Adventure With Julia

I spent spring break on a group tour across Costa Rica, and I had many crazy experiences, some awesome, some not so much… In this blog, I hope to share the best activities that I would recommend to all travelers, while showing that travel is not perfect. I hope you find this list helpful, and recognize that the crazy, or seemingly bad experiences, often make the best stories.

1. Go Snorkeling

Costa Rica is home to unique wildlife and gorgeous blue waters, making it a perfect spot for snorkeling. With coasts on both sides of the country, you can snorkel in either the Caribbean or Atlantic waters or both! On our group tour, we took a catamaran from Playa Panama in Guanacaste and anchored out along the coast. First, we sailed past islands and expansive hotels, ultimately stopping to snorkel in a shallow sandy area with a small reef. Many tours provide snorkels for you, but I still recommend packing your own if you have them. The thought of sharing the mouthpiece grosses me out, but the shared equipment is an option! Lather on plenty of reef-safe sunblock before jumping in! I enjoyed snorkeling for a while, and eventually became tired of kicking around and opted to take off my snorkel gear and swim back to the boat. During my return swim, I was stung by a small jellyfish around the top of my foot, leaving pink and white bubbles on my skin that burned, especially in the salt water. Once I reached the boat, I learned that about half of our fellow tour members had faced a similar fate. That day, I learned that vinegar is what should be sprayed on jellyfish stings. After that, I was done with swimming and enjoyed some lovely guacamole and pineapple on our cruise back, while taking many pictures of the beautiful coastline.

2. White Water Rafting

White water rafting was a group favorite. Each family was paired with a raft guide who would command the boat down the river. Our guide Anita was very personable and also a bit scary with her threats to send us down the river to Nicaragua if we did not listen to her instructions. Because of this, we were quick learners and conquered the many rapids without falling into the water. In calm areas of the river, I floated through on my back, until other groups would begin reoccurring splash fighting with paddles that left me scrambling back in the boat to fight back. We were lucky with a partly cloudy day and no rain, and no travelers falling out of the rafts. After the lovely adventure, we returned to the hotel, hanging our wet clothes over the balcony to dry, finding that they all smelled awful, leading us to leave them there. Learn from my mistakes and bring old clothes that you are ready to get rid of on your rafting adventure.

3. See the Arenal Volcano

The postcard picture of Costa Rica is the Arenal volcano, which looks just like how a child would draw one: A perfect triangle. Stay in the town of La Fortuna, full of plenty of activities like ziplining, hot springs, wake surfing, and more. From my prior research, I assumed that the volcano would always be the focal point of the town. After spending three days there, I saw the volcano for a total of two minutes, where I managed to take one photo. The locals told me that I was lucky! I still recommend a visit, as the town is wonderful and offers many unique experiences. Just don’t expect the perfect family photo beneath the picturesque volcano.

4. Go Ziplining 

Zip line in La Fortuna, the town with the famous volcano that you will not even know is there. The elevation of the volcano does provide for great ziplining, though! Zip over the rainforest for a truly thrilling experience. On a good day, you can see Lake Arenal from the lines and soak up the sunlight. On a rainy day, like the day I went, you will enjoy closing your eyes to keep the dirt and water from flinging inside them off the line. This is another activity that you should consider wearing your old dirty clothes, as my blue shirt was brown from dirt by the end. I love heights and ziplining, so it was plenty worth it. 

5. Catch Dinner

Don’t forget about the food! Visiting a new country means the opportunity to learn about the culture, which can be best learned through tasting the food. In an attempt to taste the local cuisine, my family booked a tour with a man who was sitting on the beach. Later that day, we took off on a small boat that smelled of spilt gasoline and beer. We cast some fishing lines and caught tuna one after another. This was the best fishing I had ever seen, but eventually we decided that we should go for some bigger fish. We cast some deeper lines while our guide cut up tuna on the back of the boat, plating it with some pineapple. He handed it to us, telling us about it in Spanish, which none of us understood. I reached over the boat, rinsing my hands in the saltwater before grabbing a piece of the fish with my hands, dripping sauce all over the sketchy boat. It was the best fish I had ever eaten. After trolling for a while, we returned to the beach with a plastic bag full of fish. We gave much of it away to local people on the beach and left half of it for our captain as well. That night we enjoyed our wonderful fish, followed by my mom experiencing food poisoning for several days. 

6. Try the local foods 

Costa Rica is home to many unique, delicious fruits! Taste a variety of tropical juices and possibly find a new favorite. I found many of the fruits to be tasty, especially the ice cream bean. This fruit has a green casing that can be broken open to reveal white, fluffy pods. Eat the individual pieces, and spit out the slimy seeds. This fluffy little “bean” tastes like cotton candy ice cream, my new favorite.

7. Drive around the lake 

On route from Arenal to Guanacaste, drive around Lake Arenal. If I could change one part of my trip, I would have booked a tour on this lake. I saw many advertisements for wakeboarding and wakesurfing, which are some of my favorite activities. If I had the time, I would have loved to participate in them. If watersports aren’t your thing, you can still enjoy a beautiful drive with many sightseeing spots along the way. On this drive, I got motion sickness along with many others, but it was worth it once we stopped for a smoothie. Stop at a small restaurant along the water for beautiful views and healthy fruits.

8.  Swim in the Hot Springs

Throughout Costa Rica, there are many naturally occurring hot rivers, many of which flow into hot springs. You can select a more man-made or naturally occurring option, all enjoyable. Plan on about an hour to enjoy. These hot springs were truly wonderful, my only issue was having blond hair. My previously blond hair had stripes of green after swimming. So, my fellow blonds, put conditioner in your hair before you swim. My other tip is to make sure you take breaks from the water, as several people felt sick afterwards, as the river is like a hot tub and can cause complications if you are exposed to it for too long. Issues aside, this was living my childhood dream of swimming in a hot pool, and I recommend it to everyone.