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what's going on ladies and gentlemen i'm alex also known as alex of vagabond and in this video i'll be sharing my detailed travel itinerary to help you have the best vacation possible in costa rica hopefully this video will help you get a taste of the pura vida or the pure life as they say in costa rica costa rica is one of central america's premier tourism destinations and also a global leader in wildlife conservation over 28 of the country is protected land either national parks state parks or wildlife preserves the country of costa rica sits between the pacific ocean on the west and the caribbean sea on the east and it also shares borders with nicaragua to the north and panama to the southeast the country's population is around 5 million 4.8 million to be exact and it's divided into seven provinces san jose its capital a la huela cartago herrera puntarenas guanacaste and limon the seven provinces stretch across 51 100 square kilometers making the country of costa rica roughly the same size as denmark i've been lucky enough to visit costa rica seven times in my life and i can't get enough of this beautiful little country if you want a more comprehensive overview of costa rica then make sure you check out my other video 12 essential travel tips for costa rica once you finish watching this video while the country is relatively small it's jam-packed with adventure and it's incredibly diverse so picking where to go on your vacation can be challenging but don't worry i'm going to do my best to make it easy for you in this video all of the regions are beautiful and they all have their own special attractions and unique destinations but in my opinion the central and southern areas of the pacific coast are the most notable and if you only have one trip this is where i suggest you focus the itinerary i'll be sharing with you in this video will cover two-thirds of the pacific coast in my opinion the prettiest coastal area of the entire country the trip will take roughly two weeks to complete and will require a rental car preferably one with four-wheel drive before we dive into the details though i'd like to take a moment to remind you to subscribe to my channel and turn on post notifications so you don't miss out on any upcoming videos also give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment if you're enjoying it by doing that you are helping me get this video to a wider audience and helping me create more content in the future if you have any tips of your own or any questions please leave them in the comment section and i'll do my best to get back to you as soon as i can i'm super excited to share my tips with you so you can have a relaxing and epic vacation and chill out with the local monkeys and sloths by the way can you tell me how to say sloth in spanish if so put it down in the comments section okay without further ado let's get into the trick bienvenido a costa rica the first thing that you're going to need to do is arrive into the country and chances are you'll be arriving at san jose international airport named sjo even though it's actually located in a laguela outside of the capital city of san jose i would suggest that you try to book your flights leaving the united states in the evening and aim to arrive in costa rica in the early morning this is going to help you maximize your vacation time and also it's gonna help keep flight costs down because you'll be taking a red-eye flight flight times from los angeles are around six hours and probably around three hours from florida once you arrive in san jose you're going to need to pick up your rental car most agencies are based in the close vicinity of the airport and can be easily accessed through shuttle services provided by the rental company when you pick up your rental car be careful because they like to add fees for insurance at the last moment i managed to avoid the extra 500 insurance fee by using a credit card that covered car rental insurance but it was still a negotiation to get them to waive the fee it's a good idea to print out the terms and condition of your card to show them that the card actually covers insurance and that it's already included by all means visit san jose the capital city if you like to but in my opinion it's really not that great of a destination the one thing i highly suggest that you do in san jose is stock up on groceries snacks beer water and other essential supplies for your trip before you leave the capital city there's a walmart near the airport where we went and bought tons of food and snacks breakfast and lunch materials for our trip once you stock up on supplies drive from san jose two hours to playa haramosa or hako on highway 27. be careful driving this section of road because it's windy single lane and people in costa rica drive pretty aggressively they'll pass you on blind corners always be alert while driving in costa rica before you arrive in hako it's worth a quick stop at the famous crocodile bridge over the river darcoles where dinosaurs lurk below in the river sunning themselves and waiting for food from passing people do not feed the crocodiles even though the locals will be trying to sell you frozen chicken to watch them in action don't do it this messes with their self-sufficiency and it habituates them to being fed by humans that being said if you are hungry this is a good spot to get a quick bite at one of the roadside restaurants also you're near the parque nacional tarara which has some hiking trails and waterfalls that you can visit on the way from there you'll arrive in hako and nearby playa hermosa personally i prefer staying in playa hermosa it's one of the best surf beaches in the country it has beautiful black sand and it's wide open perfect for walks along the beach there's zip lining in the jungles above or you can go on an atv tour all of which can be booked in hermosa beach or in nearby hako hako is the large hub town in the region it's full of hotels restaurants bars and nightclubs that being said it's not my favorite spot and the nightlife is kinda seedy now if you're trying to learn how to surf in costa rica hako is a much better beach to learn how to surf there's plenty of surf schools in hako it's just a little bit less intense than playa hermosa which can be pretty heavy and has dangerous rib currents so it's best to leave surfing and playa haramosa to experienced surfers and if you're trying to learn then take a lesson in hako i'm not a huge fan of hotko but this last time that i visited they had built a nice new mall area called the hakko wok shopping center they had some really delicious restaurant choices but they were all priced for gringos and in u.s dollars personally i like to buy some groceries and cook breakfast and lunch at my accommodation and then go out for dinner in the evenings in regard to accommodation i highly recommend staying at surf in hermosa where you can rent a private beachfront apartment for around 80 to 100 a night or if you want to stay at a hotel consider staying at terrata del pacifico either way there are fun waves out front and you'll be treated to incredible sunsets every night after you've stayed in playa hermosa for a few days maybe on day four i'd suggest you drive south along the karatera 34 to the town of dominica this kilometer drive is incredibly scenic it's full of beautiful unspoiled beaches and forested mountains tumbling into the sea along the way you could stop at the rainmaker a tourist attraction of hanging bridges and elevated platforms in the rainforest canopy it's a great way to get a feel for the jungles of costa rica take in some of the bird life and get a better glimpse of the incredible biodiversity from the forest canopy also worth a visit is manuel antonio national park which is located on the coast near the town of capos about halfway through the drive the park is home to lots of different species of wildlife in their natural habitat there is an entrance fee to the park and it may be worth hiring a local guide to help you find some of the animals that may be hidden to your eyes but visible to those of a trained professional not to mention it helps support the local economy if you're feeling hungry it's a good idea to grab some food here before continuing south to dominica the mini call is the cool hippie hangout of costa rica lots of yoga wellness retreats and vegan dining options the waves can get really good here it's a big beach break with lots of space plus beautiful expansive sunsets every single night dominical is a very rootsy area it's home to farmers market vendors sell handmade goods to tourists near the trees by the beach but it's full of friendly people and the surrounding mountains are also great places for hiking with swimming holes and incredible waterfalls spend at least a day and a night exploring this area in all honesty you could spend your entire trip hanging out in dominical we stayed at a nice little hotel overlooking another playa heramosa or beautiful beach there are a lot of beautiful beaches in costa rica hence there are a lot of places named playa hermosa so don't get them confused the area between dominical and uvita is full of options for accommodation on all different budgets so it's worth picking a look online and finding what works for you i would suggest just opening google maps and looking at the different locations you'll find lots of different accommodation options on day six it's time for another big drive i suggest you head from dominical to the osa peninsula now this is a long day with some off-roading ferry crossings and a bit of adventure but it's highly worth it take highway 2 south from dominical until you reach a town called piedras blancas where you turn right onto the highway 245 which takes you out into the osa peninsula which is home to the corcovado national park and consistently ranks as one of the most bio-diverse places in the world along the way you'll pass through the towns of barrigones and puerto jimenez it's a good idea to stock up on food drinks and other supplies you may need while you're there then continue driving to the end of the peninsula and stay by monta palo beach mata paulo is another really fun wave a right point break it's located on this beautiful jungley beach and it just feels a million miles away from civilization it's such a great place and i highly recommend you visit i stayed at a small family-run hotel near the beach but there are a lot of accommodation options all over the peninsula now if you're not really into surfing and you feel like exploring a bit more of the nature then you can go over and stay on the other side of the peninsula by drake's bay named after the famous british explorer and buccaneer sir francis drake who used the bay as a port back in the day and supposedly buried some stolen spanish treasure there i haven't been over to that side of the peninsula though so i can't vouch for it if you're watching this video and you've been to drake's bay please feel free to share your experiences in the comments a word of caution though the osa peninsula is a wild place and there are some stories of sketchy people doing bad things at night so if you're gonna visit i recommend planning your drive well in advance and getting to your hotel as early as possible before the sun goes down the road out there is dirt it can get muddy and there are water crossings involved so don't start this drive late in the day on day nine it's time to drive further south to pavones get up early and hightail it on the osa peninsula and drive around the bay of pavon to get to pavones named after the wild turkeys that frequent the area you have to drive back to piedras blancas and merge onto highway 2 heading south towards the border with panama i'd suggest getting access to wi-fi and loading the route on google maps for offline use this way you don't get lost when you don't have wi-fi or cell reception which is the case for most of the drive pavones is a world-class left point break that breaks over a cobblestone river mouth now for those of you who aren't surfers you probably didn't understand anything i just said let's simplify it and say that this is one of the best waves in costa rica and it's also one of the longest lefts in the world but it is notoriously fickle it only really breaks from march to october when the swell is right so you want to check the forecast before deciding to drive down there the town itself is very frontier like it's essentially just a small fishing village and the area is home to the baruch indigenous people complete with people riding horses to the one grocery store in town it's quite literally a one-horse town it's very rustic like the osa there is not a lot out there there aren't a lot of restaurants or tourist activities just an incredible wave so if it sounds remote it is but that's the beauty of it it's a chance to really turn off and disconnect we stayed at an incredible little airbnb called the blue house i will link it in the description of this video after spending a couple of days in pavones it's time to head north but we can't leave costa rica without a relaxing hot spring soak so it's time to hit the road early i'm talking about at dawn and cover some serious miles back into the central highlands to the volcano arenal i did this 500 kilometer drive in about 10 hours it was a lot and in retrospect i'd suggest starting your trip with visiting audinol or just cutting pavonnes off if you're not a surfer and heading back from dominical but this is what i did and i feel like after this trip i got a full understanding of the beauty of costa rica this drive will take you through the gorgeous central highlands volcanic highly fertile coffee country you'll see the rural costa rican lifestyle at its finest while there are a lot of options for accommodation in la fortuna the main town next to volcano arenal we stayed for two nights at tabacon thermal resort for a splurge of soaking and relaxation to this day one of the most relaxing stays i've had anywhere in the world it was unbelievable located at the base of the cloud forested slopes of volcano arenal habacon has a hot spring river which has tons of little private areas for romantic and relaxing soaks that will leave you melting and ready for a nap it's siesta time people we spent two full days soaking up the unrivaled beauty and relaxation of the resort there are free public hot springs in the area and other hot spring spas but i can't vouch for them because we just stayed at tavacone and we made the most of our time there we didn't leave the resort and we just soaked for two days straight and that's what i suggest you do if you can stay at tabacon on day 14 your final day i recommend waking up early for a morning soak eating at least one last delicious daily pinto for breakfast also make sure you check out my recipe for this iconic dish in my cooking series a taste of travel i'll link that in the description as well and then drive to san jose drop off your rental car and catch a red-eye flight home it's a big trip that covers a lot of distance but in my experience it was one of the most fulfilling and exciting adventures i've ever had and i would go back and do it again in a heartbeat so if you want any more information about traveling to costa rica then please watch my costa rica travel guide which i'll link in the description of this video and the cards and make sure you're subscribed to my channel with notifications enabled if you enjoyed this video please don't hesitate to give it a thumbs up and leave a comment in the comment section by doing that you're helping me continue to create more content and spreading this video even further so i really appreciate your support also it's really important now with costa rica just opening back up to international travel after the covet 19 pandemic to take all necessary precautions to avoid catching or spreading probit 19. as of august 27 2020 costa rica's three main international airports are open to certain countries for international travel so before you book your trip to costa rica go to visit costa rica dot com and read the statement by the costa rican tourism board which explains in detail all of the countries which are allowed into costa rica as of september 1st 2020 and all of the requirements that you need to enter costa rica so once again go to dot com www.visitcostarika.com read all of the current requirements to visit the country okay everyone well i hope you enjoyed that video if you did give it a big thumbs up leave a comment in the comment section and make sure you're subscribed with notifications enabled and i'll see you in the next video hasta luego bye bye [Music] you