Costa Rica was my escape this year 2021 to connect with mother Nature.
I never thought I would have visited Costa Rica in my life until I felt the call of the Wild from my adventurous side. I followed my instincts and I ended up buying a flight from the UK to Costa Rica for under £500 return ticket. To enter the Country I got a health travel insurance and a health pass following covid-19 rules at that time.
I am a self-employed yoga teacher based in Horsham, UK, I consider myself quite flexible thanks to my job and the possibility of teaching online while I was away it was an option. This makes me feel very lucky and free. I used my chance in Costa Rica to keep teaching yoga for Yoga Maya in Uvita, Puntarenas. I learned so much about gardening, their culture and their people in the first two months with Debbie that I felt ready to step out into the Country and explore a bit more the last month of my time in Costa Rica.
I did follow the advice of a good "tico" (Costa Rican) friend and I visited the places he highly recommended me to see. Thank you Jose Pablo Vargas :)
Top 7 places to visit in Costa Rica.
1. Uvita de Osa, Puntarenas
Uvita de Osa is a small town in southern Costa Rica, on a section of coastline known as the Costa Ballena (Whale Coast) of the Pacific Ocean. It is notable for hosting the annual music event (Envision Festival) and being home to the Cola de Ballena (Whale's Tail) beach (Playa Uvita) which is one of the beaches comprising Marino Ballena National Park. The Whale's Tail has been described as one of the world's most beautiful beaches. Uvita is a good place to see humpback whales in the wild, as there are groups which come from Northern California and Alaska during one time of the year and groups that come from the south and Antarctica during another time of the year. Uvita has grown tremendously since the early 2000s and is the commercial center of the Costa Ballena region. Many expatriates from North America and Europe have made Uvita their home, so many of the locals speak English as well as Spanish.
I would like to mention Debbie owns the most beaufitul airbnb in Uvita, Puntarenas, she became a superhost while I was with her and this is how it looks like her place.
While you are at her place you can visit wonderful places like:
The National Marine Whale Park: Costa Rica’s famous whale tail is located in the small town of Uvita, about an hour south of Manuel Antonio and is part of Parque Nacional Marino Ballena. You can practice surfing too!
Local fresh market (Wednesdays and Saturdays), fresh food and coffee served at best restaurants/cafe in Uvita. "Chirincoco cafe", "kinsu", "tagua", "indomitos" and "La Fogata".
Uvita waterfall and Uvita River.
You can also do a whales and dolphin tour in the seasons are more chances to see them. Whale watching in Uvita Costa Rica has 2 seasons, from half July to half November and from half December to April. These seasons are based on the annual migration cycle of the pacific humpback whale. These animals travel from far to visit Marino Ballena in Uvita. Each year the pacific humpback whales from the southern hemisphere travel from Antarctica to Costa Rica and arrive around the end of July. The pacific whales from the northern hemisphere do the same, but they travel from Alaska to Costa Rica and arrive around the end of December. They travel between 5000 km (3100 mi) and 8000 km (5000 mi); twice a year! In September and October you have the highest chance of seeing whales during a whale watching tour in Marino Ballena, Uvita, Costa Rica.
From Uvita you can rent a car and explore a bit further and go to Nauyaca waterfall or to Manuel Antonio National Park.
2. Corcovado, Bahia Drake, Playa Rincon de San Josecito
Corcovado National Park is a reserve on southwest Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula that protects varied tropical ecosystems. Considered one of the world's most biodiverse regions, its wildlife includes scarlet macaws, tapirs, jaguars and squirrel monkeys. Hiking trails follow coastal and inland routes through habitats ranging from Pacific beaches and mangrove swamps to lowland and montane rainforests.
We decided to visit this place and do hiking. We did a free public trail from Bahia Drake to San Pedrillo. This 17km public trail follows the coastline from Agujitas (Bahia Drake) to the San Pedrillo Ranger Station for the entire spectacular stretch, and it’s excellent for wildlife-spotting (particularly early in the morning), beach-hopping and canoe tours. We decided to do the entire route in half of a day stopping as many times as we thought it was worth it the landscape. We set off from "Bahia Drake" at 6am and we arrived to "Playa Rincon de San Josecito" at 3pm. It was a exiting and beautiful walk I highly recommend it if your level of fitness is quite good. We stayed at "hotel restaurante Bella Vista Corcovado"(best hotel in the area) one night and the next day we walked a bit more towards "San Pedrillo Ranger Station". If you are not into walking or you have limited time you always can do this visit by boat or car paying a tour of average $100/person. Personally I travel with a budget and I rather do the activities on my own, I enjoy it more this way.
I would love to share some photos of our time in Osa Peninsula so you can get an idea of how worth it is.
3. Monteverde
Monteverde, whose official name is Monte Verde, is a district of the Puntarenas canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range. Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism destinations. The area is host to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and several other natural attractions, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists.
National Geographic has called the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves". Newsweek has declared Monteverde the world's #14 "Place to Remember Before it Disappears". By popular vote in Costa Rica, Monteverde was deemed one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Costa Rica, along with Isla del Coco, Volcán Arenal, Cerro Chirripó, Río Celeste, Tortuguero, and Volcán Poás.
We decided to stay in this area 5 days, our highlights were:
The hotel we stayed in: Casa Jungle Monteverd
Canopy : The longest zipline in Costa Rica – 5220 ft (1590 m)! We experience the cloud forest on their canopy tour. The experience includes a total of 10 zip lines, a hammock bridge, one rappel, and one ride on the mega Tarzan swing.