A few things that come to mind when I think of a 'vacation' is a beach, the ocean, sandals, sunscreen, maybe a drink out of a pineapple or a pool humming in the hot sun. I think of palm trees, relaxing, distant laugher and souvenirs, lined up neatly on a checkered tarp.
I've been to quite a few beaches, Mexico being a hot spot for all the resort feels, but if you're looking for a fantastic alternative, avoid the tempting all-inclusive food and drinks, and get yourself a ticket to Del Coco Beach, Costa Rica.
Where to Stay
One of the reasons I love Coco Beach so much is the location! Flying into Liberia Airport (LIB), the town is about 30 minutes away. I would suggest renting a car for your stay if you plan to visit neighbouring areas, but you can easily spend a week walking around Coco, as it's filled with shops, restaurants, and of course, the beach!
TIP: Uber is technically illegal in Costa Rica. You may be able to get a ride this way from locals but use a taxi or rent a car instead for the safest way to get to and from your stay.
Opposite of the coastline is tons of apartment complexes for rent. Check Airbnb or Facebook groups for people renting out their homes. The average seems to be around $100 to $150 per night at a two bedroom complex, but this can vary by season. Surrounded by rainforests, the wet season in Costa Rica is May to November, so plan accordingly. Also feel free to message hosts on Airbnb and ask for a discount for stays a month or longer! Sometimes, they'll give you a monthly discount.
Many of the complexes look identical, with surrounding condos and a shared pool. What a great way to make friends and meet your vacation neighbours! This was our complex at sunset, with a quiet pool and hot tub. It was such a great location, a five minute walk to the beach and a ten minute walk to the strip, filled with bars, restaurants and shops, which bring us to our next section:
Things to do
On the main road, leading from the main highway into Del Coco Beach, is the cutest little town. Here you can find restaurants of all kinds- Mexican, sushi, steak houses, cafes and brunch! You can shop through souvenir shops, clothing stores, art galleries and workshop classes. And of course- the nightlife! There are tons of bars offering specialty cocktails and drinks, hosting karaoke nights and get ready to dance the night away at packed clubs on the weekends. Here are my top choices to visit:
Zi Lounge
Coconutz
Bar El Ancla
Zarpe *Best drinks in Del Coco!
While you're in Costa Rica, in between all it's beautiful culture and environment, you might as well sign up for a day tour. There are tons of tours available in CR, a lot more than what you would find on a resort. I've been on so many tours and had such great experiences to take home with me. There are tons of tour shops around the beach and most of the pricing is the same, but here are some of my favourite tours to do in Costa Rica.
1. Chocolate Tour
With the perfect temperatures, and just the right amount of rainfall, Costa Rica is has great growing conditions to grow cacao beans, aka, chocolate! Experience a day tour at the farm through Cata Chocolate located right on the beach! You can learn to make specialty, hand-painted chocolate from professional chocolatiers, or experience the process from cacao bean to chocolate in a full-day tour at their chocolate farm. We opted to visiting the farm, where the guides treat you to a day of learning the insane process of how to make cacao from cacao pods, grinding the ripe seeds into chocolate flakes, and mixing it into bon bons filled with your favourite toppings to take home. They also feed you a homemade meal from ingredients on the farm, with a cup of fresh sugar cane juice. Everyone was so wonderful and we had tons of fun with the goats, chickens and other farm animals. Just make sure to wear bug spray as the farm is located on a pond, and it gets pretty buggy!
2. Rio Celeste
One of my favourite days in Costa Rica was visiting Rio Celeste at the Tenorio Volcano National Park. This is a private, protected park surrounding the most beautiful waterfalls bursting with turquoise blue water. It is quite a hike to get to the waterfall, so bring your hiking boots as you venture through the rainforest, stopping to see wild animals living in their natural habitat. The view of the waterfall was breathtaking, and honestly, my camera couldn't capture the beauty of this natural, blue waterfall. The area gets pretty busy, so make sure to get to this location early to beat the other tourists. There is a $10 park preservation fee and they also sell rain ponchos at the entrance if you find yourself in a rain storm- it is a rainforest after all.
TIP: Make sure to install WhatsApp before arriving as many of the tour operators communicate through this messaging app.
3. Volcanic Mud
There are so many natural hot springs located in Costa Rica! Treat yourself to a spay day where you can visit a natural spring and cover yourself in a thick, natural mud to clean out your pores! This was such a relaxing experience of being your inner child and playing in the mud, and then soaking your body into a hot water bath. I did this tour in the afternoon after a full day of activities from zip lining to soaring down the water slides. I find that a lot of the tours are stackable and flexible, so choose your full day adventures wisely and watch the sunset relaxing in the hot springs. It's the perfect end to an eventful day. You can see the mud experience in this video here, a recap of my first time in Costa Rica:
4. Surfing
As a first timer, I was pretty nervous jumping on to my first surf board and riding the waves, but you have to try this while in Costa Rica! There are so many surfing destinations and schools teaching you the basics of surfing. There are also some three-day programs that allow you to stay and surf with lessons so you can truly enjoy and experience the surf life. My friends and I went to the beginner surf beach: Tamarindo. It's a quaint little strip filled with bars and tons of surf schools. We did a three hour course where they provided boards and a wet suit. An instructor taught us how to balance and pop on the board on the sand so we can practice, and then it was time to hit the waves! The instructor warned us that if you can pop up and ride the waves at least once, it was a successful day, surfing is so difficult but a lot of fun. I was surprised by how big the waves were, even though we could touch the sand below us. We were pretty exhausted afterwards but exhilarated as we all successfully surfed our first waves.
Edibles
If you've been reading my blogs, you know that food is the most important thing to me when travelling! And I wish I could give you concrete addresses and places to eat, but that's just not the way Costa Rica operates pura vida baby! Restaurants come and go, so the best advice I could give you is to walk Del Coco and find some street food. Near the beach you can always find 'meat on stick' or coconut water, straight from a coconut (they literally machete the fruit right in front of you and then stab a straw through the skin) as a delicious treat for $1 USD. Last time I went to Costa Rica in 2022, we found this guy selling empanadas on the side of the road for $3 USD. There are so many restaurants in the area, so make sure you try all the delicious foods!
On a budget
At the beginning I told you to skip the resort and fly to Del Coco Beach instead, but beach freedom comes with a bit of budget planning. It really depends where you go and what you eat in order to maintain a healthy budget. If you eat at the steak house every night, you wallet will be crying. Tours are around $150 per day including transportation, and a lot of your budget will dive into these experiences. I'd recommend saving $500 per week in Costa Rica to truly enjoy all the stays, adventures and food this beautiful country has to offer. After flying to Del Coco twice, here are some ways I successfully saved money:
Buy bottled alcohol instead of drinking at a bar every night.
Rent a scooter for a day (around $50 USD) and drive to another beach for new scenery like Ocho beach or Tamarindo. Or use the scooter to drive to your tour destination and save money on transportation offered by the company.
Buy groceries at the local store for breakfasts or a quick lunch.
I hope you all gained some insight on why Del Coco is my favourite tourist town filled with good eats, friendly visitors and locals, things to do and accessible places to stay. I can't wait to plan another stay at this communal beach paradise.
