Costa Rica following the surf: on the 16th of December, winter has very much set in for North America. Which is why you find a good chunk of the population in Costa Rica for 1-6 months.
During December of 2022 at least, flights from Montreal to San Jose, Costa Rica were averaging around $500 CAD and from places like New York, they were sitting at around $
The first pleasant change you notice as you step off the aeroplane is the lush, green rainforest and volcanic mountains surrounding the city. As well as the instant humidity. The border patrol guys ask you for proof of accomodation and a return ticket. But, they are pretty chilled. So if you show them some random hotel on Maps and tell them you’re catching a boat to the Caribbean with a friend, they just give you a nod and let you pass.
With plans to stay here just 2 months, we ended up staying for 5, and touring pretty much the whole country, including some of North Panama.
I used TravelMap’s free version to track our course: https://travelmap.net/
Costa Ricans are so helpful, so we would just ask around to find the bus downtown. The airport is 40 mins away from the city centre. After receiving a few conflicting reports about where the bus actually is, we found it on the other side of the park in front of arrivals. Then, we began the descent down the mountain into Central San Jose, which could only be described as ‘in typical Central American fashion’….mayhem. Lots and lots of honking, slow-moving traffic and serious vehicle pollution- but hey, it’s part of the fun. I love to give the entire recount…because let’s not pretend every aspect of travel is serene and sexy.
Spending 2 nights in San Jose was more than enough. It really isn’t the crown jewel of Costa Rica. Most tourists skip San Jose completely and head straight to the beach. Usually Jaco, as it is the closest to the airport. There is also an airport near Tamarindo. The other really popular beach town. But, as it is a smaller airport, flights are often more expensive. I remember one British woman saying she was catching a taxi there for $150 USD. We also decided on Jaco as our first destination after looking at Google Maps for 1 night really. So, we just started looking for the bus to get there. There are many bus stops in San Jose, but this one is where you will usually find yourself if you need to go to the tourist beaches:
- WWQ9+G3R, Calle 8, Paso De La Vaca, San José Province, San José, Costa Rica in Google Maps. Creatively named: BUS STOP
Even with the not so flattering account of San Jose. The hotel we stayed in was super nice, on the park with a beautiful interior. It is called ‘Casa del Parque Hostel’ : https://www.hostelcasadelparque.com/
Surfing Costa Rica
Two days later, the real trip was about to start. The Pacific Coast tour and surfing! San Jose central bus station is huge, and you can find routes, or at least the beginning of routes to pretty much everywhere in the country. There are actually a few big bus stations in San Jose. This is the one which services most of the touristic places: WWQ9+G3R, Calle 8, Paso De La Vaca, San José Province, San José, Costa Rica . It is located up the hill, at the top of town- a bit out of central, in the flea market type area.
It is definitely not the safest feeling nor nicest part of town, and the traffic is so congested. So, if you have lots of luggage, it is worth getting a taxi from Central Downtown, but you will find you will probably hop out 3/4 of the way there, because the traffic will get so bad you are better off walking.
Also- the people that work here aren’t the friendliest. And buses to popular destinations usually sell-out early, but they will still let you buy a ticket to sit on the floor (but at no discount). If you want to leave your luggage and walk around the area while waiting for the bus, you can stroll around the bus stop and ask store vendors if they will look after your stuff for a price.
Many say no, but we were lucky to find this cute couple that owned a convenience stand right on the left once you go through the entry-boom gates to board the buses. Anyhow- the bus was probably 1.5hrs late (which isn’t too bad considering this is standard for Flixbus in Europe), then we picked up our luggage and hopped on.
Jaco
We arrived in the night, which falls at around 6pm all year due to Costa Rica being on the equator. So, we checked in to our hostel and took a nap. The next morning we began getting affiliated with the area….where to surf, where to eat, the supermarkets etc. Originally, we found it a bit ‘tacky’ and didn’t expect to stay long, but once we found a nice hostel a bit out of town and a good surf spot and board rental place, we ended up staying for almost 3 weeks.
The town is incredible for people looking for: party on the beach lifestyle or beginner surfing vibe. The beach is relatively easy surf and has lots of surf schools. It also has pretty consistent surf and it is easy to rent a board right on the sand. Which makes it very convenient. When we were there, the waves never got really big, but it was still fun and often very crowded with surfers. Especially in the evening. But luckily, the beach is very, very long. So there is a lot of space for everyone to surf without it getting too cramped.
View of Jaco beach from sitting in the shade under the many palm trees
Jaco is a place for several people:
- The young party crowd
- Beginner surfers
Upon reflection, if you are planning on staying in Costa Rica for more than 1 month, I would buy a surfboard and then resell it at the end of your trip. Because the cheapest rental we found was $10 USD – $25 a day (actually we found one rental charging $40 USD a day, but let’s not talk about that because it is a bit of crazy outlier.) But the good thing about renting is you don’t have to carry a board with you and you can change boards depending on the conditions (i.e. changing from a long board to a short board).
