After my husband and I eloped in June 2019, we set out to travel the world over the next 7 months. Our first stop was Costa Rica! We researched a ton before we went, but after visiting, there are some things I wish I would have known. Our trip was only 8 nights, so I am in no way a Costa Rica expert, but if this post can help future travelers, that’s what it’s all about!
1. PLAN YOUR TRIP DURING DRY SEASON
I think this goes without saying, but unfortunately, Costa Rica has a very long rainy season and it’s during the summer months here in the USA. When researching our trip, it was noted that there was a few week stint during the rainy season in June that was normally much drier — so like a dry time within a rainy time, if that makes sense. That was the time we chose to go and it either sprinkled or poured on us everyday. We don’t mind the sprinkling and scattered showers throughout the day with some sunshine or clouds in the mix, but when the rain is so hard that you can’t get out your camera to take a photo or to enjoy it, it starts to be not as great. The best time to travel to Costa Rica is dry season from late November to early May, with January being the driest month.
2. FLYING INTO LIBERIA VS. SAN JOSE
We chose to fly in to Liberia and out of San Jose. Liberia is in the northern Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. Should you fly into Liberia, you may have a more expensive ticket but depending on where you’re staying you may have a shorter drive. The Guanacaste region is a more desirable area for travelers to stay than San Jose. If you fly into San Jose, you are pretty central to anywhere you want to go in the country and most tours and buses leave from that area. However, San Jose is not a great place for travelers to stay. Most tourists fly in there and then leave for the coasts or more tropical areas. You can normally find tickets cheaper if you do roundtrip out of San Jose. I like to use Google Flights to find the best routes.
3. THEY TAKE AMERICAN DOLLARS
The Costa Rican national currency is the colón, however, most places use and accept dollars (USD). You might give someone USD and they could give you either USD or colón back. This is super helpful for American travelers and was the only place we have traveled internationally that using USD has been this convenient.
4. PREPARE FOR LONG, BUMPY CAR AND SHUTTLE RIDES
Like many countries, the roads are not as developed as they are in the US. Costa Rica is a small country and there isn’t much for traveling between the cities besides shuttles, cars, and buses. I am normally not one to get car sick, but I got car sick nearly every time we drove to a new city as the roads were very windy and bumpy, especially around Monteverde and around La Fortuna. Thank goodness we had some motion sickness goodies that helped us through it. I would recommend these ginger drops, peppermint drops, and these sour raspberry drops (these taste so good!). I also found that these motion sickness bands help too.
5. BRING WATER RESISTANT GEAR
Regardless if it is rain or shine, odds are you are going to be taking advantage of Costa Rica’s beautiful water centered attractions and activities at some point or another on your trip. A waterproof backpack was a must! This saved our camera gear and tech on more than one occasion. Also, a rain jacket, and water shoes that you can either hike or go do activities with. I love these waterproof sneakers and sandals! Zach has the men’s versions of the sneakers and sandals as well.
6. STAY AT A SELINA (AT LEAST ONCE!)
Depending on your budget, you may want the more luxury route, in which case Selina may not be for you. Zach and I were going the cute and trendy but affordable route and ended up booking private rooms in Selinas all across Costa Rica. When researching places to stay, Selina hostels kept coming up as one of the top spots in every place I’d look for around the country. They did not disappoint! Each one was unique, clean, trendy, and affordable. They had lots of other millennial travelers and always had a couple vegan options on their restaurant menus! They have shared rooms (your cheapest route like a typical hostel set up), but they also have nicer private rooms with a shared bathroom, private rooms with private bathrooms, and some locations have luxury set ups and suites. We stayed at their Playa Tamarindo, La Fortuna, Monteverde, and San Jose locations.
Selina Monteverde
7. PREPARE FOR A LOT OF BUG BITES
I normally get more bug bites than most people, but never in my life have both of us had more bug bites in our lives than in Costa Rica. I think I counted around 40 or so on me at once. The coastal and city areas aren’t that bad, but it’s the jungle and rainforest areas that you need to watch out for. I lathered myself in so much bug spray, lotion, wipes, and even wore those bracelets that deter mosquitos, and I still got bit up so I’m curious if it would have been even worse without it! I know most of those sprays don’t work on ants and there were a lot of ants in the teepee we stayed in in La Fortuna.
8. IT IS BOTH VERY ECO AND VEGAN FRIENDLY
One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Costa Rica in the first place was because I knew how much effort the country put into environmental protection and sustainability. The country is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and they do a great job in protecting their land and species. You will find public compost and recycling bins right next to trash bins making it easy to sort. Having public composting is huge and something even the USA is slacking on (only some major cities have it). The vegan options were also plentiful there! I always look for options on the Happy Cow app and to my excitement, there were always great places to eat! Two of my favorites were Organico Fortuna in La Fortuna and De Aca in San Jose.
9. YOU DON’T ALWAYS NEED TO PLAN ACTIVITIES IN ADVANCE
I am a huge planner! I like to plan our trips and have all our activities and excursions booked in advance with some free days should we want to explore and do something else. Costa Rica has so many excursions and activities to choose from, but some of the best recommendations came from locals and Selina staff and were more spur of the moment. We got swayed into going bungee jumping and doing a big Tarzan swing at Monteverde Extremo Park and it was the best decision ever. We also loved the Selvatura Park Tree Top Walk, Arenal Observatory, La Fortuna Sloth Park, etc. and none of those needed a reservation more than a day out.
10. YOU’RE ON PURA VIDA TIME NOW, ENJOY IT!
Pura Vida (pure life), is a phrase you’ll hear constantly around Costa Rica. Simply put, it means enjoy life or live life but the locals also use it as a "hello” or “goodbye”. When in Costa Rica, it’s best to take it easy, be stress free, and leave your worries at home. Time moves a bit slower there and that’s the escape we are looking for right? Something about Costa Rica just gives you a magical and good vibe!
I hope these tips helped and gave you some insight into planning your trip! If you have any favorite places you’ve been to in Costa Rica, I’d love to hear about them. We would love to go again sometime and do different things so I am always keeping an eye on flight deals.
Thanks for reading and pura vida!
Bungee Jumping at Monteverde Extremo Park
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