COSTA RICA

Accommodations

In similar fashion to the two prior years in Mexico, we went the all-inclusive route and stayed at the RIU Palace Guanacaste. There were several reasons, financial feasibility being the main one, that this option made the most sense for our group of 7 mid-20 year old partiers.

The rooms at this RIU Palace range across the the board. We decided to splurge on a superior suite with ocean views and a private balcony jacuzzi. Others in our group opted for the garden view double rooms that were just as accommodating. You cannot go wrong with whichever end of the spectrum you chose, as all rooms are eco-friendly energy savers with regularly stocked mini-bars, rain showers, jacuzzi bathtubs, and 24 hour room service.

Unlike some other resort chains that claim to be all-inclusive, the RIU Resorts truly are. All restaurants and bars are complimentary, and their sports bar stays stocked and open 24-hours a day for all the night-owls like us. Some restaurants do get busy early, so if you are looking to try the more “classy” of the options (like the steakhouse or Japanese restaurant for example), definitely get there earlier in the evening and be ready for a wait. They claim to not take reservations, but some hosts give mixed messages around this. If you miss the window for these restaurants, the buffet is expansive and always accommodating - we ate here more times than not and were never disappointed.

The resort also provides tons of entertainment throughout the day and night - dance lessons by the pool, foam parties, sports competitions, kayak and other water sport rentals, and more. We always love the nighttime performances - our favorite here was the interactive comedy show. This location also has a casino and lively nightclub that we enjoyed fully.

Something we really loved was the amount of wildlife roaming through the grounds at all times. There were huge toads and iguanas in the common areas and in the hallways to our rooms, as the resort is predominantly outdoors!

Transportation

We flew Southwest Airlines both directions - an affordable option for those looking for it. If you are unfamiliar, Southwest does not assign seats so we utilized their “early bird check in” to ensure we all got to sit together. They also have free cancellation with the ability to use your purchased funds on any other trip within one calendar year.

With 7 people in the group, we used private transportation to get around to every destination within the country. Both our transportation to and from the airport as well as the transportation for all of our excursions came through Costa Rica Issy’s Tours and Transfers and was phenomenal. We had an air-conditioned van with wifi on board, and our drivers and tour guides were top notch and punctual.

Explorations

We opted for two official excursion tours while in Costa Rica, both through the previously mentioned Issy’s Tours.

The first was their horseback riding, tubing, zip lining, rappelling, and hot springs/mud bath excursion package called the Canyoning Adventure Tour. This was an absolutely action-packed and thrilling experience! We do not get easily excited by zip-lines, but these traversed massive canyons and were a great time. The tubing trip down the Colorado River was the perfect mix of thrilling and relaxing, and we experienced a beautifully warm rain shower throughout. The hot springs were gorgeous and we were the only group there, so it felt super private. Beware of the sulphur mud bath before, the smell is something gnarly that we will never forget but definitely worth the experience. Lunch was delicious and we felt that we got all of our money’s worth on this trip and then some. Highly recommend!

A few days later, our second tour was the “Sloth Encounter and Eco Tour” with an added waterfall tour, sunset snorkeling tour, and a boat ride to Monkey’s Head Island (this day was something they created just for us, since we wanted to combine a few different activities). You cannot hold the sloths, but it did not matter since we were so up close and personal with them. The variety of frogs was amazing, and we saw a ton of wild toucans! On the way back is when we swung by Catarata Llanos de Cortes, a beautiful waterfall deep in the country that is worth the stop if in the area. After this we headed to Coco Beach for our snorkeling stop. Nothing extra special about the snorkeling location, but our guides took us to a private beach and cove for some of the most beautiful views and water in the area. We were literally the only people on this little island. They dropped us off right on the waterfront beach of our resort. All in all, another excursion we would highly recommend.

Language, Currency, Etc.

The predominant language is Spanish, but with a Costa Rican slang. There is a large portion of the population that speaks English as well, so communicating was not really an issue.

The primary form of currency is the colón. It was helpful to have a combination of colones and US dollars for our various purchases, and tipping in USD seemed to be appreciated. Our excursion company also preferred that we pay in USD cash before our tours, and most vendors at the various locations accepted USD.

Plugs and outlets are the same as they are in the US, so no need to get an adapter.

Do’s and Don’ts

Get out of your resort and explore the country! We felt safe in every location, even when hours deep in the jungle and having lunch in a local family’s house (to be noted that this was probably the best meal we had).

There was a cool local restaurant a short walk down the beach from the resort, and if you went early enough in the morning you could help the owners feed bananas to the local howler monkeys!

Try going in the ocean for a night swim - the friction of your body against the water will activate the bioluminescent plankton around you that you cannot capture with a camera. It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip.

Eat all the fruit and try the coffee! The pineapple was the best we have ever had, and we still look for Costa Rican coffee blends to this day.

If you use the Issy’s Tours company, ask for “Tomato” for a great but also informative guide - he had beer and water for us and went above and beyond to take us to extra special locations.

Get a massage on the beach, if money allows. We did ours at sunset and it was the most relaxing part of our trip.

If you are looking for some good souvenirs, grab some of the locally made wooden artifacts. The wood is Guanacaste, after which the province is named, and it is beautiful quality with many variations.

Bug repellent, bug repellent, bug repellent! A few in our group were covered head to toe with bites after the first day.

Stick with bottled water when possible, and don’t be tempted to drink from the sink if you are in a pinch.

Avoid trying to buy marijuana around the resort. Not because of legal reasons, but more so because it is terrible quality and more like dried up leaves than anything else.

There were salesmen on the beach of the resort that tried to sell over-priced excursions and were hard to shake. Nothing compared to the guys on the beaches in Cabo, but something to note.