Destination: Costa Rica

Hello friends! So happy to be back and writing about another vacation destination for you all!

One of my favorite places is undoubtedly Costa Rica. I moved there last year and fell in love. I fell in love with the rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, mountains, volcanos, hiking, culture, people, food, zip lining, night life, surfing, jungles, animals, and more. So this week, I wanted to share a bit of that with you! If you are trying to plan an affordable trip after traveling safely reopens, consider Costa Rica.

Water: You have so much to choose from across the country, such as rivers, waterfall pools like El Salto that you can jump in or rope swing into, and hot springs that you can visit at night with some candles and lights to enjoy a relaxing evening in natural hot pools of water. If surfing is more your style, just about any beach will be great! Surf the waves of Tamarindo, Jaco, or Guanacaste, and check out the weekly surf competitions at Playa Hermosa. Also, waterfalls are scattered throughout the country, and are one of my personal favorite things to find and explore.

Hiking: You can hike trails, mountains, and even volcanos! There is so much lush jungle to see and walk through, so you will never be bored. Hiking Volcan Arenal is a great workout and allows for some epic views. Also on this hike, its common to see sloths, toucans, and coatis, as well as the occasional jungle cat. El Miro in Jaco offers superb views of the ocean and small town, and are old ruins that were painted by locals and offer some really vibrant post hike photos.

Animals: Things you may or may have never seen before are scattered throughout the jungles of Costa Rica! Sloths, jaguars, toucans, parrots, macaws, snakes, frogs, ginormous and spectacular Blue Morpho butterflies, crocodiles, coati, monkeys, and more are waiting for you! Some great places that offer stellar day and night hikes to see animals are La Fortuna and Monteverde.

Culture/Nightlife: The people in Costa Rica are so nice and the “Pura Vida” lifestyle definitely suited me. Just writing this I am considering moving back! Nightlife, including night hiking groups, bars, clubs, festivals, and late night shops are a lot of fun to check out. Patacones, platanos, gallo pinto, chifrijo, casado, are some great food items to taste, and guaro (and chiliguaro) is a unique drink to Costa Rica, as well as beers such as Imperial and Pilsen (one of the only beers I actually like). Most people in Costa Rica do speak some English, but if you are going to another country, I always recommend to brush up on what to expect, what they expect of tourists, and try to learn some common phrases in their native language.

I have great friends throughout the country, all that can take you somewhere or get you on the right path, and if you are interested, send an email to hello@nu-bear.com for more information! Overall, it is a beautiful and diverse country that has a lot to offer at very reasonable prices.

That’s all for this week. Come back next week to learn about…. Well I guess you will just have to return and find out!

Until Next Time,

Tiki