My friend, Shelley, and I went on a 12-day trip around Costa Rica in September 2017. I have individual blog posts for each city we visited (see below), but wanted to share an overall blog, too, for what we did there.
Admittedly, there isn’t much to do in the capital city. It’s the main airport of the city, though, so staying a night or two may be necessary. If we’d spent more time, I definitely would’ve done one of the free walking tours.
Our final city to explore in Costa Rica was Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (or as you may read for the public bus, Puerto Viejo, Limon; there are actually two Puerto Viejos in Costa Rica and you want to go to the one on the beach in the Limon province). Since we were traveling in September, we chose to go to the Caribbean side since it’s not rainy season there. We spent 2.5 days here, which was a day longer than any other city we’d visited in CR.
The first thing we did in Puerto Viejo was to explore, both by foot and by bike ($5/day rental). There are a bunch of shops and stalls to peruse. And the town is right on the beach, so we spent plenty of time moseying about.
Playa Uva came highly recommended. Puerto Viejo is bordered by the Caribbean sea, so there are plenty of beaches to choose from. Because we’d met some Costa Rican friends, we hitched a ride to Punta Uva (it’s a point where you can hike around) and to Manzanilla, where its said the manzanilla plant grows (think chamomile tea).
Continue reading Animals and Adventure in Costa Rica: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
In order to maximize our time in Costa Rica, Shelley and I spent only about 1 1/2 days in each city we visited. We made sure to do everything we really wanted before heading on our way to the next destination. From La Fortuna, we traveled to Tortuguero, most notable for the sea turtles (tortugas) that lay eggs there a few months out of the year. The town is flanked by water – the canals on one side and the Caribbean on the other – which gives it a very laid-back lifestyle.
“The town’s beaches are considered one of the world’s most important nesting sites for green sea turtles, which weigh up to 400 pounds and can lay up to 700 eggs per season. Nightly turtle tours depart several times daily during nesting season [July-October].”*
This was hands-down one of the coolest things I’ve seen! A guide takes you onto the beaches of the Tortuguero National Park where spotters are looking for giant turtles to lay their eggs. The mamas swim up onto the shore, dig a hole, and as soon as they’re ready to lay the eggs, they go into a trance-like state. That’s when you’re able to watch. We saw one mama lay a few eggs, which was pretty magical.
Continue reading Animals and Adventure in Costa Rica: Tortuguero
In order to maximize our time in Costa Rica, Shelley and I spent only about 1 1/2 days in each city we visited. We made sure to do everything we really wanted before heading on our way to the next destination. After leaving Monteverde, we headed on our way to La Fortuna, home to the famous Arenal Volcano.
This $25 tour may seem a bit steep in price for 2 hours, but with the amount of food you’re given, it’s worth the price and more! The owner of the farm walks you around sharing about the many fruit trees that grow there. These trees not only protect the cocoa trees, they serve as a good source of revenue for the owners. The best part is all of the amazing fruit and chocolate you get to eat! We tried star fruit, papaya, pineapple, bananas, and oranges right from the tree. We also pressed our own sugar cane juice, and made our very own hot chocolate from the cocoa bean we picked ourself! Tours leave at 8am, 10am, 1pm, and 3pm, and the price includes transportation to/from the farm.
Continue reading Animals and Adventure in Costa Rica: La Fortuna
In order to maximize our time in Costa Rica, Shelley and I spent only about 1 1/2 days in each city we visited. We made sure to do everything we really wanted before heading on our way to the next destination. After spending a morning in San Jose, we were off to Monteverde, a city surrounded by rainforests and mountains.
Sightseeing
Zip-lining in Costa Rica is not to be missed! It was honestly one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life.
There are multiple options of places to go adventuring in Monteverde, but we chose Selvatura because it included 13 lines to zip across, suspension brides, and access to the hummingbird garden all for $75. Other companies cost more for less activities and less time.
Continue reading Animals and Adventure in Costa Rica: Monteverde
My friend, Shelley, and I went on a 12-day trip around Costa Rica in September 2017. I flew into San Jose from Chicago, but since we were forewarned that there wasn’t too much to do in the capital city, we only allotted a half-day, though I did stay for two nights due to my flight times.
We did a self-guided tour of downtown San Jose since our time was limited, but San Jose Free Walking Tours looks great! It’s 3 hours & shows all of the sites of the city. There is a lot of shopping in the downtown area, oddly revolving around surf and shoes. We met a Canadian couple in another city who recommended the Tour of the National Theater.
Continue reading Animals and Adventure in Costa Rica: San Jose
New City Life Adventure 