Costa Rica

Pura Vida baby! I recently took a spontaneous trip to Costa Rica for 9 days in December with a guy I met on Hinge! Although it didn't work out with this guy, it was my first time in Costa Rica and I had the best time. There are a ton of places to visit, but there are a few destinations that you for sure need to hit, the Manuel Antonio National Park, the Arenal Volcano, and the beaches in Tamarindo. So we started in Manuel Antonio for 3 days, then headed to La Fortuna for 2 days, then spent the remaining 4 days in Tamarindo. Keep reading to check out our itinerary!

Wherever you are flying from, once you land at San Jose Airport in Costa Rica, there are a few ways to get to Manuel Antonio. First is to hire a driver, it takes about 3 hours to get there. Second, is to hop on a shuttle, but there are a few stops along the way, this option could take longer than 3 hours. Or you can get there the fastest and most epic way, which is taking a small flight from the San Jose Airport to Quepos Airport. Quepos is a small town next to Manuel Antonio which is about 4 miles away. Flights from San Jose to Quepos range from $40-80 USD (depending on the dates) and the flight time is only seventeen minutes. There are only a few airlines available, but I went with Sansa. It was such a cool experience and you get a bird's eye view of Costa Rica, super scenic and beautiful!

*Tip: San Jose Airport is an international terminal, to get on the domestic terminal, you have to get through immigration and exit out of the airport and head to the domestic terminal to get to the Sansa Airline. When you exist the San Jose Airport, make a left and walk about 5 minutes to get to the domestic terminal.

GAIA Hotel and Reserve

Once we got to Manuel Antonio, we checked into the GAIA Hotel and Reserve. Not only is GAIA a beautiful hotel and resort but it's also a center for the conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife and endangered plants. There is an amazing pool, most of the rooms have balconies with the rainforest view, there's a restaurant, an amazing spa, and plenty of places to catch the sunset. They also have free shuttles that will take you to the beach, the Manuel Antonio National Park, and take you into town!

Manuel Antonio National Park

The second day at Manuel Antonio, we went exploring at the Manuel Antonio National Park. It's $16USD a person and there is a ton of animals to see, including sloths! You can do a hike around the park and there are also a lot of beaches to visit! The two main beaches in the park are Espadilla Sur Beach and the Manuel Antonio Beach, both about a 30 minute hike from the main entrance. Playa Manuel Antonio is best known for the views but it's a bit more crowded, if you want more to beach the crowds, Playa Espadilla Sur is a bit further down. Just make sure you plan accordingly because the park is open from 7am to 4pm everyday. There are also tours you can book including a guided tour, a catamaran ride, ziplining, or you can snorkel.

El Avión

For night life in Manuel Antonio, we stumbled upon this awesome C-123 Fairchild cargo plane that was converted into a bar and restaurant called El Avión, It is a two level bar and restaurant that was built in, around, and above the plane. The drinks are stiff and the views are AMAZING. I would highly recommend checking this out!

Selina

If you want more night life and want to go out clubbing, a bar called Selina (which is right in front of El Avión). This place was recommended by the concierge at the hotel, although we didn't go inside, it looked poppin! Seemed like a lot of locals party there.

So the next stop in this Costa Rican adventure was The Arenal Volcano which is in La Fortuna! From Manuel Antonio to La Fortuna, it is about a 3-4 hour drive, depending on the traffic. You can either hire a taxi, rent a car, or in my case, the GAIA Hotel and Reserve reserved a private car, which ended up being the same price as a taxi (about $200-$250) and it was a Mercedes van!

Arenal Kioro Suites

Once we got to La Fortuna, it was time to check into my favorite hotel in Costa Rica, which was the Arenal Kioro Suites and Spa. Every suite there has a view of the Arenal Volcano and a hot tub inside your room! This resort was so nice, they had lush onsite hot spring pools and offered hikes up the volcano as well. This resort was just gorgeous, we only stayed for 2 nights but we could've easily spend more time there, and I would highly recommend it! It's the best way to experience the volcano.

So the last stop of the trip was Tamarindo. To get from La Fortuna to Tamarindo, again you could hire a driver, grab a taxi, rent a car, or do the epic option, you can hire a private plane to take you there! This option is obviously the most expensive (about $1500) but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to really see Costa Rica. There is an Air Shuttle company called Aero Caribe that can arrange this for you. If you choose this option, they will meet you at the local La Fortuna airport, provide drinks (including beer), and they take you over some of the most epic views and they will even take you further out over the Tamarindo beaches to enjoy those views as well.

JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort

In Tamarindo, we stayed at the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa, it was a super nice and relaxing resort. A bit more touristy than I am used to, lots of families at this resort, but it was fine. The sunsets were just amazing!

Playa Flamingo

One of the beaches to visit in Tamarindo would be Playa Flamingo! There are a ton of surfers and it's such a nice beach to hang out at. If you want some food and drinks, make sure to check out the Restaurante Coco Loco.

Playa Tamarindo

Another beach to check out in Tamarindo would be the Tamarindo Beach! There are a lot more bars and restaurants here so it's a bit more crowded. There are also a lot of local vendors coming by to sell you things like beers, coconuts, ice cream, bracelets, and special brownies... But you can rent umbrella beach chairs for the day and lounge around or you can get a surf lesson (lots of surfers at this beach). I also saw people horse back riding here!

Hacienda Pinilla

On the last day, we decided to go to the local beach that is part of the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa, called Hacienda Pinilla! The beach also had a "day club" which was a pool and bar. The beach was pristine and was not crowded at all. There is also a shuttle that will take you from the hotel to this beach.

Costa Rica is such a beautiful place, such friendly people, overall amazing vibes. I would love to go back and do more water sports and throw in a catamaran ride! The only thing I would say is, because all of the destinations are so spread out, it is expensive to get around from place to place and also it takes a few hours to get from place to place if driving, so plan accordingly and make sure to factor in travel time!

<3,

Laura C.