COSTA RICA Southern jungle &
Caribbean side

A perfect combo of world class hiking and chilling afterwards.

We carbon offset with www.goldstandard.org

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Text and Photographs Mats Rennstam

THE PLAN

Several years ago my wife and I visited Costa Rica's North and West. Wide-eyed we took in famous sights such as the Monteverde cloud forest, volcanic Arenal and the Pacific ocean beach resorts (see separate travel blog). Looking at the map back then, we realised we still had so much left to experience of this amazing country that we made a promise to return one day. At the time we also felt we could have gone a bit more hard core to experience even more nature and wildlife, as well as take in the more chilled Caribbean side, swaying to reggae rhythms with an Imperial in hand. And last but not least, dare to bring better camera equipment. This year, we finally got to do it, did our carbon offsetting, charged camera batteries, packed snorkels and off we went!

CHOOSING THE ROUTE
(Click image for larger image.)

The only downside with doing South and East on the same trip, is that you can't go across and instead have to double back via the capital. However, there are so many great places to stop on the way that this works out fine. According to Google maps, we would clock up 14 hours in total drive time which we found alright for a two week trip. We'd originally planned to go to the Tortuguero national park as well but February wasn't turtle season so we gave it a miss. We also excluded Manuel Antonio National park as we'd heard it was too busy.

Finally, to skip San José or not? We spent 24hrs in San José our first time around and felt that was enough as we wanted to get closer to the jungle, monkeys and tapirs as soon as possible. The 2023 surge in violence in the capital also factored in when skipping it altogether this time around, although very few incidents have involved tourists.

STOPS EN ROUTE

To break up the driving we felt we needed three stops, but wanted stops that had attractions of their own.

There are plenty of other options for this but these worked out very well:

* Alajuela (Trapp Inn) to sleep off the flight,

* Dominical (Hacienda Baru) for mini-hike and waterfalls.

* Playa Hermosa (The Backyard Hotel) for surf, cocktails and an amazing sunset (pictured).

Alajuela, Trapp Family Inn

A practical choice 10 mins drive from the airport. Not much to do here but has a pool, decent restaurant and very friendly staff.

It's tucked away in a green area and has secure parking with a guard at the gate all times.

For being so close to the airport, this is surprisingly good. Like that Miami airport one with an unexpected pool on the roof. It's quite dated but you get a bit of old world charm with that.

Dominical, Hacienda Barú.

Three and a half hours south of SJO lies this hotel with no hot water available but made up for by a great hike around the private reserve (with coatis, peccary etc.), 10 mins to the beach and a lovely pool / pool area. Their restaurant is good but closes at 7PM so buy some drinks and put in the room fridge. If you go to the nearby Nauyaca waterfalls, bring a lot of water, it's quite a tough walk in the sun, even from the second parking. You can also get a shuttle for a fee.

Playa Hermosa, The Backyard Hotel

Two and a half hours from Sierpe river ferry, Playa Hermosa has several beach bars, e.g. the lively Vida Hermosa. Bare feet dining, DJs and drinking overlooking the beach downstairs, Sport on the screens and a second bar upstairs.

Note that the reviews on the hotel website are old, there is no bar or restaurant any more. But it's only a 5 min walk to Vida Hermosa, yet far away enough to be quiet at the hotel. Nice pool area for the amazing sunset, large rooms and secure (gated parking and video surveillance).

Trapp Family Inn

Nauyaca Waterfalls

Playa Hermosa

CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK

For amazing biodiversity and a true jungle experience Corcovado is tough to beat. It's best experienced with an overnight stay as you'll miss the dusk and dawn spottings on a day trip. We booked an overnight at the Sirena station (through Corcovado info centre) that included the boat trip over from Drake bay, a great guide in Donny, meals and four separate hikes. On the 5AM morning hike, we arrived at the Sirena river at dawn, just in time to see the pictured crocodile swim upstream to bury its sea turtle catch.

Now the overnight experience will not be for everyone. Food is good but there is nothing to do in the evening and it's lights out at 8PM. Then you need to try to fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle, rain pounding the tin roof, and 50 others in the bunkbeds next to you snoring away. I spent two years in the army doing this without a problem but must admit I seriously wished I had brought A. earplugs, and B. an eye mask (it's torches galore when people go to the bathroom in the middle of the night). Five minutes into the next hike though, all was forgiven and forgotten .

The easiest way to do Corcovado is to park your car by the Sierpe ferry (e.g. safely at La Perla de Sur), take a one hour ferry to Drake Bay and stay there the night before your pre-booked boat sets off at 6AM. Drake bay to Sirena station drop off is around 1.5 hours and if you're lucky you'll see whales or dolphins en route. N.b. it's a wet landing on both sides, and stoney bottoms, so bring water shoes. In addition to hiking boots I thought my trainers would be fine for the landing. They were, but it took three days for them to dry out in the humid climate.

DRAKE BAY / AGUJITAS

As mentioned this is a good base for visiting Corcovado, but several people we met had booked a whole week here. For us three nights were enough as it's a small dust road town with not much to do apart from snorkelling and whale watching trips. There are 12-14 restaurants and bars but only a handful good ones. We can recommend Claudios grill for the views and Kalaluna bistro for chef Shirley's warm welcome (although octopus with mango sauce was an odd combination).

THE
CARIBBEAN
SIDE

WHAT TO EXPECT

There's a stretch on the east coast where within a 40 minute drive you will find three quite different towns but all with beautiful beaches and a laidback atmosphere. I've put maps of them below showing the restaurant density (©Google Maps) to give you an idea of the difference in buzz between them.

Manzanillo is pretty much a two street sleepy town but has a lovely Soda (simple local food) in Soda Wuacho and barbecues with reggae vibes daily at Cool & Calm Cafe. We found the food at Colores a bit weird though but, others seemed to like it. At the end of the beach you'll find the national park Vida Silvestre which has easy walks taking around 1-2 hours, and a couple of nice beaches along the way.

Cahuita is a larger town than Manzanillo and its national park's hikes are longer and you're likely to see more animals but is otherwise similar in that it has some lovely beaches along the way. You don't need a guide for your visit but if you want to snorkel, it's required. You'll also see a lot more animals with a guide. At the western end of town you'll find the large Playa Negra with surfing and the famous Reggae bar. Another two busy bars are Ricky's and Coco's next to each other on the main road. Recommended restaurants are e.g. Sobre las Olas for the sea view, La Peruanita for Peruvian food and Cahuita Inn for their romantic decking by the water. Tourism has definitely arrived in Cahuita but it's managed to keep its laid-back charm.

The first thing that will strike you about Puerto Viejo is that visitors are much younger and that it's got a bit more of a hedonistic vibe with reggaetón pumping out of busy bars. But it's also got beautiful serene beaches and some upmarket restaurants (one with a wine bar!) in addition to its main street full of shops and bars. Half way down is a full service laundry, Green Clean, where you can refresh your wardrobe for a small amount.

It's fun to try all the towns out and compare them with each other but staying in one for a week could get a bit repetitive. If we were to choose one of them for a longer stay it would be Cahuita; more places to eat and drink than Manzanillo, less rowdy than Puerto Viejo, and the better national park for hikes. We opted for a higher end hotel in Puerto Viejo for balance, the Namu Garden Hotel & Spa, with stylish rooms and gardens. In Manzanillo we stayed in geodomes at Faith Glamping (see below) and in Cahuita we enjoyed the Cahuita Inn with its large modern sea view rooms. Amazingly all of them had howler monkeys and sloths in their gardens.

Faith Glamping - A female entrepreneur with a strong sense

of Pura Vida.

Andrea Sánchez Campos started her eco-glamping accommodation from scratch and has built it up to a successful business nestled in a private part of Manzanillo jungle. You will stay in domes kitted out with everything you need, some of them with hot water bathrooms attached, and have direct access to the beach. The "garden" is lovely and one morning when going to the communal area for the breakfast it was raining but, we got there completely dry as the canopies cover the paths from the globes to the breakfast area. The jungle and roaring sea can get pretty loud at times but this is what you come here for, immersion. One of our highlights was watching the howler monkeys through the ceiling windows, when one of them dropped a huge payload of poo landing on the dome with a great big thump! :)

Good to know

Early to bed, early to rise! Everywhere we stayed pretty much closed down by 10PM but early morning starts were common place. The right way round if you are coming from Europe!

Colones, Dollars and Credit Cards. Most restaurants, supermarkets etc. take credit cards. Lots of tourist places quote prices in dollars but if you are not coming from the US maybe it is better to just change your currency directly in to Colones.

Security. Unfortunately the rumours are true and theft is quite common but, violent crime is very rare. Use the safe if you have one and do not leave things in your car.

Fridges. Lots of hotels have empty fridges so do buy drinks & snacks when you see a big supermarket. The hotel bar might close at 10PM.

Pre-trip tips:

* Download your route on Google maps and playlists as both radio and phone reception can be sketchy along the way. Waze gives you speed limits so if you get a local sim card (it doesn't offer offline maps) you may prefer their app.

* Pre-book hikes in Corcovado, and snorkelling in Cahuita National Park (guide mandatory).

* You can fairly easily get Colones and US Dollars locally but it's nice to arrive with a small amount.

* A 4X4 isn't necessary for this exact route but could be if you want to do detours. The charging station network for EVs is improving (several of our hotels had one) but will take planning. We were happy with "Wild Rider" rentals close to SJO.

* Plan for two t-shirts/shirts a day or, do washing along the way, 32°C + 85% humidity is a sweaty combination. We paid

₡10k ($20) for a week's washing half-way. There are rarely any irons in hotel rooms.

* Very relaxed dress code (if any), unless you're staying absolute top end.

Pura vida, buen viaje!
Mats & Caroline