The bar was at an all-time high for such a well-praised country. Not to mention, a 2-year, pandemic-induced draught of international travel…! Suffice it to say, I was absolutely itching to be in a hot, humid place, cocooned in vibrant flora and fauna, without a care in the world. Now, having already returned home after this glorious trip, the itch is still with me, in the form of fond Costa Rican memories. And a few phantom bug bites.
Before you ask – no, we did not go ziplining. We did much cooler things (I joke but also when planning trips I tend to rule out the things everyone usual does, i.e. crowd-avoidance 101). My objective for this trip was to taste the real Pura Vida and amass a true smorgasbord variety of experiences. I’ll preface that with the fact that Costa Rica is a very tourist-centric country (in a very smart way I might add), so it took some savvy planning to pack in all the key experiences, but to do them right and to keep them unique.
So here are my top 3 must-dos for an immersive trip to this Central American oasis, followed by 10-days-worth of points of interest.
1. Rent a car
I can say with certainty that had we not done this, our trip would have paled in comparison. We went off-route, drove through cute towns, stopped for road-side coconuts, spoke to locals, and discussed the endless array of Spanish road signs for local establishments. But note, I happen to be blessed with an Ultimato Pilato husband who made all those insane Costa Rican potholes his b**ch, to put it lightly, so take that for what it’s worth. The roads are baaaaad, especially in the rainy season, so 4WD and full insurance coverage are both absolutely necessary.
2. Stay in a hotel that already has hot springs
In La Fortuna, our hotel already had incredible thermal pools of varying temperatures. Given that we only had 2 days there, this was crucial because there were so many other things to do and if we’d had to access hot springs somewhere else, we likely would have just skipped that activity. Plus, you can’t beat coming “home” after a full day of adventure and wading right into the pools to marinate.
3. Don’t underestimate wet season
Do you want to see bucolic rolling green hills? Do you want to see mind-blowing sunsets? Do you want a refreshing cloud sprinkle after huffing and puffing up a dormant volcano? Do you want to do all of this surrounded by only half the usual amount of tourists like you? I rest my case.
La Fortuna
3 hours from San Jose airport by car
Thermal Springs
As previously mentioned, the hot springs are a must and there are plenty of hotels, ranging from budget to luxury, that have springs onsite. You can also visit the springs for a day for about $30 pp. We felt we struck the jackpot with El Silencio Del Campo as it was fairly affordable, with lush thermal pools onsite, in which we soaked (as we had wanted to soak in the Budapest baths), with a friendly bartender bringing us very boozy sangrias.
Arenal
You couldn’t miss it if you tried. As you drive into Fortuna, the sleeping giant materializes through a curtain of clouds and you suddenly feel a dire need to approach. Pro tip: drive past the “main entrance” where the guys in yellow jackets wave you down to park and go straight to Mirador el Silencio – an incredible nature preserve on one side of the volcano with lovingly maintained jungle trails (and a lower entrance fee). Weave your way through thick jungle, interspersed with verdant pastures and friendly cows. Keep an eye out for guava trees and sneak a trail snack.
La Fortuna Waterfall
I.e. one of the most intense displays of nature I’ve ever seen. Cascading down almost 200 feet into a turquoise green pool of water, this impressive waterfall is a must see. If you’re going during wet season, be sure to visit in the first half of the day, otherwise risk swimming in this already turbulent swimming hole while there is thunder rumbling somewhere nearby. Oh and factor in the 500 steps to get down and back up… Don’t fret, there is staff monitoring the weather so if it gets too chaotic, they kick you out for your safety.
In awe of La Fortuna waterfall, friendly Costa Rican cows, and enormous foliage
Monteverde
3 hours from La Fortuna by car or roughly 1 hour by boat
3 hours from San Jose airport by car
Eco-forward Activities
Oh Monteverde, how you stole my heart. 2 days certainly was not enough in this garden of Eden, but we made damn sure to make the most of it. Costa Rica is already known for its eco-tourism and it’s even more potent in Monteverde. The respect garnered for this natural sanctuary was palpable with every local we spoke to and we were lucky to stay at a boutique hotel (Hotel Belmar) that elevated the eco-tourism concept to a whole other level. With an onsite garden and wellspring as well as a partnership with a carbon-negative farm, the hotel hardly impedes on its surrounding environment. On our first night, we took a highly immersive craft cocktail class with the wonderful Andrea – foraging various herbs from the garden and learning about their unique attributes, specific to the Monteverde climate. With all the humidity, mint was a major staple. Cocktails were followed by a culinary farm-to-table feat at Restaurant Celajes.
Horseback Riding
Okay, I guess you could consider this a “typical” activity in Costa Rica. But I think we chose the right place to do it – Finca Madre Tierra, the organic, family-owned farm that we had to thank for our farm-to-table dinner the night before. Let me just… describe this experience to you in unrelenting detail. Pulling up to the farm, nestled among bucolic rolling hills, we were greeted by a slew of friendly farm dogs, puppies, and sheep, all eager to get scratches and pets from us. I’m already squealing at this point okay… After meeting the farm team, our guide Fabian took us around to meet the rest of the animals – donkeys, pigs, ponies, calves, cows, horses, chickens, etc. The farm doesn’t use its animals for meat but does have a good amount of dairy cows, which, of course, we got to milk! As we struggled to get a steady rhythm going, Fabian handed us empty cups so we could drink fresh milk straight from the udder. *Chef’s kiss. Then one of the farmers showed us how it’s done and milked probably 5 gallons of milk in 2 minutes by hand at mind-blowing speed. Afterwards, we got to feed the greedy baby cows by bottle! Finally, it was time for horseback riding. We received a short training on how to communicate with the horses and off we went, up a mountain trail behind the farm. We sauntered through dense forest, waded through streams and rivers, and traversed through lush, mountainous landscapes, and I was transported to what life might have been like years and years ago in this incredible land. Galloping up a slope, we arrived at a hilltop situated above one of the most divine, pastoral views I’ve come across, leading us to feel a sense of otherworldliness, a time and place apart from the harshness of reality. Upon our return to the farm, hungry and inspired, we were fed scrumptious empanadas and coffee made and grown entirely on site. Fabian told us about La Vandola, a method of coffee making invented in Costa Rica, and which we later got to try at Cafe Monteverde to our delight. Post-coffee, we toured the rest of the farm - how they make cheese, their Bokashi composting process, how they grow sugar cane (and getting to press and try sugar cane juice ourselves), and their chicken farm. Suddenly, it was the end of our tour and we felt it had flown by. Driving back to the hotel, we both felt saturated with inspiration, rejuvenated by our full day of connection with nature, and again, already itching to go back.
Cloud Forest
Our last day in Monteverde, we dove into the depth of the cloud forest, a micro-climate of its own. As we learned, the cloud forest is privately owned and run as a large biological reserve, boasting over 2,000 plant species including the highest concentration of orchid species. In fact, the first thing pointed out to our unaccustomed eyes was a minuscule orchid flower that needed a digital microscope to examine. This tiny thing was smaller than my fingernail moon and we learned there are even smaller ones, less than 0.5 mm. We continued on, our extremely knowledgeable guide pointing out intricate ficus trees, tiny avocados, and stopping us mid-stride to listen to unique bird calls. But this was just the bottom of the forest. Because the cloud forest is so dense, plants and even trees have adapted to grow on the branches of larger trees, creating multi-leveled canopies and ecosystems. We were able to see the full scope of these canopies by belaying ourselves up a sophisticated system of rope pulleys – quite a physically demanding feat, but so worth the views at the top. The immensity and concentration of nature in this reserve was hard to comprehend, but was all the more incredible to experience.
Horseback riding and farm-fresh lunch at Finca Madre Tierra
Hotel Belmar Garden Cocktail Class and fresh snacks in the Savvia cloud forest preserve
Pacific Coast
5 hours from Monteverde by car
5 hours from San Jose airport by car
Tamarindo
A 5-hour drive brought us from Monteverde to the Pacific beach of Tamarindo, one of the more popular beaches in the area. Although everything I read while planning indicated an overcrowded, touristic area, our hotel location and the off-season played entirely in our favor. We absolutely loved Tamarindo and its buzzy but laid back atmosphere. Our hotel, Capitan Suizo, was a lush oasis 5 minutes from downtown, with gorgeous landscaped gardens (complete with monkeys and loud birds) and a serene strip of beach, laden with a plethora of beautiful shells. My “forever” moment in Costa Rica happened here – putting on a fun little strapless dress and heading barefoot down the beach for dinner in town, with the most incredible sunset display, the air warm, and groups of people milling around enjoying the fleeting explosion of color. Dinner was lobster and fish caught fresh that day (and a bottle of bubbly of course). Post-dinner, there is no shortage of awesome drinking holes to stop in, ranging from quaint cocktail bars to bumpy, clubby spots (our favorite was Chiquita’s). Having filled up on adventure in the first half of the trip, we didn’t try out too many excursions in Tamarindo, but there are plenty – surfing, day trips to the jungle, boat tours, turtle watching, snorkeling, etc. When you take in that expansive beach though, it’s hard to want to do anything except drink rum coconuts and bake under the sun and just bask in it all.
Beach-hopping
With 4 whole days on the coast, we made sure to spend at least one exploring various other beaches. If we’d had more time, I would have driven all the way up to Papagayo and down to Puntarenas but the farthest points are up to 3 hours away. So with our one day, we drove up to Las Catalinas – a new beach town development meant to be a walking town, very much in a European style with buildings of various sunny colors. The town is still under construction so although I loved the idea and bougie-ness of it, I’d recommend coming back when it’s fully finished. The views, however, were unmistakably mind-blowing. We drove through a few other local beach towns and did some off-roading to get to a quiet, almost private beach to eat our sandwiches for lunch and dive into the waves. Basically, another reason to rent a car – exploring the Costa Rican coast and all its nooks and crannies is certainly worth it.
Exploring Las Catalinas and pure relaxation at Hotel Capitan Suizo
On the plane back home, with memories of this lush paradise swimming in my head, one thing stuck with me more than the rest – our trip was filled with so many absolutely riveting conversations with people in every place we stayed. The kindness and openness of Costa Rican people, their willingness to truly know about your life, is something I’ll never forget. Next time, 10 days certainly will not be enough.
THE PLAN
Where to stay
I think I've made clear that Costa Rica has its eco-tourism down to an art. There were so many incredible hotels, BnBs, and bungalows to choose from, in varying degrees of affordability. But ultimately, I'd urge you to prioritize authenticity and "extras", i.e. look for places that have farms on site, cool and unusual tours, or that offer something unique to each area. For instance, El Silence Del Campo had an onsite, organic farm and the farm manager went above and beyond by involving us in the every day chores, like milking and collecting eggs.
El Silenco Del Campo (Fortuna)
Tifakara Lodge (Fortuna)
Brisas Arenal Hotel (Fortuna)
Hotel Belmar (Monteverde)
Rancho Margot (Monteverde)
Monteverde Lodge (Monteverde)
Capitan Suizo (Tamarindo)
Ocho Artisan Bungalow (Tamarindo)
Cala Luna (Tamarindo)
Where to eat
We ate well in Costa Rica, to put it mildly. I don't think I had a single mediocre dish. Whether you're eating at a local soda or a trendier spot, the food is fresh and the ingredients tantalizing. That being said, I will shout out Don Rufino in La Fortuna particularly – an unassuming but refined little restaurant with an unparalleled level of class and culinary expertise.
La Street Bistro (Fortuna)
Don Rufino (Fortuna)
Rancho Perla (Fortuna)
Organico (Fortuna)
El Chante Verde (Fortuna)
The Open Kitchen (Monteverde)
Restaurant Celajes (Monteverde)
San Lucas Treetop Dining (Monteverde)
Restaurante Thomas & Thiago (Monteverde)
Tramonti (Monteverde)
Stella’s (Monteverde)
El Chiringuito (Tamarindo)
El Santuario (Tamarindo)
Little Lucha (Tamarindo)
Where to drink
And here I will just say that no trip to Costa Rica is complete without chiliguaro – a shot of Guaro (cane-sugar liquor), tomato juice, and hot sauce. Zing!
Chicha’s (Fortuna)
Mondragon (Fortuna)
Voodoo Bar (Fortuna)
Cafe Monteverde (Monteverde) *Get the La Vandola method
Belmar Craft Brewery (Monteverde)
Chiquita’s (Tamarindo)
El Garito (Tamarindo)
Pacific Bar (Tamarindo)
As always, happy planning!
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