Costa Rica, Central America

Manuel Antonio National Park

The best beach I’ve ever been to. I felt like I was walking around on a postcard. It was $25 to get into the park, which is quite expensive for Central America, but it’s so worth it. You can pay a guide to take you through the park to point out different animals but if you decide to go alone you will be able to spot some as well. Once you walk through the jungle you find yourself on the beach. There are a few different beaches and some might be closed because of crocodiles. Both times that I visited the park there was a beach closed because of crocodiles - but you don’t have anything to worry about, they mind themselves.

P.S. Don’t leave your stuff on the beach because the monkeys will come and take it.

Jaco Beach

I visited Jaco a few different times because it is the closest beach to San Jose, which is where I lived when I was studying in Costa Rica.

I am not a surfer so I am sure you can find better surfing information than this but I do know If you want to surf, or want to learn to surf then you should stay in Jaco Beach. From there you can go to Playa Hermosa it’s less than 10 min away by taxi and it is where a lot of people to surf and I actually watched a really cool surfing competition there when I visited. Playa Hermosa is also a black sand beach which is really cool to see. There is nothing there besides the beach and one bar which is why I recommend to stay in Jaco (there is good nightlife in Jaco too).

In Jaco you should stay at the hostel called Beds on Bohio. It is right next to the beach, the staff is great, the food at the restaurant is top, and the bar has great drink specials… what more could you ask for?

Isla Tortuga

One of my favorite places I have ever been. This island is a paradise and you can go there on a day trip from Jaco, San Jose or Montezuma. There are a bunch of different tour companies that offer the trip so I would just talk to a few and bargain a price, never go with the first price they give you, and the more people the cheaper you can go for. They provide you with lunch and snorkeling equipment and if you’re lucky you’ll get to swim with sharks.

Puerto Viejo

A town located on the Caribbean coast and was my favorite part of Costa Rica. Super cool vibes and very chill - you definitely see the Caribbean way of life in the culture here. The beach is rocky but you can ride a bike about 3k to another beach that is beautiful. If that beach has a name I don’t know what it is so just ask around and the locals will point you into the right direction.

I stayed at Rocking J’s but it is a 24/7 party hostel so if that is not what you are looking for then I don’t recommend it. Rocking J’s kind of has a monopoly over the hostel business in Puerto Viejo so there are not many other options. We did get tired of the atmosphere so we switched hostels through our trip to one that you can only book in person. It is called The Lazy Mon which is also a bar. They have a small hostel above it which was very nice to stay at. I don’t usually recommend Air BnB but for this city I would recommend looking there as well, just make sure you are close to the center.

Monteverde and Arenal Volcano

These are the towns of mountains that are located in the center of Costa Rica. Depending on what you want to do depends on how much time you should stay here. I am more of a beach person than a mountain person so would just recommend one night for each place. Monteverde and Arenal are separated by a lake so definitely take the boat across when going from one to the other to save a lot of time and the view on the boat is beautiful.

Arenal is a volcano and the town is famous for the hot springs. There are a bunch of different places you can got to the hot springs. I went to the Baldi Hot Springs Resort and Spa. It was very relaxing but also fun as it had some waterslides and fountains.

Monteverde is famous for zip-lines and outdoor activities. If you go to Aventura Canopy you can go on the longest zip-line cable in Latin America - I did it and I highly recommend it. Also, for a place to stay in Monteverde I recommend Pension Santa Elena - it’s right in the center of town and has very nice rooms and an outdoor area.

San Jose

I don’t recommend spending time in San Jose but that is most likely where you fly in to or out of so if you have time to kill there you can go to Poaz Volcano where you climb up and and see inside of the volcano (the time of year depends on how visible it is)

You can also visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens which was my favorite thing I did in San Jose. It was a hike to many different waterfalls and also has a butterfly garden and other animal exhibits, you even have the opportunity to hold a toucan.