2024 // Costa Rica on Film
Liberia, Santa Teresa, Manzanillo & Tamarindo
Costa Rica, 2024
Eli and I are a dangerous duo when conspiring travel plans. At the beginning of 2024, we sat down to create personal and couple goals. One of our shared goals was to travel somewhere new together which we decided to combine with visiting a new international destination.
Costa Rica has been on my radar but never the top priority but always nagging at the back of my head. I’ll admit, I overlooked it. Recently, more friends have been raving about its rainforests, volcanoes, wildlife, and surfable waves. Fitting into the criteria of what we wanted to do at our destination, we decided to go for it and booked our flights.
We had several planning sessions to craft an itinerary that balanced experiencing Costa Rica’s highlights with feasibility. In an ideal world, we would have zigzagged across the country, but quickly discovered we were limited by infrastructure. To minimize our travel time and maximize beach time, we settled on the Nicoya Peninsula staying in Santa Teresa, and moved about the Guanacaste and Puntarenas Provinces.
This would be our first trip together, just the two of us, and internationally (if you don’t count a road trip to Whistler, Canada). I was excited but nervous—wondering how our travel styles might mesh.
Travel to Liberia
As much as I love living in the Pacific Northwest, traveling beyond a three-hour flight radius turns travel into an all-day ordeal. Our journey started in Seattle, with a four-hour layover in Los Angeles before continuing to Liberia, a nearly six-hour flight. Given the situation, we made the most of it by strolling all of LAX, being silly in the terminals, and even spotting Adam Devine before he caught a flight to New York. On our long-haul flight, we made friends with the flight attendant who snuck us extra drinks. We arrived in Liberia tired from the travel and exhausted from the heat, but ready for adventure. We crashed at our Airbnb, prepping for more travel for the next morning.
Santa Teresa
While we didn’t have the opportunity to truly explore the main city center of Liberia, we were already getting a feel for Costa Rica. As we returned to the airport in the daytime, we could see the tropical landscape and REALLY feel the humidity. The only real hiccup of the trip occurred with our flight to Santa Teresa.
Ignorant of what we were doing, we arrived at the airport and grabbed breakfast, cutting it close to our boarding time. We hustled over to our gate only for the area to be empty. I panicked, thinking we had missed the plane, but it turned out we were the only passengers. The gate agent led us out to the tarmac and we realized why: we were on a tiny single-engine utility aircraft that could fit 15 people max. I guess that’s what you get for small regional airlines! I said a little prayer while Eli was thrilled watching the pilots work the controls. The quick 30-minute flight to Santa Teresa provided scenic aerial views of the diverse Costa Rican landscape.
Other than a few reservations Eli had made, we had no set plans. Once we settled into our Airbnb and got our rental car, we began exploring Santa Teresa, where we’d be spending the next five days.
I was immediately struck by how relaxed and carefree everything felt. People strolled around barefoot or in flip-flops, fresh off the beach with wet hair, still in their swimsuits, maybe tossing on a coverup. Even the dogs and cats wandered freely through the streets and would come to say hi. Dust was kicked up from the dirt roads whenever a motor vehicle passed by. Thank god we had gotten a car instead of our intended ATV. I don’t think I would have done well inhaling all that dust.
Each day was an opportunity to explore, rising with the sun and eager to see what the day had in store. We spent our time lounging at the beach, sipping daiquiris at the nearby beach club, or hunting down the best local restaurants. The fresh tropical fruit was incredible—I probably had a smoothie or acai bowl daily. KauKau became our go-to spot, nestled between boutique swim and surf shops. I couldn’t get enough. Santa Teresa, once a sleepy fishing village, has now transformed into a hip surf town.
At another one of our favorite spots, Convivio, a cocktail bar, the bartender learned that it was our first time in Costa Rica and kindly wrote down a list of must-see places leading us to explore neighboring towns like Montezuma and Manzanillo.
Montezuma lies on the eastern side of the peninsula about 30 minutes away. Eli navigated the windy roads which led us to Montezuma Waterfalls to hike up the cascades. We got lost on the trail and followed the dried-up riverbed, rolling with the punches as we went. It eventually deposited us at the top fall where we could see people cliff diving in the pools below us. Out in the sun all day, we unwound at Playa de Los Artistas a semi-off-the-grid beachfront restaurant that writes its menu fresh daily. The view and food were incredible, along with our unexpected visitor, an iguana sneaking up near our table.
The following day, we decided to venture up to Manzanillo where we found a little shop that teaches surf lessons. Surfing was probably our only “must” of the trip. Costa Rica is known for its surf culture and approachable waves for novices and experts alike. In Manzanillo, we found our other favorite spot on the trip, Mantarraya Cafe, just up the road from Playa Hermosa.
Leaving Santa Teresa was bittersweet. We took one last dip in the ocean and revisited our favorite cafes and restaurants before heading north to Tamarindo for the final leg of our trip.
Tamarindo
Eli graciously drove while I played the role of passenger princess on our road trip. We made spontaneous stops as we pleased from fruit stand finds to breathtaking viewpoints like Ballena Bay.
One of the most memorable stops was in Jicaral, a small town on the Puenteras peninsula. Initially stopping to stretch our legs, we realized how hungry we were and found a soda, a small mom-and-pop Costa Rican restaurant. We approached the open-air restaurant on the corner and were met by a woman who I think was confused about why two Americans were at her soda. Through my broken Spanish and Google Translate, we ordered food. As she cooked us our lunch, her husband Mario sidled over introduced himself, and made small talk. He asked us all about our trip and how we had ended up in Jicaral. They were so excited to converse with us despite the language barrier sharing stories of their son and his girlfriend who competed in horse-riding competitions and showed us her racing videos. We chatted while we dined on carne, arroz, frijoles, and verduras frescas (I think this is what we had, it was simple but delicious) accompanied by mango juice. As a parting gift, they gave us a mango to take with us, a sweet memento of their hospitality from the heartwarming interaction.
Tamarindo was much more of a tourist destination with a lot more glitz and nightlife reminiscent of Las Vegas in a way, but we soaked up one last sunset on the beach, taking in every last bit of Costa Rica that we could.
Pura Vida lifestyle
Our trip to Costa Rica was nothing short of wonderful. The kindness of the locals and their encouragement to embrace the Pura Vida lifestyle made every moment special. Costa Rica boasts an abundance of natural beauty as one of the most biodiverse places in the world. There is so much to see and experience that I have no doubt each visit back will be better than the next.
As for traveling with Eli, I don’t think it could have gone better! Our travel flows synced up perfectly with the right balance of spontaneity and organization. I know there will be a lot more fun trips in our future. For now, we’re checking new destinations off our lists and aiming to surf more!
