Costa Rica Travel Blog

Onward travel in 2023. Its starts in Centro America. Costa Rica.

I’m struggling define my thoughts on Costa Rica – The Rich Coast, so named by Christopher Columbus in 1502. Two weeks driving around Costa Rica, arranging the next hotel and adventure on the fly… an easy livin ‘adventure’.

This country is a tourist hot-spot. I’ve known many many friends to visit here, and all rave about their experiences. For me, Costa Rica is not an 'adventure' in the true definition – but more like a holiday in Florida … with mountains. I love Florida,,,,but when you live there, it’s not best described as an ‘adventure’. Instead, Costa Rica is best described as a gift-wrapped vacation. Ideal for first-time buyers, or someone not-quite-ready to explore the 3ed world. Costa Rica is a prosperous rich country with a 98% literacy rate – not remotely 3ed world…. Safe and simple to navigate.

Arriving in San Jose, via a short layover in Panama City. I arrange a taxi to a downtown hotel. Walking the streets of San Jose for 3 days, getting a feel for the people, the foods. The city feels almost empty,,,it could easily accommodate 3-4x the number of people – curious. Empty buses roll-by on the streets, coffee shops with just a few clients, museums with just a few guests. San Jose is surrounded by mountains, in the central valley of Costa Rica – a beautiful setting. Surprisingly cold, I had a jacket on everywhere.

San Jose must have a dozen Casino’s and street-side hawkers selling Lotto tickets are everywhere. Gambling must be an obsession here. McDonalds and fast-food franchise restaurants are lined up by the dozen. This isn’t a tourist city…I’m the only one, and the Casino’s and Lotto’s are just for the locals.

I did love the Metropolitan Cathedral here, with it’s gorgeous Stained Glass Windows. The National Museum and Pre-Columbian Jade Museums are both first-rate modern attractions. Good meals seem difficult to come-by in Costa Rica. There are plenty of restaurant choices – but strangely, I never find anything particularly good. Maybe that luxury is limited to the exclusive resorts. For my exploration here (like most places I visit),,,,, I stick to mid-tier hotels and restaurants. Places that I can easily walk-to.

Renting a car in San Jose, I drive to Playas del Coco. El Coco; Located in the far north, near Nicaragua, in the Guanacaste providence - not far from the city of Liberia. Coco is on the Pacific, and I’m here to dive. 4 dives with RichCoast Diving. I’m back in the Ocean, back in my element. Although the poor viz made photography difficult, the dives are still fun and worthy. Packed with Sea life, I come away with some great shots of Leopard Round Rays. The water is a little cool, but a 3m wetsuit and an extra layer keep me warm.

Coco is a small town and feels isolated, separated from the Country – I like that.

It is a little strange in El Coco – it’s a town with a split personality. Local Costa Rican’s ‘own’ the beach and promenade and water-front bars. I loved this area of Coco. Shade tree’s, Skate Board Park, Basketball court, Football field with games every night, street food – this feels authentic. But, just a half block away – Americans pack the sports bar’s with big-screen TV’s watching NFL football playoffs. It’s like two different worlds. There are Europeans here as-well….Trying to avoid both groups – a curious place.

I come away from Coco with a relaxed vibe, some cool dives, and a start on understanding why Costa Rica is so popular with tourists. It’s definitely cool to have trees filled with Parrots, just next-to a tree filled with Bats. Not something I see everyday 😊

Driving can be a challenge here in Costa Rica. Black-top paved road everywhere, all packed with cars and trucks. So-very-many, it is gridlock (like Florida). The country is rich and prosperous, but its road infrastructure is 10-20 years behind. Typically, just 2-lane roads with no alternative routes… and eventually an accident results in hours of traffic backups. Your app may say the drive time is 2 hours … but count on 4 hours. This is Costa Rica, get used to it.

Exploring the high central mountains, I soak in the views. The mountains top-out at 2000m, are covered in jungle even at their peaks – green everywhere you look. This is the tropics, Centro America – and the landscape is lush. Magnificent palms and hardwoods, Trees covered in vines – 10k different plant species … Jungle everywhere.

I visit the Monteverde Cloud Rain Forest. A tourist destination, with manicured hiking trails thru a mountain top cloud jungle. Views of the Continental Divide. It is a wonderful park and I loved it. It’s very-much like hiking the jungles near my home in Florida … just instead, set in the mountains. For a tourist from Europe, or the North of the US this is exotic. For me, more of a Disney experience.

Pushing on, I drive to Jaco – a Surf town on the Pacific. A little on the ‘seedy’ side, but an interesting lesson on Costa Rica. I better understand the range of visitors Costa Rica; Here a younger party-surf-crowd. Not much surfing going on during my visit, the waves where small…wrong season maybe(?)

Back on the road. Traveling south along the Pacific I target Manuel Antonio National Park…. And it’s the paradise that I’ve heard Costa Rica can offer!

Manuel’s is the highlight of my exploration of Costa Rica. The coastline is world-class, the views of the Pacific amazing, I hike the Park for 5 hours one afternoon. Crazy good. Its touristy, that’s the down-side – designed to handle thousands of tourists each day. Get your ticket online, skip the pushy tour guides…there’s no need for them. Just hike and explore. I hiked all the trails and beaches here – they make for great scenic photos. Sloths, Monkeys, Mot-Mots. It’s a special place. Go early, stay late.

The town of Manuel Antonio was welcoming. I found a first-rate expresso and lunch at Emmitt’s Café, with insane views of the ‘Cathedral’ peninsula that defines the National Park. Its beaches are worthy of an afternoon. I stay at a modest mountain-top hotel, take the bus to restaurants, and taxi’s up n down the main road. It’s a tourist-trap, but a fun one. Just relax and find your space.

If I return to Costa Rica, I’ll keep Manuel Antonio on the list.

Time to head back to San Jose - return my rental car and a final night near the airport. The mall just next to my hotel is modern with a great food court and good restaurants. Maybe the best I found in Costa Rica .. funny to find that at the close of my time here.

One thing for-sure. I found quality expresso everywhere. Toss in some diving..and it's hard to go wrong with a holiday in Costa Rica.