Costa Rica Recommendations
Aside from Mexico, this was my first trip to Central America. I’ve always been a little concerned with safety, and because I mostly solo travel, I have been hesitant to travel to Central and South America. With that being said, I felt very safe during my time in Costa Rica. Much like going anywhere, you do need to be aware and use common sense while traveling, obviously there are sketchy areas anywhere you go and I would just say be extra cautious when walking at night. This trip I spent time in La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. I spent three nights in both La Fortuna and Monteverde, and four nights in Manuel Antonio. I definitely could have spent one more night in each place. I recommend using EasyRide CR or Interbus for any road transfers. Any links I included are on the bold white words.
View of Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna
La Fortuna was the first town I visited, it’s a small town to the northwest of San Jose, which is one of the main airports you can fly into. I stayed in an airbnb that is right next to the El Salto swimming hole and rope swing, it’s a bit of a walk into town from there, but there’s plenty of Ubers in La Fortuna if you are tired of walking. It was a great place to stay, there’s always people at the rope swing so if you’re looking to meet other travelers that’s a great spot.
The activities I did while there include visiting Arenal Volcano National Park and doing the Arenal 1968 trails, the Fortuna Waterfall, Ecotermales hot spring, and Bogarin Trail. I highly recommend all of these. The 1968 trails are not too strenuous, and the scenery is top notch. The Fortuna Waterfall is beautiful, it doesn’t take very long to visit, but there is about 500 steps to get down to the falls, and the water is chilly. As you drive around La Fortuna you will see a lot of parks talking about sloths and seeing them, which is exciting because they are cute, but I encourage you to do some research and make sure whichever place you pick is ethical. I wasn't going to visit any of those places because of those concerns, however, the airbnb host recommended Bogarin Trail as a great place to visit and I’m so glad I did. It is a family owned preserve, there are no fences, all of the animals are free to move about wherever they please. We saw a sloth, poison dart frogs, among a variety of beautiful birds. I would recommend visiting these places in the morning before tourist groups arrive, as they are less crowded. Finally, Ecotermales is a beautiful natural hot spring, they offer two slots during the day, early afternoon and evening, I recommend going in the evening when it has cooled off a bit. It’s a nice romantic place for couples.
La Fortuna is a cute town to walk around in, it is definitely a bit touristy, but compared to the other places I visited, it was the cheapest in terms of food. There is one store called Cianikal, that is all handmade goods and less of the cheap tourist junk you find at the other ones. I got a really cute skirt and macrame beach bag there, but they have a variety of items.
As far as restaurants, I recommend Soda Rodriguez, it’s right outside of town and definitely a local spot, they don’t really have a menu, but the server will list off what they have available that day. The food is delicious and they give you a little piece of wood and paint to leave a message on, which they have hanging all over the restaurant. Two other restaurants I recommend are Tierra Mia and Tiquicia, which is very close to the airbnb I stayed at. And finally, there isn’t a whole lot of nightlife in La Fortuna, but I spent a couple nights a Lava Lounge listening to their live music.
Moving on from La Fortuna, I took a combination of shuttle and boat to Monteverde, which was a beautiful ride. The company that did the transfer was Caribe Shuttle. I stayed at another airbnb in Monteverde that was right near the center of town, which was very convenient because getting around Monteverde is a bit more difficult and there are no Ubers. Monteverde is pretty small, but the surrounding areas are so beautiful and big for dairy farms so you see cows everywhere, grazing the steep pastures.
The activities in Monteverde were the Cloud Forest, a night walk tour, zipline tour at Selvatura Park, and a farm tour. The cloud forest is a must do, some of the trails are strenuous, but so worth the views. This is another place I recommend getting there as early as possible as it fills up and it’s nice to do when it’s a bit cooler. I spent close to 5 hours here, and did about 6.5 miles in trails. I recommend booking a shuttle to get you there in the morning or look up the Monteverde public bus. The night tour is great because some of the animals are nocturnal and you have a better chance of seeing them, as well as different insects. The zipline tour was fun, I probably don’t need to do it again if I go back to Monteverde but it’s cool to see everything from above. If you know me, you know I love animals so doing the farm tour was awesome. Finca El Paraiso is owned by a local family and one of the farms that doesn’t use pesticides. The girl that did the tour was so sweet and it was awesome to milk the cow and then make cheese from the fresh milk. Highly recommend this tour if you are an animal lover.
As far as restaurants and shopping, I recommend Orchid Coffee and Restaurant, and Taco Taco was also good. For souvenirs I liked Brillante Souvenir, and Tienda Dicoma. Pura Vibra is an art gallery that I enjoyed looking at, it is pretty expensive for any original work but they sell prints in all sizes.
Zorro overlooking his farm
Looking out from Playitas Beach
Finally, we move to Manuel Antonio, this was a long day and drive. Unless you’re willing to pay for private transfers, expect multiple stops along the way to your destination. In Manuel Antonio I stayed at La Vela Boutique Hotel, highly recommend this hotel. The rooms are nice and it’s very close to the main beach, Espadilla, as well as the entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park. Walking around Manuel Antonio is a bit grueling, it’s very steep to get just about anywhere. There’s no Ubers there either, but it is easy to call a cab if you need to get anywhere. Manuel Antonio was very expensive for food and drinks, it’s definitely a tourist place but it is extremely beautiful. This was my relaxing portion of the trip because the prior places had a lot of hiking, so I was excited to hit the beach. The water is very warm and has pretty good waves for learning to surf. Manuel Antonio National Park is a must visit, you have to buy tickets online in advance, and once again, getting the earliest slot is best. I went at 7am and by 10:30 the park was so full. You are pretty much guaranteed to see sloths here which is amazing, and the beaches inside the park are stunning! On my last day I did a catamaran cruise, which was beautiful! The company I booked with was planet dolphin and they offer two time slots, morning and afternoon. I did the afternoon trip, and it was great, you get to snorkel, see Manuel Antonio National Park from the water, a delicious meal is included, and then you get to watch the sunset! I definitely recommend this cruise if you have the time. The only other activity I did was fishing, I went with Jackpot and unfortunately had a very slow day. The fishing is supposed to be amazing in that area, I think the water temp being so warm might have been a big part of the problem. I spent a day at Espadilla beach, which was beautiful. Don’t forget your sunscreen because the UV Index is extremely high and you will burn quick.
The only restaurant I would recommend is Rafael’s Terrazas, the food is good and the view is gorgeous. As far as shopping, Indigo is cute, which is located under Agua Azul, they sell clothing and bikinis by Jungle Sol. If I had a little more time I would have checked out some of the artsy places.
Overall I had an amazing trip, and I can’t wait to go back again!
