Santa Teresa, Costa Rica - Trip Review

Dates: Feb 3-Feb 8
Location: Santa Teresa/Hermosa, Costa Rica

I had come to the board asking for some advice earlier in the year and received some great feedback. We ended up going with Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Peninsula, despite the travel to get there and only 5 nights. It was certainly a grind to get there, but it was a great experience and I'd do a few things differently next go around.

Day 1: 6AM flight Kansas to DFW and 11:30AM flight DFW to San Jose. We arrived around 3:00pm. By the time we checked out at Vamos rental car, it was 4. There was no way to make it all the way to Santa Teresa, so we drove to Athenas to make some progress. Ate in town and stayed at a B&B called Eden Athenas. It was a long travel day and the accommodations were exactly what we needed to get an early nights rest and early start the next morning. The views weren't bad either.

Day 2: Early morning to get to the Puntarenas 9am Ferry from Athenas. We couldn't buy online, so had to get in line. Buying online in advance is definitely the way to go. We were fortunate and wouldn't have made it until the noon ferry had we arrived 30 minutes later. The ferry is an hour and 20 minutes to Paquera. From there, it was another hour and half to Hermosa/Santa Teresa. The drive is brutal as half of it is on very poor dirt roads that lead into Santa Teresa. We had a 4x4 Suzuki, but I would have preferred a 4x4 SUV. It's a brutal stretch to end a 4+ hour day of travel. After arriving, we checked into the AirBNB (in Hermosa) and then spent the evening in Santa Teresa. Had overpriced drinks at a beachside bar to end the night, but it was worth every bit of the view. Those sunsets are pretty awesome.

Day 3: Woke up early to the sound of Howler Monkeys in the valley. The sun rises about 6am every day, so people are up and at it early in CR. Hermosa to Santa Teresa is about a 15 minute drive on the dirt roads, so we made it into town about 11am. Spent most of the day at Santa Teresa beach watching the surf roll in. Bought 1kg of Yellowfin Tuna at the fish market for $17 and went back to the AirBNB for dinner. Watched the sunset in the more quiet Playa Hermosa. Still worn out from a bit of travel, we called it an early night.

Day 4: Howler monkeys and Costa Rican coffee again to start the day. That and fresh mangos from the market the day before. After watching surfing, we decided today was our day to try. Rented boards for $10 and spent a couple of hours getting thrown around by the Pacific. We were exhausted and had a fantastic lunch at Soda Tiquicia. Red Snapper for myself and shrimp ceviche for the wife. We went back to the beach and drifted off under the palm trees until sunset. Once again sat on the beach with Imperials in hand and watched the sun go down while reading books.

Day 5: Our last full day in Hermosa/Santa Teresa. We had an early start and hit up a local spot in Hermosa we had been wanting to try, Colours. Great brunch spot. The breakfast chicken crepe was fantastic. Santa Teresa is all hustle and bustle and Hermosa is a very quiet/quaint town. We had wised we'd spent more time at their less crowded beaches after going to check it out. I could go back and spend 5 days only in Hermosa. Drove into Santa Teresas after and spent most of the day laying on the beach. After our last sunset (that was our favorite part), we had dinner at a great restaurant called El Facon. I had the steak and my wife the pork. It was the most expensive meal of the trip ($110 with a bottle of wine) but easily the largest and most filling. We finished the night off with some gelato in town before heading back to the AirBNB to pack up.

Day 6: With a 2:50pm departure, it was a long day for us to get back to San Jose. Was able to pre-buy ferry tickets this time. We arrived in Paquera at 7:45am for the 9am ferry. We were on the ferry and eating by 8:20. Had an awesome conversation with a CO family visiting Tambor that made the boat ride quick. Made it across by 10:30 and arrived back in San Jose to return the rental at 12:30. By the time we made it to the airport it was close to 1:30pm and the perfect time to grab a quick lunch before boarding for DFW. The airport is very modern on the departures side and I was impressed by the food options. Another long day, but all went well in San Jose and DFW. Walked out of the airport in Kansas with a sunburn and 25* temperatures.

Final thoughts: We've done Cancun. We've done Cabo. We've done Destin. Those are far more relaxing. Before kids we used to do Europe and other trips that require a lot more work. Costa Rica was certainly that and that's what we wanted with this, but it was definitely not the relaxing beach trip we may have hoped it could turn into, at least not how we did it. My wife is a very easy-going traveller, but the travel to and from San Jose certainly wore on her. I'm a little more patient and enjoy the journey. I feel like Santa Teresa would have been a great place for us to have gone 10 years ago (were in our early 30s) or a great place for a guys surfing trip. I'll definitely take my son in 10 years or so when he's in high school/college. Nobody in the town is old because the inconvenience to get there is so high.

I also would have flown from San Jose to Tambor via Green Airways. The drive was great to do 1 time to experience the culture and get a feel for the country, but I wouldn't want to do it that way again.

I'd also rent a 4-wheeler for travel within Santa Teresa or between Hermosa and Santa Teresa. The road sucks and the roads are narrow. A 4-wheeler or dirt bike is the preferred method of travel. I wish we had one.

Stay wise, I'd likely pick a place right on the ocean in Hermosa or right on the ocean in Santa Teresa. We picked a villa with a private pool, but didn't even need it. We could have done a 1 bedroom ocean suite with a community pool and likely would have enjoyed ourselves a bit more.

Definitely go if you can surf or are into surfing. The waves were great and the surf vibe is very evident.

All in all, Santa Teresa feels like it keeps much of it's Costa Rican charm because of its challenge to get to. There are certainly tourist, but it feels very organic still. It's great to see a destination like that not overrun by commercial industry. I hope it stays that way.

Rental Car: Vamos - Highly recommend. Great service. Transparent. They were more adamant in checking the dings on the car than I was.

Stay: AirBNB Hermosa (LINK

Food: Soda Tiqucia - the ceviche and red snapper were great. Colours (Hermosa)- great breakfast/brucnh. El Facon - Awesome dinner. Plenty of grilled meat options. One of the pricier options in ST. Eat Street - Great smoothies and lunch options. Somos Cafe - Great smoothies and acai bowls. La Pesca - Good fish market. Very cheap Yellowfin Tuna and Mahi Mahi. Other than that, we bought snacks and beers at the markets in town. Hauraches - Local spot in Athenas. Ranchos Itauna - overpriced beach drinks, but a great place to watch the sunset.