a much-needed r&r reset in costa rica

pura vida, babyyy

i’m currently all cozied up in my apartment as it pours outside, trying to figure out how to accurately and succinctly summarize my week in costa rica without writing a novel and boring everyone to death. so let’s just hit the highlights! for some context, this was my fourth tour with go ahead (and fifth with EF, their parent company). ever since i went on a two-week european adventure in my 20s with them, i was so impressed with all of the logistic/hotel/transportation planning and had such an amazing time, i became a loyal traveler and i should honestly be a spokesperson for them. i still keep in touch with people i’ve met on every single tour, and i love the dynamic of experiencing a new culture and place with a group of people you’d likely never cross paths with otherwise. you become a little family pretty quickly, and it’s always a blast. anyway, onward!

toucan rescue ranch

there were toucans, obv. but there were the cuuutest sloths, too! i was slightly sad that they didn’t allow selfies with the animals (because many of the parks there have had issues with folks bribing animals with candy/food and the animals getting sick as a result), but i still snuck one from afar with this dude.

the cages made for less-than-stellar photos, but it was super cool to learn about all of these animals!

britt coffee tour

aka my heaven. i’m not a coffee snob, but i do love me some good bean juice that makes me go fast. britt coffee is apparently king in these parts, and after a delicious on-site lunch, we were treated to a super entertaining tour by a guide whom i’m pretty sure moonlights as a stand-up comedian. he was hilarious! the coffee samples were no dunkin’, but they were good. i kid, i kid. kind of. :)

dinner with a traditional folk dancing performance

i hadn’t signed up for this optional excursion on our second night initially, but when i realized our san jose hotel wasn’t super close to anything fun and i’d likely be sitting by my lonesome while the rest of the group was there, i decided to go for it. and i’m so glad i did! the restaurant itself, mirador tiquicia, was gorgeous; very rustic, with a stunning view of san jose. and after our dinner, which was a buffet of traditional costa rican cuisine (chicken, beef, rice and beans — SO MUCH RICE AND BEANS ALL THE TIME AND EVERYWHERE that i maxed out after 3 days — cassava, and veggies), we enjoyed a costumed performance of traditional costa rican folk dancing from these teens/20-somethings that was very fun and cute. a great way to begin the trip!

irazú volcano park

irazú is the largest volcano in costa rica, and it’s still active, but barely. walking on it felt like you were walking on the moon or something (i would imagine, anyway) and it was extremely dope.

tarcoles river cruise

this was basically disney’s jungle cruise, EXCEPT WITH REAL CROCODILES and birds and turtles! like, i knew they were around these parts, but i was stunnnnned seeing a damn crocodile just chilling on a riverbank and opening and closing its mouth. whoa.

a vibey oceanfront dinner at samudio’s sunset restobar

i hatehatehate ending up at a random place to eat on vacation simply because you stumble into it (though this can be fun on occasion, for sure), so i like to be prepared with at least a couple options for every area i’m staying in to make the most of my trip meals and minimize regret. samudio’s popped up during my recon at our jaco hotel, and i would never have seen it while walking the main drag, as it was a bit hidden around a corner.

it was this very cool, two-story restaurant with a counter that overlooked the ocean and just an amazing atmosphere. one of my tourmates joined me and we had tropical cocktails — i forget what she ordered, but i got a pina colada because it came in a pineapple — followed by grilled sea bass with mashed potatoes and veggies for me and avocado stuffed with shrimp for her. we both agreed they were the best meal we’d had at this point in the trip, but they took SO LONG to come out. like…an hour? more? i kept looking back at the open kitchen at the five or so young men and wondering what on earth was taking them so long, considering there were maybe five other parties tops. but pura vida, c’est la vie! we took it in stride, enjoying the breeze and the thunderstorm from the covered comfort of the counter as i developed a crush on a surfer type across the deck. overall, great restaurant with great vibes, food, and cocktails, and highly recommended…if you don’t have anywhere you need to be!

zip-lining in the rainforest

i’d previously only been zip-lining once, in january 2018 — in the white mountains of new hampshire, on one of the coldest days of the year — with my dad. and while it was a blast, i was looking forward to having a more traditional experience in a jungle setting. it moved far faster than my first time (i think because our group was so large), but the whole thing was amazing, from the open gondola we took up to the treetops, to the incredible views from some of the longer lines. we did nine lines overall, and it almost went by too fast, but i’m so glad i got to do it!

the beach at manuel antonio national park

this park, one of the most well-known in all of costa rica, was amazing in terms of the plants and animals, but our tour director led us to this small, beautiful, and uncrowded beach where we just hung out for an hour. i set up shop under a shady tree, occasionally waded into the water, and sat on a large tree for a very tropical photo.

eating a whole fried snapper in an airplane-themed restaurant

when in costa rica! this was not my first foray into eating a whole fish, as i successfully made a roasted branzino at home like four summers ago, and ordered a fried flounder at the olde pink house in savannah, georgia back in 2023. but i gotta say, this one took the cake. maybe it was the fact that it came with perfectly salty, not-too-crispy french fries and i was drinking a mai tai with it. maybe it was the insane view from our al fresco table. maybe it was because i was eating it in a restaurant (el avión) that houses a C-123 fairchild cargo plane that was involved in the iran-contra affair in the ‘80s and a tom cruise movie, american made, about the scandal. whatever it was, it took the title of my favorite meal of the trip.

a magical dinner at l’estanco el jardin escondido

another spot i looked up the night before we arrived in our final destination of tamarindo, l’estanco is a peruvian-mediterranean fusion restaurant where the food was incredible and there was a whole ~vibe~ to match. it was very white lotus-y without the drama and darkness, and felt like you were in a charming, hidden garden (and the name even translates to that). i had asked a gal in my tour group if she wanted to join me for dinner here, and we lucked out with a table on a friday night despite not having a reservation.

it was so good, y’all. there aren’t any paper menus — instead, a chalkboard with handwritten options, which change nightly and weekly and include recipes handed down from the owner’s parents — is brought to your table, and the server walks you through everything. we ordered some bespoke, margarita-adjacent cocktails and the hummus and the babaganoush to start; both delicious. as a seafood fiend, i obviously went for the tarragon fish filet entree, which was mahi mahi in a rich and creamy, coconutty sauce, and my companion got the carbonara pasta. probably my second favorite meal behind the snapper, though the atmosphere was tops in my book.

tamarindo in general

when our tour director described the second city we stayed in, jaco, as a “fun beach town,” tamarindo was *actually* what i had in mind. jaco was…fine, but i would have been completely happy staying in tamarindo for three days instead of two. it was adorable, with lots of cute shops and restaurants from which you could stroll right onto the beautiful beach. i wandered around with three other women from the tour group, and we had a wonderful time exploring a big farmers/artisan market (where i bought a super cute crocheted tank and woven bracelet), shopping, walking the beach, and eating pizza with a view of the ocean at a restaurant called…wait for it…ocean. and yes, pizza. we were sick of rice and beans and were all craving it and this one, with some kind of salami on it, hit the spot.

swimming in an infinity pool

swimming in an infinity pool has been on my bucket list and vision board for years, so i was absolutely thrilled to get to check it off the list on this trip! the weather was perfect on our last afternoon, so it was the ideal way to chill for a couple hours in between exploring tamarindo and our tour farewell dinner that evening.

my trip to costa rica was just the tropical escape i needed after a bit of a rough start to the year. i feel more like myself now than i have in months, and i think it has a lot to do with that. :)