Costa Rica is so beautiful, peaceful, exciting and friendly. It is a country of welcoming people, delicious food and gorgeous countryside. How can it be all this you ask? Well read on and travel with me as I lay out our adventures with a group of 16 year-old girls and a few of us “old” moms as chaperones. I will give you tips, tricks, and insightful commentary on where to go, what to see and what to pack to help make your trip easy and fun.
First of all, let's talk about what to pack. Packing can either be exciting or dreadful so let me give you some tips we used to make the most of our carry-on suitcases. First you should invest in some quick dry or moisture wicking clothes. I loved these Women's Hiking Pants and pretty much lived in them. They are so lightweight and have many pockets to shove things in! When they got a bit “ripe” I washed them in the sink with Sink Suds (but you can also use shower gel or soap) and dried them very easily by hanging them in the shower overnight or laying them on the balcony. Be sure to shake them out if you choose the latter if you don’t want any visitors getting into your pockets!
Not only do quick dry clothes pack up tight, but drying fast will be so beneficial as the rains come almost everyday in June, July, and August around 2-3 pm in Costa Rica. When I say rain, I mean hard pouring rain! It rained harder here than any hard rain I have seen in California. We enjoyed watching the rains and thunderstorms from the comfort of our hotel as most of the time we made it back before they started. But, getting caught in the rain is very common. We traveled in June and we found the quick dry clothes to be cool and comfortable. It will be humid, hot and sticky. Now the 16 years old girls didn’t quite embrace the fashion I am suggesting (LOL) but us “old” moms thought it was a must. We brought swimsuits, a microfiber a quick dry beach towel, pants, shorts, shirts and one waterproof lightweight jacket. We also brought flip flops and two closed-toed shoes for the various activities we did. I brought water shoes for quick drying and wore them for most of the activities we did. If you are just cruising around town, flip flops will serve you just fine. For longer hikes you might consider a more sturdy tennis shoe or closed toed sandal. You know I have joked about being an “old” mom, well having this battery operated travel fan really helped me keep cool at night. It is lightweight and was a lifesaver on those nights when menopause strikes with fury! To make the most of our space in our carryon, we used compression no vacuum travel bags. You can squeeze in almost twice as much using these little babies! No vacuum needed and all you do is roll it up and the air escapes keeping a nice tight pack of clothes. Depending on where you travel, you may encounter winding and twisty roads. We visited the mountains of Monteverde and having some kind of motion sickness remedy was super helpful. Dramamine or motion sickness bands are very effective.
A must-pack item is bug repellent! Mosquitos are pretty much everywhere and will carry you away if you don’t plan. We didn’t get into much trouble because we used various methods to ward them off. Off Wipes, repellant bracelets which can be worn on the wrists or ankles and reused for several days, and essential oils like citronella, lavender and tea tree oil worked perfectly. If you check your luggage, you can also bring bug spray.
Bring a backpack packed with: travel umbrella, ponchos, your battery packs for your phone (you are not allowed to check these in a checked-in suitcase). I used the Anker PowerCore 10000 Portable Charger which holds what seems to be an endless amount of charge. No need to pack snacks (we did and regretted it). Costa Rica is like any other place with small markets to stock up for those late night snack fests that teens get!
For hydratation, I used this refillable water bottle Brita Refillable Water Filter Bottle. The water was safe to drink in Costa Rica and tasted just fine. However, having this filtered bottle gave me peace of mind of being able to fill it up wherever I was and have it filtered. I also packed a waterproof phone case for activities close to water (like rain or boating). I also used this necklace when we walked across the cloud bridge. I felt secure knowing my phone would not plummet hundreds of feet below!
Every country has their own jargon or slang which is always fun to learn. Here are two phrases that we used and heard constantly. These sayings are only used in Costa Rica. “Pura Vida” is a phrase that you will hear and see everywhere in Costa Rica. The term “Pura Vida” was coined over 50 years ago and the literal English translation means “pure life” or “simple life.” However it's more than just a phrase here- it is a way of life! People believe the term “Pura Vida” came from a 1956 movie entitled “Pura Vida!”. In the movie, the main character uses the phrase throughout the movie to stay optimistic, happy, and full of life, despite all the negative circumstances around him. The saying caught on and today, “Pura Vida” is a way of saying hello, making you feel welcome or saying goodbye in a happy way all across the country. “A Cachete, Mae” (English translation: “Everything is great, dude!”) Cachete is literally a cheek, but locals use the phrase “a cachete” to define something that is good or doing good. A cachete comes from “a cachete lleno” which means “full mouth”, which is also considered something good. These are a few of the most fun Costa Rican phrases you will hear throughout your journey! Learn them now!
Two fun facts I learned. First, schools in Costa Rica run on two cycles: the morning and the afternoon. Students on the morning cycle will begin at 7:00 and end their day around 13:00. Students on the afternoon cycle will start at 13:00 and end at 17:00. These cycles alternate each day, meaning that a student might attend school in the mornings Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and will attend school in the afternoons Tuesday and Thursday. The reason for this is the physical space available in a school building and capacity of classes. Additionally, the school year is divided into two terms which run from February to July and from August to November/December. There is a two to three week holiday at the end of the first term and a longer holiday at the end of the second term. Both primary and secondary schools are mandatory in Costa Rica and have a high attendance rate. Costa Rica has always put education as a priority when it comes to national policies and has less than 4% of the population (older than 15 years old) who doesn’t know who to read and write. Secondly, Costa Rica has long been celebrated for its leadership in environmental policy. More than 98 percent (98… WOW!) of its energy is renewable. Forest-cover now stands at more than 53 per cent after painstaking work to reverse decades of deforestation and around a quarter of the country's land has been turned into protected parks and reserves. That is a win for all!
In all of Costa Rica, breakfast is traditionally served with fresh fruit to die for like pineapple and melons. I mean, YUM! The pineapple is magnificent and oh so fresh! Also served at breakfast is Gallo Pinto (rice and beans) alongside fried or scrambled eggs. Gallo Pinto is a hearty and delicious traditional Costa Rican dish and you will see versions of rice and beans at every meal. Having rice and beans for breakfast was surprising to me but when in Rome, so to speak, I ate it and I loved it! So flavorful and satisfying. Rivaling in popularity with gallo pinto comes the casado, meaning married or married man, fittingly so the plate is a marriage of rice and beans accompanied by a protein and vegetables or often a salad. Since lunch is the main meal of the day in Costa Rica, the casado is the highlight of Costa Rican cuisine. Costa Ricans generally eat a very light dinner (if they eat dinner at all), this meal gets you through to the next coffee time (4-6 pm) and then off to bed.
Coffee to Costa Ricans is like tea is to the English, a compliment to any meal and makes a great snack. Costa Rican coffee is magnificent. Ummm … the smell alone is tantalizing. Traditionally, coffee is drunk out of small tin cups like you would take camping. But the interesting part is the chorreador and coffee sock that is used. The chorreador is a very functional way to make coffee that’s also the result of a long history of agriculture in Costa Rica. With the chorreador, you don’t need to have electricity to make your cup of coffee as you can heat the water on a gas stove (typical in Costa Rican kitchens today) or over a fire. The device is like a standing holder that has a coffee sock hanging from it. Yes, you read that right… a SOCK! The sock acts like a filter would. Fill the sock with coffee and pour hot water through it letting it drip its golden rich goodness into the cup. Aaahhhhmazing! Coffee is generally grown at high altitudes in Costa Rica, and there are growing regions from the Central Valley, La Fortuna, Monteverde, and the Tarrazu region. My favorite region: Monteverde because of the high quality coffee beans. The soil is enriched by volcanic ash, which oxygenates the beans, giving them richer flavors.
So many delicious foods are found here including CHOCOLATE! I am a choc-o-holic by nature and can often be found by my kids hiding in the food pantry shoving a chocolate bar into peanut butter to give me a boost of energy (so I like to think!). The quality of Costa Rican chocolate is amazing. Cacao trees are grown in multiple regions of the country. The provinces of Guanacaste, Alajuela, Talamanca, Cartago, and Puntarenas all have thriving cacao plantations.Touring chocolate factories is another fun activity to do while in this beautiful land. Some highly recommended tours are the Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar Tour in Monteverde, the Sibu Chocolate Tour in Heredia, and the Chocolate and Cahuita National Park tour in Limon.
Okay so the food is amazing! What about the activities you say? Just as incredible if you know where to go!
Day 1: Our trip started with 11 of us traveling from Los Angeles, Ca into San Jose, Costa Rica. After catching the red eye, we spent the afternoon recovering along the poolside at the Best Western Plus -Irazu. Though the rains started at 2, we enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi keeping an eye on the sky to see if lightning or thunder were present. Alas, it wasn’t so swimming in the rain was very pleasant and refreshing. The city of San Jose is just that, a city. It is more densely packed with buildings, people and comes with the warnings of pickpockets. We pretty much just stayed at the hotel and spent just the night resting for what adventure we had planned the next day.
Day 2: This is the day we traveled to the beautiful province of Alajuela. Our Hotel Campo Verde had a fantastic view of the Arenal Volcano. We spent the day exploring the grounds and then heading to Baldi Hot Springs. (My fav!) There are several therapeutic pools at the hot springs and this place is packed full of relaxing swimming, saunas, slides and swim up bars. Again… my fav! Us moms had fun tasting the variety of tasty drinks at the three different swim up bars!
Day 3: Our next adventure was on the CAÑO NEGRO & RÍO FRÍO BOAT TOUR with our eagle eye guide. He helped us spot animals upon animals along the 2 ½ hour tour. Monkeys, iguanas, birds, long nose bats, camians, sloths, basilisk, and much more are out and about!
Day 4: We headed out to the mountain area of Monteverde. Such a beautiful location. This is the heart of the rainforest and opening your hotel door is opening up to the sounds, sights and smells of the rainforest. If you thought it rained hard before, up here it is rain multiplied by 10! Gorgeous displays of rain and thunder in the afternoon and stunning mornings of sunshine, fresh air and exotic animals. Cala Lodge Is beautifully designed for nature viewing anytime of the day.
Day 5: Waking up in Monteverde is exceptional. Open your hotel door to the sounds of birds like toucans, howler monkeys, frogs, coatis and much more. It is a symphony of sounds. You might even catch the animals feeding in the trees or eating near the balcony of Cala Lodge. Just spectacular. After our morning entertainment and breakfast with the fantastic food and coffee, we headed out to horseback ride through the countryside of Monteverde. There are several places to choose from to ride but the one we did through Equus Monteverde, also included a tour of their sugar cane factory. We rode for a few hours through breathtaking country, hills, mud and through streams! Stunning views and on a clear day, you can see the Pacific Ocean. It was raining for us though at the time but that did not stop our fun but added to the adventure! Our ponchos came in handy. We concluded our ride and began the sugar cane tour. We saw how the sugar cane is squeezed, the juice is heated and formed into candy. We even had hands-on experience making candy ourselves. Yumilicious! It was a big hit with the group and ohhhh soooo tasty! I highly recommend it!
Another favorite activity was visiting the Monteverde Canopy Tour and Hanging Bridges. Originally settled in the 1950s by a group of Quakers from Alabama, Monteverde Cloud Forest is home to more than 400 species of birds, 100 species of mammals and 2,500 species of plants including the jaguar, ocelot, Baird’s tapir, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrellabird, and the famously elusive resplendent quetzal. Activities include zip lining and/or a walk through the Cloud Forest. Here you will have views from a series of platforms, suspension bridges and thrilling zip-lines. The zip lines were amazing and about half of our group chose to do the “Superman” whereas you are flying stomach down. It was a very fulfilling day!
Day 6: For our last big push through Costa Rica, we traveled closer to the coast to Manuel Antonio. We stayed at the Hotel Manuel Antonio which is located directly across from the beach but is NOT to be enjoyed unless you want a close personal encounter with a crocodile! YIKES! However, with a quick walk you can enjoy a full day in Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the most stunning parks in Costa Rica. Lots of animals to see but crocodiles are not one of them. Honestly, this was a highlight to several of the 16 year old girls we had in our group. The water was warm, the waves felt as if I were in a wave pool just slightly bouncing me like a baby and the views were stunning! In my head, I was expecting Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins to walk out onto the beach straight out of the movie, Blue Lagoon. Remember, we are “Old” moms. We swooned over the 1980 movie, Blue Lagoon and this beach reminded me of that white sand and crystal blue green waters. Ahhhhh the beach, so relaxing. Okay, back to reality! At the park you will find a series of small beaches with lush forests and well-maintained trails to explore for the day. Lay on the beach all day, grab a snack at the snack bar or explore the park, and watch its wildlife (Capuchin monkeys play in trees just behind the beach) before returning to your hotel tired and happy. Be sure to watch your backpacks on the beach though. Those Capuchin monkeys will unzip them and grab anything they think is food! Also apply reef safe sunscreen. I came home with an unwanted souvenir of a burned back… Ummmm how did I forget to apply it on my back you ask? No clue but maybe I was mesmerized by the view of the postcard-like beach in front of me or the thought of being stranded on a beach with my teenage crush from Blue Lagoon!
For money we used both Costa Rican Colones and American dollars, as both were just as accepted. Credit cards are easy to use but do add a small surcharge for international charges. We used this pouch to house our money and passports. You can also put your passports into the hotel safe if that works better for you. Most hotels had free wifi but we found it better if 1-2 or us purchased the International Data Plan for about $10 per day. That way we could post social media updates and stay in touch both at the hotels and on the road.
All in all the trip to Costa Rica was a win for all of us- moms and teens alike. Great food, great sites and the people are so welcoming and nice. Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles and helpfulness. “Pura Vida” is the way of life here. My family has adopted this saying when we are content. Costa Rica will live on in our minds and hearts. My biggest advice is to try “IT”: meaning the food, the activity… everything. Soak yourself up into Costa Rican culture. I promise, you will not regret it. Our entire group of 11 all had an amazing time filling our hearts, minds and making memories to last a lifetime! Pura Vida!
Your adventure is waiting!
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