Costa Rica is a BEAUTIFUL country with an unlimited amount of things to do.
Where I went:
1. MonteVerde - every adrenaline junkies fav place
2. LaFortuna - hiking & hot springs
3. Tamarindo - surfing & night life
4. Jaco - more surfing & exploring
5. Puerto Viejo - beach & more beach
San Jose
San Jose is the destination with the main airport, however, that's all it is good for. San Jose had nearly nothing to do and is one of the only places I did not feel safe walking around (day/night).
I spent one night here and stayed at the "Costa Rica backpackers." This hostel was nice and the staff were helpful. I took an uber (they have English and Spanish options I chose Spanish since it was cheaper) but it brought me to the mall close by and I watched a movie at the theatre (they also have Spanish and English options and for this in which I chose English). The mall was very modernized, almost felt like I never left home!
MonteVerde
I caught a bus at a local bus station in San Jose for $6 to MonteVerde which departed at 7AM and arrived by 12PM. This town was really neat. It was surrounded by cloud forest with lots of unique restaurants and bars.
I stayed at the Sleepers Sleep cheaper hostel which costed about $10 per night and it came with free breakfast (you should always try to choose hostels with free breakfast). This was a quiet hostel so if you're looking for a place to sleep, sleepers sleep is true to it's name. I wouldn't say there's a particular "party hostel" however, there are plenty of night clubs and busy restaurants that are open late.
The cheapest meal I was able to find was at Casado which was roughly $5-9 per plate!
Monteverde is home to the first zip line in Costa Rica & the tallest bungee jump in Latin America (yes, I did both). It's slightly pricey however if it's a bucket list item I'd definitely recommend.
LaFortuna
To get to La Fortuna I traveled from Monteverde and had to take a jeep, then a boat, then another jeep and I paid roughly $20-25.
This is definitely a touristy town which makes things slightly more expensive however there are a ton of things to do!
I stayed at the "Arenal Backpackers" which was around $20 per night. Cool thing about this hostel is there are 3 locations, one has a pool with a bar and whichever one you choose, you have access to all 3!
There's a local swimming hole with cliff jumping and a rope swing and it's FREE! Be careful with your stuff since things get stolen there very often. Ask any local and they will easily guide you, it's about a 5 minute walk from town.
There's a popular hike that I did, it's a 10 hour day tour where you hike a volcano, swim in a green lagoon, visit a frog pond and finish at the hot springs where they give you volcanic face masks and a drink! It's $65 for the day but if you find a vegan restaurant that's on the corner of town (name is forgotten) it's $55! BRING A RAIN PONCHO! It poured the entire hike and all I had was some sort of garbage bag that I made into a poncho (very efficient).
Tamarindo
I arrived to Tamarindo from Liberia by taking a local bus which was around $6-8. Tamarindo is a boujee touristy town with tons of shops on every corner. With being a tourist town it does comes with a price, if you're on a budget I'd highly recommend buying your own groceries and cooking your own meals.
If you're looking for a nice spot by the beach and want to sip on some drinks go to El Be! They have happy hour for half priced mojitos and beers as well as lounging chairs and comfy couches right on the beach.
I stayed at Pura Vida hostel which was affordable and laid back, plus the staff were super helpful! It also gave access to a hotel pool closer to the beach which was lovely.
This is the place to surf for sure! You can rent boards for about $8 a day and use them from morning to night. There are tons of clubs, pubs and restaurants so if you're looking for nightlife, this is the place to go.
Traveling down the coast is MUCH more expensive unless you take local buses which will take you days (literally) but cost $12. Or there's a shuttle for $50.
Jaco
I traveled from Tamarindo to Jaco with a stop in Santa Teresa and Montezuma. Santa Teresa was okay, it's not my favourite place but they did have a very nice bakery! The whole town went to sleep around 7pm so not a spot if you're trying to party. However I loved Montezuma! Montezuma had beautiful beaches and tons of waterfalls to go explore.
We took a speed boat from Montezuma to Jaco which was a cheap/fun experience. Jaco is definitely another "touristy" town and is slightly more developed. I wouldn't spend too much time here however it's good if you want a taste of city life again.
You can find acai bowls galore here and PLENTY of coffee shops (with amazing coffee).
I stayed at "Hotel De Haan" for about $15 per night. This hostel was definitely one of my favourites. It was clean, close walking distance to lots of smoothie shops, had a pool and the owners made it fun! One of them brought a group of us to a haunted hotel which is a MUST-DO.
Puerto Viejo
We took a local bus from Jaco with a short stop in San Jose for $10. One thing about Puerto Viejo that I wasn't aware of, is how big it is! It's a LONG road and some places are miles away from each other. You can rent bikes basically from anywhere for around $4 a day but it is necessary.
The place to stay is Rocking J's especially if you're looking for a party vibe. You can either stay in hammocks or a room for just $10!
We stayed in a treehouse we found on airbnb which was about a 15 minute bike ride to town, it was right in the rainforest so we heard all the sounds of the night, we had heaps of insect visitors, but it made it an authentic experience.
There are tons of beaches to see here but Punta Uva was my top fav! It's far from town but worth the bike ride.
If you want to see sloths and other animals you can go to the Jaguar Rescue Centre for $20 entry. All the money goes towards taking care of the wildlife. You get a tour and see the process of helping animals and letting them free when they are ready. I'm NOT a zoo person but this place was nothing like that.
There's plenty of good restaurants and clubs here, prices all vary but you can find cheap. For a night out I'd recommend the Lazy Mon, it was always packed and they had tons of games going on!
Those were my top favourite places and of course there is SO much more! Costa Rica has definitely grown into a touristy place but it's still possible to have a cheap budget! -Take local buses, avoid shuttles as much as you can! -Eat at Soda's, they are local restaurants with local food but it's cheap and good! -If you take overnight buses be prepared for the AC to be blasting. It was FREEZING. -They take US currency but will give you Colones for change. -Daily budget $25-30 -Average beer $3 -Average recreational cost $20-50 -April-November is Hot but Wet season (didn't rain as much as expected and I went in May) average temperature is high 20's-30's celsius -December-January is Green but Dry! average temperature is high 20's celsius -No need to tip while eating out/drinking -Pack Light since you will be traveling a ton, I used about 10% of my bag and almost every hostel had laundry service for $2 or less. -Typhoid and Malaria shots
