If the title doesn’t say it all, we went to Costa Rica! On vacation! Without the kids! I’m going to share a bunch of photos from our trip and talk all about the things we did in Jacó (pronounced Ha-Co). We’ve done a few South American adults-only trips in the last few years, and this couple’s trip to Costa Rica was very different from the others!
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Before I dive too deep into our trip details, I figure it might be easier to answer a few questions.
Why travel to Costa Rica!?
Honestly, we had NO idea where we were going to go on vacation. Each year, we alternate between taking a family trip (last year we did Florida/Disneyworld) and taking a parents-only trip. Two years ago the Husband and I went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with friends, and six years ago we went to Jamaica for a family wedding. (I also went to Greece in between, but sans Husband). We also went to Cuba together when we were still in University, and oh, we did a small Mexican cruise some point too.
To me, the world was our oyster. Literally, we could have went anywhere, right!? We did want to keep the trip to a week length, and narrowed down our travel time to after the kids’ hockey was done. (April-ish, or we could wait to the Fall). While I considered Japan (Cherry Blossom season!), the Husband didn’t want to travel that far – but Japan is definitely on his list for another time. I threw out European destination ideas (Denmark! Spain! Belgium! Portugal!) as well as other places that would be cool to visit (Morocco! Turkey! St Pierre et Miquelon!)
Then, my lovely other half was like, “yeah, I kind of want to go somewhere warm… and all inclusive”.
So essentially, the opposite of all the suggestions I made, ha.
But I remembered reading about Young House Love’s Costa Rica with Kids trip… and I figured that was somewhere we could go! Maybe I should also mention that the Husband did a few Caribbean cruises as a teen so had been to a few other countries other than what I already named. But Costa Rica was somewhere that neither of us had been.
Where did we stay!?
Once we had a destination in mind (and taking the suggestions from YHL’s blog post), I knew I wanted to be somewhere near the Manuel Antonio Park. And the Husband wanted somewhere all-inclusive… so enter: the Best Western in Jacó Beach, Costa Rica. Honestly, there weren’t a lot of all-inclusive options to choose from for our timeframe (we booked around December if I remember correctly). Even so, the Jacó area looked like the best place to be for beach vibes, not extremely far from the main airport, and close enough to Manuel Antonio.
We were able to get a direct flight from Toronto to San José, but there was driving involved (both to the Toronto airport and from the airport to the hotel). Unfortunately, there were no hotel shuttles, so we took a late night taxi (and then were charged extra when we got there – don’t even get me started on that!)
The first few days, our hotel was crazy empty. We arrived late Easter Monday (close to midnight) and didn’t really see anything until the next day. There were two big pools, the nearby beach and the main building with all-you-can-eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. By the time the weekend hit, it was busier in terms of guests, but we still never had to wait to eat or anything.
Iguanas were everywhere! In the morning, I liked to sit in the shade near that really reedy tree. It seemed to be the iguana hot spot (random orange fruits did fall down sometimes). At one point, an iguana came near us and I asked if it wanted a pineapple and I kid you not, the iguana shook its head up and down! Then came to grab the piece of pineapple from my hand. The Husband thought I was crazy, ha.
The attached beach had black sand (from the volcanos that formed the island, I believe) but we did not go swimming there. This was the Pacific side, and the waves were intense. On a similar note, there were surf lessons nearby – so if you’re looking to surf, it’s something to consider.
Highlight: Manuel Antonio Park
I really wanted to see some sloths and monkeys on this trip. Costa Rica is known for its luscious jungles and wildlife, and visiting the Manuel Antonio Park was the number one thing we had to do. We booked the tour through our hotel and it included the travel, guide and lunch.
A lot of the animals were high up in the trees, and the guide had a scope to see them close. I have some videos of the sloths moving about – they are so cute. Fun fact: they descend the tree once a week to go to the bathroom, ha.
Another crazy thing to see were the white tailed deer. While they look the same as the white tail deer we have in North America… they are really small. The photo above on the right shows a full-sized dear next to an iguana. We also saw one up close, and it was the size of a big dog – not the large deer we’re used to seeing.
At the start of the park, the guide was like “let me know if you can see any animals”. Yeah, I wasn’t the one to spot anything! Halfway through, the Husband was able to see things before others (crabs! a baby iguana! lizards!) but there were some animals that were extremely camouflaged. (See the photo above left? It’s a bird that looks like a stump of wood).
There’s also a white sand beach in the middle of the park. We stopped there for a bit and just as I was getting up to head back to the group, a huge wave came and washed everything up. Literally, everyone on the beach that were like 20+ feet from the shore were soaked. Our towels on the sand got soaked, my backpack (my phone!), our shoes. It was not pleasant to walk back in soggy, sandy clothes.
Costa Rica vs. Other Tropical Destinations
As we’ve been to 4+ different all-inclusive resorts, we can more easily compare between the different ones. The Best Western in Jacó Beach was on the smaller side, especially compared to the huge resort in Punta Cana. There were also no “fancy dinner” options here, just the basic buffet (plus the lunch quick-grab spot at the bar). Even so, the buffet had a good mix of Costa Rican food, and more Americanized options. My tip: always try the soup! They also had themed nights (Italian, Asian, etc.)
I found that most people go to Costa Rica for the activities instead of the resort/hotel. In Punta Cana, I didn’t leave the resort at all. In Jamaica, you had to go through security to then walk to the small “tourist” town. For Holguin Cuba, we had to take a one hour bus ride to go to the nearby town.
But in Jacó? We could easily walk out the front, then down the street to hit all the stores/restaurants in the beach town. The Husband even found a sports bar that played the hockey game for him, ha.
Sitting hundreds of feet away, the Husband spotted red macaws in the tree. See the group of people behind the pool? Yeah, he is behind them, ha.
A lot of the guests also rented cars and parked right at the hotel, which is something we could have done. Our favourite store was called “Ekono” which was a weird mix of a Canadian Tire and H&M – and the Husband bought a few outfits there.
I also bought an orange baseball hat there! I had a big sun hat, but it wasn’t always convenient for walking around (aka it blew off when it was windy, ha).
Costa Rica Highlight: Adventure Park
Another thing Costa Rica is really famous for is the outdoor adventures (aka ziplining and others). Nearby to Jacó, there was an “Adventure Park“ where you can group a bunch of different activities.
Neither of us had ever been ziplining before, and I have to say… it was super fun! Like there was a small jitter when I had to climb up on the first platform, but once I was hooked up and zipping down, it felt really safe.
We also did a chocolate tour and learned about the cacao bean and tree (it’s pollinated by mosquitoes!). Plus, we got to sample some beans, nibs, hot chocolate and more. It was a super hot day (I think around 30ºC all week), but still, the hot chocolate was good, ha.
Finally, we ended with a four-wheeler (or quad, or ATV) ride through the forest/jungle. There was also a horse ride option, but this was more our style. Fun fact: it was my first time ever driving a four-wheeler! I’ve been a passenger once or twice, and the Husband has been driving them for years.
We drove up to a waterfall area, and had to pass by a surprising number of cows. (Literally had to wait for them to cross the road at one point). Climbing up the hill to the waterfall we were greeted by some rain – but once we were back down, it had subsided. I think one of our guides mentioned that there are six different microclimates/changes in elevation in Costa Rica, so the weather is very different everywhere.
Speaking of the weather, October-April is supposed to be the dry season, and May-September is the rainy season. This year, they said it was a bit rainier in the dry season then they are used to, and since we were coming in the tail-end, we were kind of in the transition zone. Either way, we only had that rain near the waterfall when we were “trapped” outside; and it rained another afternoon but I was able to just go hide out in the hotel room.
Yeah… the rain at the waterfall didn’t bother us too much since a lot of the ATV ride is supposed to be muddy/wet. I did try to avoid the puddles and keep my feet up – but it didn’t always work. Every time I saw a photographer, I’d smile really big (which is what they wanted). The Husband? He was like: let me see how hard I can splash this puddle.
Costa Rica Recommendations
Bring/get Costa Rican money (colones) ahead of time. They accept USD pretty much everywhere, but it was much cheaper for us to convert CAD to colones rather than to USD then colones. Also, some ATMs are only in Español and may or may not steal your card (ask me how I know).
Have a plan for getting to/from places. While taxis were pretty much available whenever, most destinations were at least an hour away from each other. We had friends that rented a car when they went a few years ago. They said that the Google Maps wasn’t always accurate (it would take them through private property) and getting a paper map was better to track the main highways.
Go ziplining!
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I listen to a podcast where the host always says that people spend twice as much on vacations as they plan. I always thought that was crazy (if you book all-inclusive, your flight, booking and food is paid for – why spend more!?). But going to Costa Rica, I kind of got it. Not that we spent twice as much as we anticipated! But just that you really are supposed to go out and explore.
Whether you book your excursions ahead of time, or do everything through the hotel like we did, these extra things do add up. (Especially if you pay by credit card or in USD). While we could have saved some money by staying somewhere we could buy and cook our meals, all-inclusive is certainly easier.
Trip Recap: Best Western Jacó Beach | Manuel Antonio Park | Fun Adventure Park
Even though we did a couple’s trip to Costa Rica, there were so many times we would say, “oh the kids would love this,” or “we should show this to the kids”. While there were certainly plenty of things for them to enjoy, at ages 5, 7, and 9, they couldn’t do everything we did. (And there’d be more complaining, ha).
So, where should we go next!?
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