very friendly AND efficient during check-in.
We dove around the Catalinas, although we were hoping to get to the sombreros (a popular site) the tides didn’t allow. The two areas we did dive in still sported starfish, beautiful colorful schools of fish, small rays, and little sharks. The guide (from Portugal) said, having dived all over the world this was her favorite area. The boat had fresh water, juice, and cookies for the packed boat in between dives.
After diving, we began the long drive to our final stop – Santa Teresa. Hubs had recently listened to a book called the Carnivore diet and the author loved this surf town so much, he actually moved there- so we had to check it out. It took close to 4 hours but the Coastal route was much better paved than our previous inland travel.
Days 5/6/7 – Surfing and Beach in Santa Teresa
The road into Santa Teresa was not paved and was riddled with potholes. There is one main drag through town and it is pretty congested. Between ATVs, dirt bikes (these seem. to be the preferred method of transport in this area), people walking and cars, it is super slow going and at times sketchy. Most people are there to surf so you see all kinds of creative options for transporting surfboards around town.
The road is barely wide enough for two passing vehicles and each side has a modest drop-off for drainage ditches. the parked dirt bikes and people walking make it really hard to drive through. Once we got to our hotel, we pretty much left our car and walked most places.
We stayed at a really interesting hotel called SOMOS . The eco-design open-air concept was really cool. It was clean and conveniently located across from the entrance to the beach. There were several healthy breakfast places (smoothies, bowls, etc) within a block. The only thing that didn’t impress us was the staff at SOMOS. They were all relatively young and seemed a bit aloof and unorganized. They didn’t respond to our maintenance requests and lost our reservations… and even despite that, I’d still consider staying there again for the vibe. it was really cool.
Santa Teresa prices were significantly higher than the other inland areas. They definitely cater to tourists.
We spent day 5 primarily recovering from all the travel by relaxing on the beach. We brought a hammock and hooked up between some palm trees. The water was warm and shallow – we could wade out a long ways. The beach was rustic – beautiful and raw – not developed, commercialized or overpopulated like our stateside beaches. I was inspired to do some yoga in the shade of the coconut trees.
My stepdaughter rented a surfboard, we made sand creations, we read, we napped, we recharged. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner locally – every place we tried was yummy – but pricey.
Everyone was ready for adventure on Day 6. My husband found some surf instructor reviews and booked Richard. He is a popular local and very highly rated. He didn’t have availability until 4 pm, so we hit Playa Hermosa, the next beach over – known for surf lessons and waited it out until 4.
It. Was. So. Much. Fun. Richard gave us a quick beach tutorial and then waded out into the waves with us. We all stood and rode a wave in thanks to his lesson. The waves at La Hermosa are gentle and consistent enough that we had several opportunities to catch waves. Beyond where we were, we saw more advanced local surfers riding larger waves and spinning like something out of the movies. We were so hooked we decided to stay in town another day and take another lesson in the morning on Day 7.
Day 7 – we woke up and headed back to La Playa Hermosa for lesson #2. My husband and stepdaughter were killing it. I had alot of fun, but i didn’t catch nearly as many waves as they did. Still fun! People of all ages were out there surfing. we saw toddlers and geriatrics… fun for the whole family.
Since we had a long drive back to San Jose, we went back hotel, showered and packed up to drive to the airport. It took 6 hours. It wouldn’t have taken that long, but we hadn’t bought the ferry tickets ahead of time and they sold out for the 3 pm. The alternative to taking the ferry across is to drive the entire peninsula back. We took a vote. I voted to hang out in the local town and explore, then take the ferry…. but i was outvoted. Instead of waiting 3 hours for the next ferry we opted to drive around. The entire trip took the same amount of time – except instead of hanging out on a ferry, we were driving.
It did allow us to see more stray dogs wandering, monkeys in trees and this weird beggar animal on the side of the road. Apparently they are smart enough to know they are cute and they wander up to your door, stand on their hindlegs until you lower something from the window which they will snatch with both hands and wander back to the forest… a few feeet down the road, you’ll see another one. Our interaction had us laughing since i tried to hand him some leftover tuna and he grabbed my whole packet. well worth the laugh.
We finally got to San Jose late that night and stayed in a residence inn by the airport. They had an amazing breakfast buffet and then we headed home.
Caveats
We aren’t really city people – so we didn’t spend any time in San Jose, but if you want to check out the city, you can easily head back to San Jose a day earlier and see what there is to see.
We ate local food and stopped at local stands whenever and wherever we could…. it was cheaper and delicious, but it does incur some risk. All three of us got E.Coli and were miserable for about a week after. I’d still eat locally, but i may be a little more discerning with the type of food i consume next time 😉
I’d love to hear back if any of this was helpful to you – or if you have additional suggestions or questions. Enjoy Costa Rica, there is so much more to see that we didn’t get to experience.
