Days 1-3(Morning): La Fortuna

La Fortuna is a great base if you want to be exploring nature in Costa Rica. It truly is an adventure junky’s paradise. The weather is a bit more rainy in this part of the country due to all the intense rain forests and volcanos around so make sure to pack a raincoat if you are coming here.

Our favourite restaurants in la Fortuna are below (THEO TO PUT A LINK)

We want to share with you all the different activities which we considered while we were there so you have them, but we bolded and will talk about the ones we personally did and loved.

• Waterfall Hikes

• Hanging Bridges

• Canyoning

• White Water Rafting

• Zip Lining

• Horseback Riding

You can pack your days with adventures as much as you like. We personally took it easy. We did one adventure a day, enjoyed where we were staying and spent time having long meals.

Day 1:

You will be driving most likely from San Jose to La Fortuna (about 3 hours) which is a beautiful drive. Check into your hotel, have lunch and then go explore the waterfalls. We arrived under pouring rains but we figured we would get wet either way so why not.

This is about 500 steps down and so 500 steps back up. You definitely will earn your drink tonight :-)

At the bottom you can swim, but try not to get too close to the waterfall itself due to the current it creates.

Day 2:

We spent a lazy morning at our hotel and around 10AM headed to the hanging bridges. This was one of our favourite days. It is basically a beautiful park which you walk through and at times have the bridges you must cross to keep going. The whole walk for us took us about 2.5 hours because we were stopping every two seconds looking at animals. Very worthwhile!

Day 3 (Morning):

If you’ve gone zip lining in the past, we’d still recommend going again. Costa Rica Zip lining is another level! Some of the longest and fastest lines we’ve been on and through the canopes it truly quite the experience. We liked the company we went with a lot! But there are many options to choose from

After the zip lining we left, had lunch in La Foruna and headed straight to Playa Hermosa.

Restaurants we enjoyed in La Fortuna

 Days 3-4 : Playa Hermosa

Playa hermosa is pure “off the beaten path” relaxation. This felt like a little romantic getaway. We don’t like touristy beaches and so this one was simply perfection.

Also, if you like surfing, you’ve arrived in paradise!

Our days consisted of this format:

Mornings: Woke up and took an hour and half walk on the beach infront the hotel.

Late Mornings-After Lunch: We loved Sitting for hours at Vida Hermosa we would either work, read, and then jump in the water quickly to cool off. Have smoothies and fresh food it was paradise.

Afternoons: Starting cocktails with the sunset and a dinner with our feet in the sand and go to bed early.

Things to know about Playa Hermosa:

• This is a surfers town, not a tourist hub, so very very low key unlike the neighbouring town of Jaco.

• The water is OK to swim in in the morning and late afternoon during low tide, try not to swim during high tide. Very big currents and a bit dangerous.

• Volcanic sand is hot! never go on the sand without your flip flops. You’ll have a great laugh watching people run for dear life on this sand :)

• get a hotel right on the beach so you can truly enjoy this place. We stayed at the Backyard Hotel. It is super simple but was what we needed and we would definitely return!

Days 5-7: Manuel Antonio

Manuel Anotnio is about 1 hour drive (ish) from Playa Hermosa, so you won’t have to be in the car much to get there.

We were lucky to be visiting our best friends for the week here, so our suggestions may be a bit different than other blogs you’ll read but we will give you our favourite things we did.

One of the favourite days we had we explain below. We recommend you do it exactly :-)

• Pack a picnic in the morning

• Make your way to Cataratas De Nauyaca: This is absolutely beautiful. Getting there however is a hike! About 45 mins there and 45 mins back but quite steep so we recommend going in sneakers.

• Once there jump in swim and ahve your picnic (we stayed for about 2 hours just hanging out)

• Next, go on over to Dominical and grab a coffee at Cafe Mono Congo . Great little spot with good coffee, vegan desserts and a great view!

• Grab some beers in Dominical and head on over to the beach Playa Dominicalito next for Sunset.

• Finally, it’s time for dinner! Don’t try to go anywhere else but La Langosta Feliz. It is a hidden gem seafood restaurant which was amazing! If you like seafood order the “Mariscada” The medium was perfect for 4 people and a bottle of dry white wine and prepare to feast. So delicious!

Other days:

Realistically for the other days, we were working so took it a bit easy and really enjoyed afternoon sunsets and night activities.

That being said, here are some of the things we would recommend

• The Manuel Antonio National Park (get there as early as possible since it does get very hot during the day)

• Go to Salina for free salsa dancing lessons. We had so much fun doing this! Stop by their hotel and ask for the weekly events to know when Salsa is.

• Build a bonfire on the beach. Go to the beach at Sunset and as soon as it sets (while there is a little light) build a bonfire. A great hour enjoying this experience.

• Go to the beach and have sunset drinks daily.

• Espadilla Beach is great! (go towards the right to get away from the crowds a bit)

• Make your own ceviche. Go buy some fresh fish (we loved marlin!) and make a homepade civiche.

• MUST DO: have lunch at Bar y Chicharronera la Cazuela. They ONLY serve pork (by weight) with yucca and plantains and it is amazing.

• Check to see if any of the town nearby are having any bull riding . Personally had never seen anything like it! If it is around a town you are in, try to go. Don’t eat there though, the food is never good.