Holaaaa!!!! So, if you're not tired of me talking my face off about how amazing this trip was -then keep reading.
Everyone I talked to prior to leaving told me it was amazing and one of the top places in the world that they've ever been. To be honest, I thought they were exaggerating, at least a little.
They weren't! Every single person we met was so incredibly nice and easy going, weather it was the locals, or the people who worked at the resorts, hotels and hostels. In two weeks, we hit San Jose, Tamarindo, Monteverde, La Fortuna & Jaco. We spent the most time in Tamarindo & Jaco and those were by far my favourites. There's something about a beach town that really resonates with my mermaid soul. Although the rainforest & volcanos were pretty unreal also. Hahaha
We stayed at some pretty awesome places during our two weeks so I'll leave some links below in case any of you want to check them out if you travel there. We stayed on a beautiful resort in La Fortuna that had an incredible view of the volcano.
3/10 San Jose Trip On Open House -It was okay.. I think you could definitely find better. There was only one bathroom to share between way too many people. The location was ok, and they have Uber lol
8/10 Tamarindo Sunset Hostel -This place was in a great spot near the beach. It was actually awesome. There's a pizza place above the hostel and a grocery store below. A view of the beach and we had a private room with a bathroom,AC & WiFi. Hahah it was great. Definitely recommend this one.
8/10 Tamarindo Hotel Casa Blanca -This one was really spacious. The location was a little bit further away from the beach/town, but still walking distance. It had like 6 beds & a King size bed, the WiFi only worked outside, if you care lol. And it had an unreal shower.
7/10 Monteverde Hammock House Hostel -We stayed in another one in Monteverde the first night, but it was pretty bad.. I'm not even going to try to google it, I don't recommend. But the second night we stayed at Hammock House. It was super cute. We had a pretty chill night there because we had to leave for the next town at like 7am the next morning. We lounged in hammocks for hours. V relaxing with a cute pup.
10/10 La Fortuna Arenal Volcano Lodge -We didn't want to leave. It was soooo relaxing and awesome that we didn't even have to leave the resort. This is the place in the photos that you'll see the infinity pool. It had hot tubs we lounged in at night and stayed in a chalet with an incredible view. The staff was really nice and the restaurant was good!
8/10 Jaco Hotel De Haan -in Jaco we got pretty lazy and tired of travelling. We were actually supposed to go to Manuel Antonio (a different town) but the bus stopped in Jaco and we got out to pee and decided to just stay there. We walked down a street of hostels and randomly picked one that looked okay. It was cute, the staff was absolutely amazing and made our stay really fun. It had a pool and was definitely a party hostel. We stayed at this one the longest and also had a private room and bathroom. After the first night of a shared bathroom we were done with that. Hahaha
In Tamarindo, we stole some boy's surfboards and learned to surf. Literally, that simple. Jord and I stood up on our first try and were absolutely addicted for the rest of the two weeks. On the last day we took lessons, we learned how to fall, how to properly stand, and some safety tips. I recommend taking lessons on your first day.
I may have broke my rib, it still hurts, and I'm still wondering.
Eat Sleep Surf
We pretty much ate pizza and fish tacos the whole time, but I really really wish I could recommend some local food for you guys. We just really sucked at backpacking.
The first and pretty much only real backpacking experience we had was being stranded on the side of a highway for a few hours in the middle of no where, hoping for a bus to come. It came shortly after a man with a machete walked by.
We all practically lived in bikinis by Nora Swimwear and when I wasn't half naked I was wearing t-shirt dresses from the resort collection by Lordon. It's literally all you need to bring on a trip.
My favourites from Nora are here and here
My favourites from Lordon are here
The photos are fun but the movie we made has a little more feel of what the trip was actually like, so check out the bigger YouTube link here
If you guys have any questions or want to chat about your favourite Costa Rica spots to check out the next time, I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment below or leave a note on my IG picture!
xx
Allie