My one year sabbatical begins in Costa Rica. Bordered by two oceans – the Pacific to the West, and the Atlantic on the East – the tiny nation of Costa Rica occupies less than 1% of the world’s landmass, but is home to a whopping 5% of the world’s biodiversity! For four years in a row, Costa Rica was ranked as the happiest place in the world by the Happy Planet Index, which measures the well-being and longevity of a population. I visited the Nicoya Peninsula – one of the world’s blue zones – a few years ago and vowed to return to see more of this beautiful country. A country whose motto is “Pure Life” seemed like an amazing one to start off my sabbatical. “Pura Vida” or “Pure Life” is the catch-all greeting for “hello”, “how are you?” and “have a nice day” in Costa Rica which lends well to the country’s laid-back, easy-going and friendly reputation. Life in Costa Rica tends not to follow much of a schedule, and things that are scheduled might not go as planned. As a foreigner coming from a country with strict schedules, high stress, and expectations of accuracy; I’m looking forward to embracing the Pura Vida lifestyle of Costa Rica and pivoting and accepting, as gracefully as the locals do, to unexpected changes that inevitably come along the way.
Contents:
- Playa Jaco
- Transportation to Playa Jaco and Airport tips
- Accommodations in Playa Jaco
- Surfer’s Paradise
- Dining and Amenities in Playa Jaco
- Final thoughts
- Trip costs
Playa Jaco:
The first stop in my journey is Playa Jaco. One of the closest beach destinations to the capital and transport hub of San José; Playa Jaco was first on my list primarily for the convenience factor of getting to one of the coasts from the airport in San José.
Many travellers give Playa Jaco a miss. The city is a bit like the Las Vegas of Costa Rica. It has everything – including the seedy underside. Jaco is the place to go if you want to party in Costa Rica, but it’s also got some of the best surfing – particularly for beginners – in the country, if not the world.
The 5KM long beach in Playa Jaco is undeniably beautiful. So even if you’re not a partier, you’re going to find activities to enjoy around the beach.
The good thing about Playa Jaco, and one of the reasons some travelers choose it as a stop on their itinerary, is that it has far more services and amenities than most other beach towns in Costa Rica – including places like Mas x Menos – which is essentially Costa Rica’s Walmart. It is also a convenient transport hub to get to the Nicoya Pennisula with a taxi boat shuttle service from Jaco to Montezuma that can save you at least 5 hours of buses or driving to get to the Nicoya Peninsula (assuming a start point of San José).
Choosing Jaco to start off your journey will allow you to ease into the rest of your trip in Costa Rica by giving you a place where you can find multiple banks and ATMs to get cash, load up on any supplies you might need – sunscreen, food, etc. – before you head off to more off-the-beaten path locations throughout the country – all while having a beautiful beach to enjoy between getting yourself set-up for the rest of your journey.
Tranportation to Playa Jaco and Airport tips:
I made Playa Jaco the first stop in Costa Rica because of the numerous easy transportation options from San José airport. It’s possible to take public transportation directly to Playa Jaco for less than $5USD. There are buses to the San Jose Bus terminal that leave just outside the airport every few minutes, and from San Jose Bus Terminal you can take a bus towards Playa Jaco for just a few dollars. I arrived in Costa Rica exausted from massive flight delays, and just took the easy way out and negotiated a private cab ride for $60USD directly to my hostel. It was lazy, but after nearly 24 hours of delays, waiting to travel, and further delays, I just wanted to get to the beach as quickly as possible. Note, Uber is available in Costa Rica, and an Uber can run you around $50 – $60USD from the airport directly to Playa Jaco.
I recommend all travellers get a SIM card with a data plan at the airport. I bought mine from Claro which had a booth right at the baggage claim for $20USD or 10,000 colones, and that gave me 5GB, unlimited WhatsApp, 85 minutes calling to Canada and 200 minutes calling within Costa Rica valid for 30 days. Information is power and there’s the security when navigating bus systems or even asking questions to have the power of Google at your side when you need it.
While I got Colones from an ATM in Playa Jaco, I highly recommend withdrawing some local currency while you’re still at the airport if you can find an ATM. You can definitely use USD$ when you’re in Costa Rica, but there’s always a hidden surcharge when paying with USD$ that most travelers don’t notice – but it will add up. For example when I purchased my SIM Card, I could pay 10,000 Colones, or $20USD. I paid in USD$, but the true exchange rate for 10,000 should have been closer to $16USD.
Accommodations in Playa Jaco:
Despite its hard-partying reputation, Playa Jaco can be a great place for non-partiers and even families to spend a few days in Costa Rica. There are a plethora of accommodation options available in Playa Jaco – from 5 star hotels like the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort, to mid-level, but affordable apartments like El Encanto Apartments – which feature full kitchens, to beachside budget hostels like Buena Nota.
I stayed at the Buena Nota hostel on Calle Bohio, which offers private and shared dorms for less than $20USD a night only 100m from the beach. The hostel has an kitchen that guests can use to prepare their own meals as well as an excellent pool and sunbathing area. The hostel is run by an American called William – who took over hostel about 6 months ago and has done an amazing job in adding improvements to the property and keeping it spotlessly clean for the guests.
Surfer’s paradise in Playa Jaco:
With its gentle sand break, and near-perfect uniform waves, Playa Jaco is a Surfer’s paradise, and is particularly excellent for beginner surfers. Here there’s an advantage in numbers and competition again, in terms of the sheer number of Surf Schools and surf rental outlets available. The amount of competition actually produces some of the best prices in Costa Rica to learn how to surf and also for board rentals. I saw prices as low as $35USD a lesson – including board rental – which typically includes the use of the surfboard for the rest of the day free of charge.
As I already know how to surf, I opted to rent a surfboard for $10USD from Surf Sunset Jaco, which was an outlet right on the beach, and this allowed me to bring the surfboard back to the beach hut when I was tired and also hang out under the shelter when I was tired or needed a break from the sun. They even let me leave the board to get lunch for a few hours after I surfed the high tide in the morning, in order to come back in the evening to get the evening tide. Given beach chair and umbrella rentals can go for $20USD a day, renting a surfboard which also allowed me to take reprieve under a sun shelter with chairs, was a crazy good deal!
Make sure to ask the surf outlets when is high tide. If you get lucky, there might be two high-tide periods during the day – one in the morning and one in late afternon when it will be ideal times for surfing.
Dining and amenities in Playa Jaco:
Playa Jaco has an enormous variety of different dining options to suit most tastes, from typical “Sodas” (Costa Rican eateries), to American-style restaurants and even a few places that serve specialty cuisine like Sushi.
If you have access to a kitchen in Jaco, the Mas X Menos offers large selection of groceries comparable to any Walmart or North American supermarket, to fulfill most of your grocery needs. The grocery story also contains a wide variety of beer, liquor and wines. Credit cards are accepted. Mas X Menos also has free washrooms, an ATM, and “money centre” if there are financial transactons you need to take care of while in Jaco.
My favourite restaurant was Marea Alta, a Soda serving typical Costa Rican cuisine. The prices were very reasonable and included tax and service. I ordered a Casado (typical Costa Rican dish with meat, salad, rice, beans and plantains) with a whole fried fish for 4000 Colones which included tax and 10% service (or about $6USD). The portion size was enormous and enough to feed two people.
My total costs in Playa Jaco were extremely low. As I don’t really party, I didn’t go out at all, and mostly prepared my own food from the grocery store. Aside from the surfboard rental, I mostly took things easy – relaxing by the pool at the hostel, taking long walks along the beach, swimming and sunbathing.
Final thoughts:
While many people give Playa Jaco a miss; I was glad to have visited Playa Jaco. Its close proximity to the airport made it a a convenient launch pad prior to my adventures along the Pacific Coast; but beyond being a great starting point for an adventure along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica; Playa Jaco is also one of the premier destinations for surfing in the country – which is a bonus I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a busy beach town; but with all the businesses comes lots of amenities, tons of reasonably priced accommodation options, and the convenience of being a transport hub to various locations along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
“Pura Vida” is what people in Costa Rica say when things go right, and when things go wrong. It’s “Pure Life” – good or bad. Embracing the good along with the bad and acknowledging that it’s all pure life is likely part of what makes Costa Rica one of the happiest nations in the world. As my journey begins in Costa Rica I look forward to applying those principles of Pura Vida to my time here in Costa Rica and beyond.
Costs in 5 days and 4 nights in Playa Jaco:
Tranpsportation: $60USD
Costa Rican SIM Card and Plan: $20USD
Hostel for 4 nights: $76USD
Surfboard rental: $10USD
Dining and Groceries: $23USD
Total: $189USD
Next destination: Manuel Antonio