Costa Rica is a land of rainforests, wildlife, beaches, and warm and friendly locals. It has volcanoes to climb and oceans to surf, making it one of the best countries for adventurous souls. My mom and I went in March 2022 to Jaco Beach, followed by Monteverde and San José. This was my mom’s first time visiting somewhere other than your typical developed country vacation destination, and I was proud of her for her openness to try new things and her willingness to push herself out of her comfort zone.
So much was packed into our eight days in Costa Rica, and we definitely needed eight more to experience all this country has to offer.
Days 1-4: Jaco Beach
Day 1
Our adventure began with a smooth pickup from Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José. Our driver had a sign with my name on it, and stopped at a gas station at the beginning of our two-hour drive to Jaco to get us some bottled water. One fun thing about Costa Rica, is you can drink the tap water, an uncommon occurrence in Latin America. It was smooth sailing to our hotel—smooth in a bumpy, twisty, mountainous road kind of way.
We arrived at Hotel South Beach mid-afternoon, and first thing we wanted to do was dip our toes in the Pacific ocean and enjoy a fruity drink, so that’s exactly what we did.
One thing I did not expect to see on the beach in Costa Rica: dogs! So many dogs. I assumed they were starving strays who would be forever grateful for a few pieces of my sandwich bun, but I was dead wrong. The dogs didn’t care less. They just came to lie down by our feet for awhile. Anyway, I’m glad my Costa Rica doggos are well-fed and taken care of.
Day 2
Our day began with a satisfying breakfast of fruit, pancakes, rice and beans, complete with fresh mango juice. If you’ve never had fresh mango juice, do yourself a favor and 1) Go to Costa Rica and try some, or 2) Pop on down to Kensington Market in Toronto, there’s a few places there that sell some.
After our delicious juice, we decided to walk along the beach, towards town. We ended up at a coffee shop in Jaco, and I picked out a maracuyá (passion fruit) macaroon to go with my coffee.
Next, we threw on our swimsuits and went to lounge on the beach by our hotel. We splashed in the waves a bit, then made our way to the pool where we spent a good chunk of the next few hours.
Finally, we watched the sun set on the beach, and it was truly one of the best sunsets I’ve seen. Just look. It’s pretty enough to be a postcard.
Day 3
This was the day we set out to Manuel Antonio National Park, a great big chunk of forest filled with wildlife. This is said to be a must when traveling to Costa Rica, so we decided to check it out. I must say, it was beyond what we expected, and I highly recommend visiting the national park. It’s only an hour and a half from Jaco. Our tour started with a breakfast pit-stop along the way, where we were treated to fresh mango juice and a classic Costa Rican breakfast of plantains, rice, and beans.
When we got to the park, our small tour group received a designated guide. I must say, a tour guide is a must when in the park, as we would not have been able to spot a majority of the animals if it weren’t for her! Plus, she had a small telescope with her, and sloth pictures would not have been possible without the use of the telescope. She was also incredibly informative and, like everyone we came across on this trip, unbelievably friendly. As well as sloths, we saw birds, frogs, bats, crabs, and white-faced capuchin monkeys. You can see more animal pictures here.
After hiking through the forest and seeing tons of animals (making me personally very happy), we made it to Manuel Antonio Beach. We had the option of swimming, but my mom and I were quite happy to just dip our feet in the water and sit in the shade. On our way out of the park, we saw even more monkeys, and another couple of sloths!
On our drive home, we saw the Jaco sign, and several macaws flying about. The couple on the tour with us told us there were plenty of macaws to be seen at this side of the beach, so mom and I made a plan to walk down the beach to see them tomorrow. For the evening, we were exhausted, and chose to eat and have sangria at our hotel for dinner.
Day 4
We woke up looking forward to breakfast in Jaco. This time, there was fresh watermelon juice. Afterward, we walked into town to go to the coffee shop again, and did a little souvenir shopping, as well. Then it was time to investigate the Macaws.
We walked down the beach away from town, towards the lush hills in the distance. Sure enough, there were a ton of Macaws flying around over the trees. My only regret on this trip is that I didn’t get a good picture of the birds. In reality, they were beautiful, and so fun to watch! We had our swimsuits on, and took the opportunity on the walk back to jump and play in some waves.
It was a simple, relaxing day, a much needed break after our long day in Manuel Antonio. For me, one of the best parts of this trip was seeing the Macaws on the beach. In the evening we packed up our things in preparation for our ride into San José the next morning.
Days 5-8: San José
Day 5
Okay, so this was not the most fun day. It started out lovely, with breakfast and a walk down the beach to say goodbye to the Macaws. Then, it was time to catch our shuttle into San José.
We waited with our suitcases in the parking lot, fifteen minutes before the designated pickup time. And waited. And waited. We got the front desk to call the shuttle service. About an hour after our pickup time, the shuttle finally arrived. It was a shared shuttle, so we expected pick ups and drop offs along the way. However, what we didn’t expect was the three hour ride (as stated by our arrival time upon booking) to turn into eight hours of continually picking up and dropping off new people on the way to the city. It was the only part of our trip that didn’t go smoothly, and doing it again I’d splurge for the private transfer.
Still, we met a young woman who’d been staying at a hostel in Jaco. She sat in the front seat next to our driver and made conversation with him in broken Spanish. She had been all over Costa Rica, and was flying to Morocco the next day. We had a great chat, and I hope she’s doing well out there in the world.
So we got to our hotel quite late. It was dark out, but we were happy to hop out of the shuttle and step inside the front door. There was a cute little inner courtyard, and the man at the front desk was very friendly. He assured us it was safe to walk around this area, and pointed us in the direction of some popular restaurants. We got to a restaurant and got too excited to see pizza on the menu, so we got pizza in Costa Rica! In case you didn’t already know—stick to Costa Rican food in Costa Rica. The pizza was weird, so weird I can’t even explain it. There was sauce, and cheese, and dough, and every topping under the sun. And it wasn’t good. Trust me.
Day 6
This was another big one. Today, we were headed to Monteverde Cloud Forest, a biological reserve in the mountains of central Costa Rica. We walked down the street in San José to our meeting point for the tour.
Since Monteverde was set to be a three and a half hour drive, we made a few pit stops along the way. First was Casa de los Monos, or the Monkey House. Our tour guide told us to wait to feed the monkeys until he gave the alpha male an entire banana to eat for himself. Apparently, it was important to appease the alpha. The monkeys we did feed were constantly doing double-takes, keeping an eye out for their alpha, and snatching up the banana slices quickly.
Once the alpha finished his banana, we heard a banging on the tin roof of the house. The other monkeys scrambled, nobody daring to take more banana slices for themselves. Our guide, with urgency, told us it was time to go. It was an experience, for sure!
We stopped next at a pristine picture point, then continued up the road to the coffee plantation where we were to have lunch. Of course, there was fresh mango juice, a menu of classic Costa Rican dishes, and coffee. We also got to do a small hike through the plantation! Let me tell you, Costa Rica is known for its coffee, and it definitely lived up to the hype. I still don’t think I’ve had a cup of coffee so delicious. Not that I’m even picky about my coffee—I love a good Starbucks latte—but this cup was something else.
We got to Monteverde shortly after lunch. Walking through the forest, there were a handful of hanging bridges. I’d prepared mom for this moment (she’s terribly afraid of heights), though we’d both been mistaken and thought there would only be one! Still, she was a trooper, and said the bridges got easeir the more she did them. We saw many exotic plants, some with leaves bigger than me, a few animals such as birds, lizards, and tarantulas.
Next, we went on the Cloud Forest Sky Tram. Floating up over the forest, we could see the Caribbean sea on one side, and the Pacific Ocean (where we had stayed) on the other. It was a beautiful end to what was an altogether perfectly done tour.
Day 7
On this day, we had to go get COVID tests, as that was the world at this point. We had an awesome day walking through San José to Hospital Clínica Bíblica. After our tests, we got Starbucks in the Downtown square and wandered around a bit more.
Next on our agenda was an easy afternoon at the Museo National de Costa Rica (National Museum of Costa Rica). My mom and I always love going to museums in different countries, it’s a great opportunity to learn about the country or region we’re staying in. This one was extra special, because it had a butterfly pavilion at the entrance which was filled with all kinds of tropical butterflies.
Day 8
Our negative COVID tests came through, and we celebrated with a relaxing morning in our hotel’s courtyard. Then we packed everything up and flew home.
Costa Rica was one of those places you didn’t want to leave. It felt like we had just scratched the surface of this tiny, beautiful country. I hope to one day go back to see the Caribbean coast, the Jaguar Rescue Centre, as well as Arenal Volcano and the surrounding area. With so much natural beauty, it’s no wonder the country is gaining popularity. I highly recommend a visit to this part of the world, especially if you’re a fan of nature (and rice and beans)!
