May 2022
There are some trips where you feel like you really know what you’re doing.
Costa Rica was not one of those trips.
This was our first trip to Central America, Jake had two weeks off between work seasons, I had just started a new job and could only take the second week off, and we apparently decided that was enough preparation to rent a manual truck and drive ourselves around a country we had never been to before.
It ended up being one of our favorite trips.
We probably should have done a little more research
We left our apartment, took the AirTrain to JFK, and Jake was already filming everything because I think it was his first time flying out of JFK. We were SO excited.
Then we landed in Costa Rica around midnight.
Jake immediately had his big camera out, and before we even really made it out of the airport, someone warned us to be careful with it. So naturally I was immediately on edge.
Then we couldn’t find our rental car.
We had booked with Avis, but apparently the rental location wasn’t actually at the airport. We needed to take a shuttle somewhere else, which would have been useful information to know before midnight in a country we’d never been to.
Eventually we found the shuttle and drove off toward what looked, to us, like a completely dark abyss surrounded by barbed-wire fencing.
We panicked.
Obviously.
And then at the very last second the giant lights of the rental-car lot appeared and we realized that no, we were not being kidnapped. We were simply being driven to Avis.
Sorry to the shuttle driver.
Our rental was a silver manual Nissan Frontier, which Jake was VERY excited about. Then came surprise number two: we were told we needed to buy additional insurance for something like $1,000 unless we had a specific letter from our credit-card company proving coverage.
We knew we had rental-car coverage. We did not have this magical letter.
It was midnight.
We paid it.
Thankfully, we had only planned to drive to a nearby Hilton that night. We checked in completely exhausted and went straight to bed.
The next morning felt significantly less terrifying.
I love a hotel breakfast, and they had an amazing buffet. I logged into work while Jake hung out by the pool, and at lunch we ate burgers and played giant Jenga. Because we had Hilton Gold status, we were able to get a late checkout, which was perfect because after work we were beginning the first of many, many drives.
And this one was LONG.
Planning your own trip? See our Costa Rica Road Trip Itinerary →
The drive where we thought we might die
Our first real destination was Puerto Pilón, way down toward Panama.
Jake had already decided after our airport experience that we should try to do as much driving as possible during daylight.
Excellent idea.
We did not leave early enough.
The drive itself was actually beautiful. We stopped for dinner in a tiny town at what basically felt like someone’s home kitchen. There wasn’t really a menu. We just asked for a plate of food and got one of the freshest, most delicious meals.
We watched an amazing sunset from the road, drove past rows and rows of palm trees and stopped at a grocery store for snacks.
Then it got dark.
We were using Google Maps. We have since been told, repeatedly, that everyone in Costa Rica uses Waze.
Eventually we were driving through completely dark farmland with basically no service and no streetlights. There were crops taller than the truck on either side of us. We kept passing the same stadium with the same group of men sitting outside, making it increasingly obvious that we were two lost Americans driving in circles.
Then Google Maps told us to turn onto what was very clearly an ATV trail.
At this point, I genuinely thought we might die.
I remember basically telling Jake, “Okay, if we die, I love you. Tell my mom I love her.”
Extremely helpful.
Somehow we eventually found our Airbnb.
We were alive!!!
Our host, Brais, showed us to this amazing little place that almost felt like a treehouse. There was a horse farm next door, the ocean nearby, hammocks everywhere and jungle all around us.
Then we turned on the bedroom light and a lizard ran across the wall.
I was like, oh my God, I am never going to be able to sleep here.
That night you could hear EVERYTHING outside. Crickets, animals, the ocean, random things moving around.
I put on pants, socks and basically as much clothing as possible because apparently I thought fabric would protect me from the Costa Rican wildlife.
Jake kept telling me to relax.
Meanwhile, he secretly had his flashlight next to him.
At one point we heard something, he whipped out the flashlight, and it was the lizard again.
Then there was a huge bug flying around the room. I hid under the covers while Jake made fun of me.
Until the bug flew directly into his mouth.
Justice.
Working from Costa Rica while Jake became a surfer
The next morning we could finally see where we actually were.
And it was incredible.
Brais and his family had created this beautiful little life there. He had surfboards we could use, hammocks all over the property, banana trees in the backyard, and a separate kitchen where he would cook for guests.
The area was incredibly remote. The beach felt almost completely untouched.
I still had to work for the first part of the trip, so our routine became pretty funny: I would work while Jake went surfing.
One afternoon an insane rainstorm came through and briefly knocked out the internet. I had a big meeting that day, which was obviously ideal.
Eventually the connection came back, I finished my workday from a hammock, and that evening we went down to another surf spot Jake had heard about from some German guys he’d met surfing.
We watched the sunset while they surfed and then went back to the Airbnb, where Brais made us pizza.
Another day I walked down during lunch to watch Jake surf. You had to walk over fallen palms to get to the beach, and there were local fishermen living right along the water. One of them, Bongo, kept trying to convince us to go fishing with him.
His boat appeared to be a floating piece of plastic.
We politely declined.
Where we stayed: Everywhere We Stayed in Costa Rica →
Horses on the beach
After I finished work one day, Brais arranged horseback riding with his neighbor.
I had barely ridden a horse before and had also had knee surgery a few months earlier, so I was nervous.
Also, for reasons I cannot explain, I wore shorts.
This was a mistake.
Our guide, Rango, spoke essentially no English. Brais helped translate while we got on the horses and then off we went, straight onto the beach.
Jake’s horse wanted to RUN.
My horse was his dad and apparently also wanted to run because his son was running.
I absolutely did not want to run.
Eventually Rango took my reins and rode beside me while we talked in Spanish. We went miles down this practically empty beach.
After about an hour, we stopped, got off the horses and Rango disappeared toward some apartments.
Then he came back carrying three beers.
So the three of us sat on a log on the beach drinking beers while Rango told us stories in Spanish.
On the way home, Rango stopped to talk to someone for what felt like forever. Jake’s horse just kept going, so we did too.
We figured the horses probably knew the way home.
Which is an objectively insane sentence.
Rango eventually caught up with us and we made it back safely.
My inner thighs, however, did not survive the shorts-and-saddle situation.
Still one of the best things we did.
Into the clouds
From the coast, we headed north toward Monteverde.
Costa Rica looks small on a map.
It is not small when you are driving it.
Monteverde was completely different from where we’d just been. Suddenly we were high in the mountains, surrounded by clouds and rainforest.
Our Airbnb had swinging chairs on the balcony, and in the morning we ate leftover steak and eggs outside while Jake flew his drone through the clouds.
We had also found a bungee-jumping place.
Obviously Jake wanted to do it.
I did not.
The next morning we went over early, and Jake was one of the first people to jump. He met another couple there who helped hype him up because, despite voluntarily choosing to jump off a platform in the middle of Costa Rica, he was a little nervous.
I watched from another platform and was probably more nervous than he was.
Then he jumped.
He LOVED it.
And randomly, that couple he met while waiting to jump ended up becoming our friends for the next part of the trip in Santa Teresa.
Afterward we did the Sky Walk through the rainforest. We crossed the suspension bridges, listened to all the sounds of the forest and had lunch there. It drizzled a little, but otherwise we had amazing weather and hardly any crowds.
One thing we learned: Monteverde and La Fortuna may look close together on a map, but getting between them isn’t quick because you can’t simply cut straight through the mountains.
We chose Monteverde.
So La Fortuna officially remains on the return-trip list.
Santa Teresa
From Monteverde, we drove toward Santa Teresa for the final stretch of the trip.
Our Airbnb was in Mal País, just down the road from Santa Teresa, and may have been one of the coolest places we’ve ever stayed.
It was almost an A-frame, with huge walls of glass looking directly into the forest. There were hammocks, an outdoor shower, a beautiful kitchen, a soaking tub outside and howler monkeys all around us.
They specifically warned us not to leave food outside because the monkeys would come get it.
Naturally, I loved this place during the day and was slightly terrified of it at night.
They delivered an ATV directly to the house, which became our transportation around Santa Teresa.
Our first afternoon we rode into town, wandered through the shops and ended up at Eat Street for burgers and drinks. It was casual, outdoors, had hammocks and was exactly what we wanted after another long drive.
The next morning Jake rented a surfboard and we headed to Playa Hermosa, where we met up with the couple we’d met at the bungee jump.
Jake surfed with them while I finally got my beach day.
Afterward we all went to Nantipa for dinner and drinks, and it was such a fun night.
On the way home around sunset, Jake and I pulled over near Playa Mar Azul and found these little tidal pools with basically no one around.
We just sat there and watched the sunset together.
Those random stops are always some of my favorite memories.
We got home in pouring rain, used the outdoor shower, and I also have a video from this night that probably does not need to be on the internet involving Jake’s extremely white butt glowing in the darkness.
Some memories can stay in the archive.
Our last days
We spent the rest of our time surfing, going into Santa Teresa, shopping, eating, drinking and basically enjoying not having a strict plan.
One day it rained, so we drove into town instead of taking the ATV. We went back to Eat Street, bought a Pura Vida hat and wandered around.
That evening we had dinner near the beach and watched the sunset while tiny hermit crabs crawled all over the sand.
Our final night there, a huge thunderstorm rolled through.
Remember that gorgeous Airbnb with all the glass?
Much less relaxing in a thunderstorm.
There were noises outside ALL night. Maybe monkeys. Maybe something else.
I was too scared to open my eyes because I didn’t want to see something staring back at me through the glass.
The next morning I asked Jake if he’d heard everything outside.
He said yes.
He had simply decided to ignore it.
Great.
Which made waking up for the 5:30am ferry that much easier.
The ferry home
Rather than driving the entire way back toward San José, we took the car ferry.
This was honestly such a good decision.
Only one person could stay with the vehicle while loading, so Jake drove the truck onto the ferry while I boarded with the regular passengers.
Jake was obsessed with watching all the giant trucks load onboard.
The ride itself was calm and beautiful, and after driving us from San José all the way south toward Panama, up into the mountains and then over to Santa Teresa, Jake finally got to sit down and enjoy the scenery instead of staring at a road.
From there, we headed back toward the airport.
This was still during the COVID era, so before flying home we had to pay about $150 each for tests in tents outside the airport.
People we’d met in Santa Teresa had told us they were forging theirs.
We were absolutely not brave enough for that.
We paid the money.
We took the tests.
And then we flew home.
What we’ll never forget
Costa Rica was messy in the best way.
We didn’t plan it perfectly. We drove way too much. We got lost. I worked from hammocks. Jake surfed while I took meetings. We drank beers on a beach with a man we could barely communicate with. Jake jumped off a platform in the rainforest. We slept with lizards, listened to howler monkeys outside our bedroom, drove ATVs around Santa Teresa and somehow turned two people we met at a bungee jump into friends for the next leg of our trip.
And we learned approximately 400 things the hard way.
Which, looking back, is probably why we remember it so well.
Plan your own trip
- Our Costa Rica Road Trip Itinerary →
- Everywhere We Stayed in Costa Rica →