Costa Rica Trip Overview
How The Costa Rica Trip Came About
During our many years of RVing, we met our good friends, Esther & Steve. They were living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada when we met then during a winter they were spending in the southwest U.S. Over time, we got to know them better, and they eventually moved to Ontario where Esther has family.
Esther & Steve love the outdoors the way we do, and we've stayed in touch getting together whenever we can. We don't travel easily with others, but they are one couple with which we seem to be compatible for more than just a few days.
In recent years, Steve & Esther have been exploring places where they might consider purchasing some property or adopting as a winter residence. In early 2015, they rented a condo in Costa Rica for a couple of months the following winter and asked if we would be interested in visiting them. They were going to arrive the first part of November and explore the country before getting to the condo in mid-December.
Well, one thing led to another, and we decided to explore the country together for five weeks and then spend a final week with them at their condo - a total of 43 days in this beautiful Central American country.
Trip Planning
I'm used to doing a lot of travel research and Esther & Steve do that as well. Once we agreed that we really wanted to see as much of the country as possible in five weeks, I started checking on logistics of getting from one place to another and finding accommodations within our agreed upon budget.
It was proving to be a daunting task, so I started contacting various tour companies for information and quotes on a customized itinerary. Eventually, I found Pacific Trade Winds.
I emailed them our dates, the areas we wanted to visit, and our nightly accommodations budget. Within a day, they emailed me a custom itinerary based on our desires which included accommodations and transportation and list of optional tours and excursions in each area of the country.
After discussions with Esther & Steve, we tweaked the itinerary a few times and then finally came to an agreement on a final agenda and price. Since it was our first time visiting Costa Rica, using Pacific Trade Winds turned out to be a tremendous decision. Not having to worry about getting from one place to another was priceless, and most of the time we had private transportation.
We would be visiting:
Here is how it looks on a map.
During our many years of RVing, we met our good friends, Esther & Steve. They were living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada when we met then during a winter they were spending in the southwest U.S. Over time, we got to know them better, and they eventually moved to Ontario where Esther has family.
Esther & Steve love the outdoors the way we do, and we've stayed in touch getting together whenever we can. We don't travel easily with others, but they are one couple with which we seem to be compatible for more than just a few days.
In recent years, Steve & Esther have been exploring places where they might consider purchasing some property or adopting as a winter residence. In early 2015, they rented a condo in Costa Rica for a couple of months the following winter and asked if we would be interested in visiting them. They were going to arrive the first part of November and explore the country before getting to the condo in mid-December.
Well, one thing led to another, and we decided to explore the country together for five weeks and then spend a final week with them at their condo - a total of 43 days in this beautiful Central American country.
Trip Planning
I'm used to doing a lot of travel research and Esther & Steve do that as well. Once we agreed that we really wanted to see as much of the country as possible in five weeks, I started checking on logistics of getting from one place to another and finding accommodations within our agreed upon budget.
It was proving to be a daunting task, so I started contacting various tour companies for information and quotes on a customized itinerary. Eventually, I found Pacific Trade Winds.
I emailed them our dates, the areas we wanted to visit, and our nightly accommodations budget. Within a day, they emailed me a custom itinerary based on our desires which included accommodations and transportation and list of optional tours and excursions in each area of the country.
After discussions with Esther & Steve, we tweaked the itinerary a few times and then finally came to an agreement on a final agenda and price. Since it was our first time visiting Costa Rica, using Pacific Trade Winds turned out to be a tremendous decision. Not having to worry about getting from one place to another was priceless, and most of the time we had private transportation.
We would be visiting:
- San Jose
- Puerto Viego/Cahuita (Southern Caribbean Coast)
- Tortuguero (Northern Caribbean Coast)
- La Fortuna/Arenal (North Central Volcano Area)
- Monteverde (North Central Cloud Forest)
- Playa Portrero (Northern Pacific Coast)
- Dominical (Southern Pacific Coast)
- Diamante Waterfall/Tree of Life (Waterfall Rappelling & Sleeping in a Cave)
- San Gerardo de Dota (South Central Mountains)
- Drake Bay/Osa Peninsula (Far Southern Pacific Coast)
- Jaco (Central Pacific Coast)
Here is how it looks on a map.
Trip Overview
We saw volcanoes and beautiful waterfalls, hiked in jungles and on deserted beaches, paddled in a national wildlife refuge, took boat tours, snorkeled, saw amazing wildlife and birds, zip-lined, fished, rappelled down a waterfall, jumped off a waterfall, rode ATVs, and more.
We were fortunate to see sloths in the wild numerous times, and we got to see all four monkey species that are native to Costa Rica. We got great looks at the evasive crown jewel of Costa Rican birds - the Resplendent Quetzal. We witnessed a sea turtle laying her eggs and watched turtle hatchlings make their run to the sea in darkness.
It was not a luxury vacation by any means, but our accommodations were adequate with a combination of eco-lodges, cabins, cabanas, huts, and more traditional lodging. Since we were traveling light, we hand-washed our clothes numerous times.
Our last week in the condo on the beach in Jaco, we relaxed more, enjoyed the facilities and food at the casino next door, and recovered from the five activity-packed weeks we had before.
In the end, we felt like we got a fantastic look at Costa Rica. There is certainly more to see and more places to explore, but we did well on our longest trip out of the U.S. so far.
Detailed Journal Entries Coming Soon
I'm working on posting detailed entries from each of our 43 days in Costa Rica. Until that is complete, please enjoy some our best photos from the trip at our Costa Rica Photo Gallery.
We saw volcanoes and beautiful waterfalls, hiked in jungles and on deserted beaches, paddled in a national wildlife refuge, took boat tours, snorkeled, saw amazing wildlife and birds, zip-lined, fished, rappelled down a waterfall, jumped off a waterfall, rode ATVs, and more.
We were fortunate to see sloths in the wild numerous times, and we got to see all four monkey species that are native to Costa Rica. We got great looks at the evasive crown jewel of Costa Rican birds - the Resplendent Quetzal. We witnessed a sea turtle laying her eggs and watched turtle hatchlings make their run to the sea in darkness.
It was not a luxury vacation by any means, but our accommodations were adequate with a combination of eco-lodges, cabins, cabanas, huts, and more traditional lodging. Since we were traveling light, we hand-washed our clothes numerous times.
Our last week in the condo on the beach in Jaco, we relaxed more, enjoyed the facilities and food at the casino next door, and recovered from the five activity-packed weeks we had before.
In the end, we felt like we got a fantastic look at Costa Rica. There is certainly more to see and more places to explore, but we did well on our longest trip out of the U.S. so far.
Detailed Journal Entries Coming Soon
I'm working on posting detailed entries from each of our 43 days in Costa Rica. Until that is complete, please enjoy some our best photos from the trip at our Costa Rica Photo Gallery.