Travel Guide Costa Rica 2023

I returned to Costa Rica this August for vacation. I had gone two years prior and only had the opportunity to visit San Jose, the main city, and Jaco, a cozy surfer beachside town. This time was different and I was able to visit Ajuela, La Fortuna, Samara, Santa Teresa, and Jaco.

This time around I stayed in all Airbnbs. There was no steep cleaning fees and the prices were cheap! All in I would say that the Lodging is one of the cheaper expenses of a vacation to CR.

Just a stone's throw away from the San Jose Airport, this bustling city turns vibrant at night and closes down after sundown. It was a bit hard to find our AirBnb, but the driver of our Uber was nice enough to help us find the exact location before he left.

City art found in a park

With the Mount Arenal Volcano nearby, La Fortuna is a great place to relax and hit the hot springs. We found a cabin that overlooked the jungle and drove to the hot springs during the day.

Great view from our AirBnB

Sámara is a small beach town along the coast of the Guanacaste province on Costa Rica's west coast. The main downtown is not much more than a few intersections. There is a food court and a nearby bakery that are a must. There are a few places right on the beach where you can rent a surfboard for just about 4$ per hour.

There were little lagoons behind the beaches

Certainly the most posh of all the places that we visited. You can rent an ATV and grab small bites, or you can have a leisurely stroll for fine cervice! A fat coin purse is not a necessity, but it surely helps. I was able to rent a surfboard for a half day for 10$, which is not too bad.

Another great view from an AirBnB

Overall it took a variety of travel formats to get us where we were going. We flew into SJO, took an Uber to Alajuela, Took another uber to get a rental car, drove the rental car to La Fortuna then Samara, got a shuttle bus from Samara to Santa Teresa, A shuttle to Montezuma, a Taxi Boat to Jaco, then finally a shuttle back to SJO

Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is in a prime location for travel to Costa Rica. You can also fly in though the Liberia Airport.

Overall I'd say the most convenient way to get around Costa Rica is still the trusty gas-powered rental car. The roads are not great! There are some requirements about proof of insurance, so I suggest you pay the extra price. We paid 45$ per day for insurance. There are credit cards that provide built in insurance when traveling abroad. I highly suggest having one of these to make your car rental much cheaper.

For this one you are going to need time and patience, but you will save a ton of money!

All aboard!

Probably the most fun to be had while traveling around is the Taxi Boat. It only took an hour to get across the water to Jaco from Santa Teresa.

we saw a whale spout

There is tons to do while in Costa Rica so we focused on a few for the 2 weeks we were there. We saw a volcano and bathed in its hot springs, we surfed two beaches, and saw a bunch of wildlife.

This is how volcanos work!

There are plenty of resorts that take advantage of the volcanos hot springs. They funnel the water into pools that have varying degrees of hotness. For 40$ you can take advantage of the resort pools all day.

After briefly driving through last time, I wanted to stop back in to this beautiful farm area with rolling hills.

It was a bit foggy

This cafe has amazing views! Stop bye to take in the goats resting in the hills.

There is plenty to do in Santa Teresa! It is mainly one long strip of shops and eateries.

Surfing is certainly part of the culture in Santa Teresa. You can rent a surfboard or get a lesson almost everywhere. It seemed to be more half-day rentals instead of hourly here in Santa Teresa, but I only went to two or three shops. I was able to rent a board for 10$ for a half day and put it right on my credit card.

Jacó is a bit more lively than the other places we visited. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes to visit in Jacó, but it may not be for everyone.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip:

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Overall there was not much necessary to travel to Costa Rica. If anything it felt very much like being in the States.

As always I suggest going to your bank before the trip to order some Colones. I took 400$ USD worth for two weeks and was fine. Most places will accept your credit card to save on your cash. Half of the places would also list their prices in USD. (Mainly in Jaco and Santa Teresa)

This was my second time going to Costa Rica during the rainy season. For the most part it was nice weather, sun in the morning with a storm rolling in for the afternoon, then more sun after that. There was one week that that sun refused to shine and stayed wet. It is still pretty warm though, so you can always throw on some rain gear and go out. I found it nice to go out before the heavy rains would begin.

• Atenas Google Search
• La Casita del Café on Google
• Sámara on Google