Last month Ty and I went on a big trip following our winter in Colorado. We started off in Costa Rica before heading down to Curacao. I'll get started with a little summary of our trip before dropping our recommendations for the areas we visited!
I flew into Liberia a few days before Ty and spent 5 days at Peace Retreat near Playa Negra in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. I had wanted to go on a yoga retreat for a while and chose this one because it was pretty reasonably priced, they offered three excursions with your booking, and they offered transportation to and from the airport. If you are looking to go on a retreat I would HIGHLY recommend this one. I had the opportunity to go surfing and snorkeling with them and received incredible treatments at the spa - a massage and full body cacao scrub. The woman who worked in the spa was a healer and it was truly one of the greatest massages I've ever had. The space was absolutely beautiful with lots of wildlife. I felt really connected to nature and the land on the retreat grounds and it was only a short walk from the beach. The food on the retreat was also fantastic and they happily accommodated my vegan diet.
Aside from all the fun stuff, I felt like I did grow and go deeper into my practice during these five days. Kevin McQuillan owns the retreat center and taught us yoga classes every morning and evening. I really enjoyed his classes because he really taught and discussed human nature and tied this into his classes in a way that I had never experienced. He clearly really cared about each person who showed up at Peace Retreat and tried to make a connection with everyone, which made the experience really meaningful.
Following the retreat, I met Ty in Liberia and we went to Santa Maria Volcano Lodge outside of Rincon de La Vieja National Park. The volcano lodge will arrange transportation to and from Liberia as well as to and from the volcano from the lodge, but it is a little pricy. We had thought about renting a car but decided against it - on the drive from Liberia to the Lodge we decided that this probably was the right decision because it was pretty tough to find. A lot of Costa Rica's roads are underdeveloped which definitely also makes driving a little more difficult. However, a car definitely allows you to get around to different cool and less touristy spots a lot more easily.
I would highly recommend this whole area - Rincon de la Vieja was absolutely beautiful and not super touristy because its not one of the most well known parks in the area. We did one hike to a waterfall that was incredible and got to see a lot of wildlife on it from toucans to monkeys to anteaters. There was also high volcanic activity during the time we were there so we got to see the bubbles coming up from under the volcano on our second hike. I really enjoyed the volcano lodge as well, because it was pretty off the beaten path so I felt like we had a more authentic Costa Rican experience.
After a couple days at the lodge we went back to Liberia with the intention of taking a bus to Tamarindo. Definitely double check the bus schedule though because we ended up missing our bus and taking a taxi - the price wasn't a huge difference and we got there way faster and more comfortably than had we taken the bus. If you have a little extra money in your budget I would put it towards transportation!
Tamarindo was a cute town and really fun but definitely pretty touristy. We stayed at the Selina Hostel in a shared room which was pretty small and tight. The private rooms looked nice but probably would not recommend the shared rooms here due to huge lack of space. Overall though, the hostel was cute and affordable and had a nice bar with pretty good drinks.
Most of the time we were there we spent exploring or hanging out on the beach. Surfing is the most popular thing to do there, but I thought the waves were better a little further south at Playa Negra. If you're out chilling on the beach I would definitely recommend getting a fresh coconut - the water is so good and refreshing and they only cost about a dollar!
Listing below though my recs for food and drink in Tamarindo!
Nordico Coffee - This was literally the best coffee I've ever had in my life. We ended up here like three times because it was soooo good. Their nut milks were made in house and they had really good and affordable smoothie bowls as well. All of their baked goods were vegan too!
Costa Juice - This is a chain in Costa Rica but all of their locations are super cute, everything is super fresh, and its super affordable!
Green Papaya - Not to be dramatic but one of the best meals I've ever had. The chips were soooo good and homemade. I had a vegan quesadilla that was delicious (they have an entire vegan menu!) but the sauces were probably the best part. Super interesting flavors! The setting was also so cute!
Falafel Bar - Super yummy mediterranean restaurant with lots of vegan options and a cute setting!
The Roof - This was a cool bar on top of a hostel that had an amazing view of the sunset!
Ocho Beach Bar - This was another cute spot located on the beach that had a fantastic view of the sunset. There are a ton of bars all along the beach but I liked this one because of the decor and there were swinging chairs that were fun :)
This was my second visit to Costa Rica and while the beaches are beautiful and super fun, I would definitely recommend checking out some of the parks and wildlife in the middle of the country. When I visited before, we went to Monteverde which is another popular spot that is absolutely incredible. Hope these suggestions helped, Pura Vida!
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