Before I begin, let me note this: Those who choose to travel are strongly encouraged to check local government restrictions, rules, and safety measures related to COVID-19 and take personal comfort levels and health conditions into consideration before departure.
Now with that being said, I want to share our families incredible experience while traveling to Costa Rica during a pandemic-era. In this article, we will chat about travel restrictions during our trip, Recommendations, share our itinerary, and link to some amazing places to stay.
So you may ask yourself, “should I travel right now?” and to be honest, my answer is 100% yes if you can! like so many, we had pre-planned vacations for last year in 2020 when Covid-19 first hit and like many, we had to cancel those trips. I can honestly say I was a bit hesitant about rescheduling those trips for this year due to so many unexpected updates that seem to be ever changing by the week. But I also have gotten to the point where if it came down to it, if I had to again reschedule or cancel, I would make sure I did it before the deadlines for refunds came into place so I didn’t loose out of a ton of funds. So if I had nothing to loose and the sting of already going through a reschedule prior wouldn’t hurt as bad as last then why not?
To give you a little more background on why we chose Costa Rica; We have a thing in our family that our kids each get a senior family trip of their choice (within reason ofcourse), and this year, our daughter is graduating and she had chosen Costa Rica as her destination of choice. Without hesitation, we started planning and if you know me well, I’m a crazy organized vacation planner, ha! I started with the basics; check the US Embassy in Costa Rica which posts updated travel info weekly such as travel requirements to enter Costa Rica and to enter back into the United States. I also hopped over to Visit Costa Rica travel site to see if any additional travel info was needed. Im going to make it easy for you and list the things you need to do prior to travel to Costa Rica as well as returning back to the US.
Travel to Costa Rica:
-First off make sure your passport is updated and make sure you have given yourself plenty of time for it to be sent to you before travel. right now passports are taking about 10 weeks to get mailed back to you.
-Although a Covid Test is not required to fly into Costa Rica, it is always a safe bet to get one prior to entering even if you have been vaccinated.
-TRAVEL INSURANCE- Tourists are REQUIRED to acquire travel insurance that covers lodging if you do happen to test positive for covid or anyone you are traveling with. Its inexpensive and we ended up going with Trawick International and it is required to have atleast 50,000 USD for medical expenses and 2000 USD for lodging on the policy. It cost our family of four about $72 for the policy. Be sure to purchase this insurance about 30 days prior for your travel dates only. This can be shown virtually or printed out, we had printed out the certificate for each of us and stapled it to our QR Health Pass code (next) to make it easier.
-PRINT returning airline tickets for Costa Rica Customs. When checking into your flight, just have them print them for you there and do not loose them.
–Health Pass– is required to be filled out 48 hours prior to your flight, you will get a QR code emailed to you and I HIGHLY recommend you print this out to show them instead of a virtual copy, trust me print it.
-RENTAL CAR: If you are staying at a resort and do not want to go off the grid, then you could get away with a shuttle to and from the airport and to your excursions. We rented a 4-wheel drive through Alamo and I’m so glad we did. They were amazing, very professional and they upgraded us to a bigger rig which ofcourse my husband was very excited about. We ended up with a Toyota Hylux Diesel Land Cruiser Prado, this thing was a beast and got the best gas mileage! and we had to cross a river, go over some pretty sketchy roads!
Travel back to US:
–72 hours prior to traveling home; Arrange a Covid test for all travelers, HERE is a pdf of all available testing sites now. Personally I wanted to make sure it was handled by someone that knew the areas and had connections so we hired Amanda with Costa Rica Traveling Tours to set this up for us and it was SO WORTH IT! I connected with her on a Facebook group she had created for travel tips to Costa Rica and so glad we did! She set up the test to be done by medical professionals at the hotel we were staying at 72 hours before heading home. It cost us $30 you guys, well worth it to have it set up and she was communicating with us the whole time making sure they had arrived and finished the test and the results for the test came back within 12 hours! Cost for tests themselves run about $160 per person, so be sure to plan for that in your travel budget. We even have one little snaffu with my negative test result with a misspell of my name (happens all the time) and I contacted Amanda and she had them fix it right away and resent the new results.
Thats it you guys! it was a cinch as long as you are organized and well informed!
Now onto the good stuff, our travels! Costa Rica is a small country but to be honest you would need a few weeks of travel to see it all atleast. We had 8 days and didn’t want to over do it but still make sure we had a good range of what Costa Rica had to offer us. We decided to start it off with a quaint beautiful town of Playa Portrero, Guanacaste which is on the NW coastal side between Playa Hermosa and Playa Flamingo. We did not want to stay in a highly populated and potential high tourist area, and Playa Portrero did not disappoint! We found a lovely home on Airbnb and had such amazing hosts, again we wanted it off the beaten path a bit and still have a pool and views of the ocean and this home was perfect! Check it out HERE. Highly recommended, well should be required; is a 4×4 to get to this home. The road and driveway is very rustic and having a 4-wheel drive is definitely a must. We arrive after dark (sunset is earlier then in the states), and our lovely hosts met us at the bottom of the long unpaved road in their UTV and we followed them up. I will admit, it was a little nerve racking as the roads were very dark and we roads were rough, but once we made it to the top, and stepping out of the car for the first time and hearing the amazing life surrounding us was truly unreal. They showed us around the house and ordered us pizzas to welcome us with and left us to enjoy our stay.
The roads in Costa Rica are not like any here and a bit unsettling as they are much more narrow and you are passed alot by other costa rican drivers or motorcylces and their speeds is much slower then here so it does take some time to get use to. It is true what they say here… Pura Vida! Playa Portrero was about an hour and a half from the airport because of the roads. Everything takes a bit longer to get to because the highway system and roads are a little slower then you may be useto, so plan for that.
Our first morning; it was so nice to get up and hear all of the life in the morning as it differs from the evening sounds and both so amazing. Seeing the view and getting our barrings a bit, we were able to settle in a bit more and really enjoy. We went into town to grab breakfast and pick up a few snacks for the day and it was so fun seeing the Ticos and Ticas out and about and their day-to-day, alot of locals drive UTV’s or motorcycles, sometimes a family of 3 will be seen driving down the street on a motorcycle with no helmets and its just the way of life there. We stopped off at this amazing breakfast spot called The Shack and had the best Avocado Toast and ofcourse the Costa Rican staple; Spotted rooster, which is beans and rice. After Breakfast, we drove around a bit to see what our surroundings were like, again getting useto the driving there. Then headed to a local Market, grabbed some fresh fruits and vegetables and headed back up to our house to enjoy the infinity pool and relax a bit.
The next day, our lovely hosts set us up with private Surfing lessons with JJ who because of Covid, was “laid off” from his surf shop so was offering private lessons. We just trusted our hosts and went with it. We met JJ in another beautiful town called Playa Grande at this stunning surf beach at 7am. He was so helpful and informative and showed us a couple of leather back turtle nests and really took his time with his lesson. he was such a great instructor, we were happy to help support him during this rough time for Costa Rica.
After our lesson, we went to this little lunch spot near by that JJ recommended, and it had fresh juices, smoothies, acai bowls and delicious Poke! The hospitality so far of everyone here has been truly amazing, they are just so happy to have tourists again. Last year Costa Rica was hit so hard as most of their industry is tourism.
After our lesson, he had recommended we come back at a certain time of day (because of the tide schedule) and rent boards and enjoy. So we went up the road and rented at Mattos Surf Shop and they gave us all brand new boards to rent for only $10! mind you, I know this isn’t the norm and we tipped well. After a full day of Playa Grande, we headed back to the house to get cleaned up and get some more pool time in!
One thing I do need to mention is the sun is LEGIT here, please wear sunscreen of 50 spf and reapply and wear a hat! Im not kidding you will fry out here. The Ticos and Ticas are covered head to toe and you almost wonder why because of the heat, but now I get it!! you can find a few reef friendly ones HERE and HERE and HERE
We scheduled another excursion more inland with Palo Verde Boat Tours that included lunch and a boat tour down the river allowing us to see Crocodiles, monkeys, birds, etc. The drive there was about 2 hours away and we really got to see alot of their farming of sugar cane, mango, and so much more. We arrived at the meeting spot for the tour and we were welcomed by the family that owns the business with fresh mango juice and a quick lesson on making fresh tortillas. Now typically in a non-covid world, a shuttle would be bringing you to the tour and there would be a lot more people on the tour but we literally were the only ones and they made it super special. They hopped in their truck and we followed behind in ours to the national park near by and made several stops on the way to show us monkeys in the trees and beautiful sightings along the way.
We got to the docks on the river and before getting on the boat, we were temp checked, mask on and our shoes were also sanitized. They do really take Covid seriously in Costa rica and we felt very safe along our travels and on the tours. The captain was the best, he kindly pulled up to some white faced monkeys trying to get a drink of water and avoiding the crocodiles ofcourse, explaining the plant life, and hidden animals we would have never spotted without him. We saw so many Crocodile, birds, Monkeys, bats, etc. such lush rich forests thatyou couldn’t even walk through, they were that thick. Seriously some of the most beautiful territory Ive seen.
We ended our tour with a delicious home cooked Costa Rican Meal with their family and lots of fresh mango juice. We absolutely loved getting to immerse ourselves in the culture and learn so many interesting things and ofcourse eat some of the freshest food I’ve ever eaten in my life!
After spending 4 days in Playa Portrero, it was time to say goodbye and head to our next destination in La Fortuna and see a new kind of terrain. The drive from Playa Portrero to La Fortuna was so beautiful, some of the countryside looked as if it was out of a story book, no joke, so green and lush and lots of cows and horses. We stayed at Los lagos Hotel and Spa which held 11 different natural hot springs on the hotel grounds and it was RIGHT below the Arenal Volcano. At this part in the trip, I did not take a ton of photos because I ended up just soaking it up and forgot to get my camera out most of the time, ha!
At the hotel, upon check in, that was also the time our Covid tests were scheduled and it was a cinch, they came to our rooms and checked our passports and info and was done within about 15 minutes and our results were back within 12 hours!
We went on a private horseback riding with Albertos Horses, the next day on the coolest ride we’ve ever been! It was something they definitely would not have allowed you to do in the states because I’m sure we would have broken so many regulations lol but damn it was a a ride of a lifetime. We ventured through fields of cows and life surrounding us, trecked under a volcano, across a river, through a very skinny muddy canyon through the jungle, waved at alot of locals and up to a waterfall for a quick dip to cool off at La Fortuna River Waterfall. We hiked 500 steps down a beautiful manmade trail and bridge, which was a doozy to get back up but we did it! And then again were greeted with a lovely hot meal and fresh juice upon our return at the lovely owners home.
Wondering what to pack? Here is a basics list of what I’d recommend:
- Sunscreen 50 spf reef friendly
- bug spray (bring your own, its spendy to buy there)
- Hat!
- Swimsuits
- Flipflops
- one pair of light hiking shoes and water shoes like Keens
- I was told to bring a rain coat but never used mine but hear it is necessary during rainy seasons
- shorts, long pants for the jungle, swimsuit covers (I lived in these at the coast)
- tank tops, linen long sleeve loose fitting tops (I lived in mine)
- a small backpack to carry your personal items
- waterproof phone case
- some US dollars, Some Colones for the excursions and tips as well as keep a few dollars on hand when parking your car as there are Ticos that will watch your car while you park 😉
Don’t bring:
- Purses
- expensive jewerly
- fancy outfits
Download these Apps:
- WhatsApp (they use this for most communication)
- Facebook (again what they use for communication)
- Waze or Google maps (I personally found that google maps was way more helpful and accurate)
I truly hope this helps someone if they are thinking of traveling to Costa Rica, I have so much more to say about the wonder and beauty of this country and wish I could type it all! Stay Safe, travel safe and have fun doing it!