A Trip to the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica

We visited the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in November of 2017. One of my very best high school friends was getting married and there was no way we could miss it. We flew from Orlando to San Jose taking a puddle jumper ultimately to Tamarindo. The regional airline, Nature Air, is unfortunately no longer in business but for good reason. They were involved in a fatal crash just over a month after our trip.

After arriving in Tamarindo, we headed to a nearby Avis to pick up our rental car and immediately began exploring the area. Our first stop was Volcano Brewing. It appeared to be THE place for surfers to grab a beer and some food after surfing all day. We tried a couple of the local brews before heading to our hotel, Jardin del Eden to check-in.

We unpacked our stuff, showered and then walked into town for dinner. We stopped at one of the ocean front restaurants, La Palapa. Wow! This place was great. We had what we believe to be the best prepared whole red snapper we’d ever had. And to make matters even better, we had two for one happy hour drinks.

We had a full day excursion planned with Get Lost in Costa Rica for the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano tour. We rappelled through nine zip lines varying in height, distance and speed. We also rode a water slide 1350 feet high, rode horses up the volcano, relaxed and enjoyed a cocktail in the hot springs and a enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican lunch. After a day of fun, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Seasons by Shlomy.

We booked a private surfing lesson with Iguana Surf the next morning before heading south to Playa Negra to join the wedding party. November is a great time to visit Costa Rica just following the rainy season. The weather and surf is great however the roads are pretty gnarly. We were given the heads’ up and planned accordingly with an SUV rental. The 15 mile drive was quite treacherous and took us about an hour.

We checked in our room at Hotel Playa Negra and met the group at the onsite bar. I have to say, this is the most rustic place I have ever stayed. We each got our own standalone thatched roof hut some with and some without AC. Our room didn’t have AC and I was quite surprised how cool it was in the evening.

Next, we all loaded up in a bus and headed to dinner at Lola’s. This was such a cute oceanfront restaurant. Plus, they have their own large mascot, Lola the pig of course. The view was incredible and the food was just as good.

We spent the next day relaxing, surfer watching and lounging by the pool before the wedding ceremony began just before sunset.