Costa Rica is an incredble country with everything the world has to offer. Pura Vida is there motto and it’s a great country for sightseeing, exploring, and relaxing. Check out our itinerary below.
How We Got There
As with all of our trips, we rely heavily on Finding Cheap Flights or Using Credit Cards to Fly for Free. This trip was no different and we utilized both to get the three of us to the country of “Pura Vida.”
After looking at some different options we came across Costa Rica roundtrip for 18,400 miles each. Because we have Delta credit cards, we get 15% off award bookings. With the discount, our 3 tickets from Salt Lake came out to be 48,000+$264 in taxes. The cash value of our flights would’ve been $1,428, so we felt pretty good about our decision.
What We Did
We flew in and out of San Jose, so we stayed there for the first and last night of the trip. We found two hotels off Expedia that checked enough of our boxes to make it work. On our first day there, we rented a car from Hertz, $250 for 7 days, and drove to La Fortuna where we spent 2 nights.
While in La Fortuna, we did some hikes and admired the Volcano from all around town. It’s a tourist town for sure but there was a lot to see and plenty of activities not far from town. Specifically, we did the Mystico Hanging Bridges hike. We were lucky enough to see monkeys so it was worth it. We enjoyed the town and got a good feel for Pura Vida.
After our time in La Fortuna, we drove to the beach town of Jaco where we spent 3 nights. We weren’t sure what to expect from Jaco, but we wanted to see the beach and it was the closest to San Jose. While there we swam in the pool, wandered the town, walked the beach, did a small hike, and saw some crocodiles. Having Hadley with us allowed us to slow down and relax. It made for a great few days and we have no regrets. According to the internet, Jaco was once a rough part of the country, but they’ve been working to boost tourism and we enjoyed our time there.
Where We Stayed
Our Expedia hotels aren’t worth mentioning, but our other two stops were great.
In La Fortuna, we stayed at an Airbnb just outside of town. It was great. The unit was a stand-alone building and we didn’t have anyone to contend with. We’d highly recommend it.
In Jaco, we used Airbnb again, but it was a hotel. Hotel Pumilio. We loved it. It has a great pool, breakfast, and staff. Like La Fortuna, it’s just outside of town but it was perfect.
Transportation
We rented a car. Pretty simple. Driving is a little wild but once you get the hang of it you’ll never want to go back.
What We Ate.
The most common dish in Costa Rica is called a Cansado. It’s rice, beans, salad, and a protein like chicken, pork, or beef. It’s everywhere and it’s tasty. The first half of our trip was spent eating at a variety of restaurants. After a little research we learned the Soda shops all along the highway aren’t for soda. They’re mom and pop restaurants mostly serving local meals such as Cansados. They’re way cheaper and far more cultural. We ate at many of these and so should you. They’re great and always so welcoming.
Piggy backing on the food topic. It’s not that cheap. A Cansado will cost between $7-10 which isn’t bad. Pretty good really. Regular food isn’t so cheap. It’s not expensive by any means, but it’s not the cheap Latin American food you may be thinking of. $15-20 a plate depending on the place.
What we learned.
Gas is regulated by the government so it’s the same everywhere. In our case it was right around $5.50/gallon.
The country is well developed, but also very poor. You’ll pass a mansion and a shack on the same street. Regardless, the people are very nice and welcoming.
Driving is very doable. A little wild at first, but doable for anyone.