Two Weeks in Costa Rica

14/08/2024

“It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream.” – Bern Williams

from

12/08/2024

Today we sent out our weekly email newsletter with a fun list of activities to do in Samara. Some of our top things include a dolphin watching tour, wildlife hike, the Saturday farmers market, surf lessons, and a visit to a macaw parrot breeding center nearby. See the full list in the comments below and tell us your favorites!

If you'd like to start receiving our newsletter, just comment or message us and we'll send over the link to sign up. We share Costa Rica news, helpful info, and our latest articles (almost) every Sunday. 😎

10/08/2024

Workers picking golden (honeydew) melons in Costa Rica. 💛

07/08/2024

Playa Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. ⛱

At the north end of the beach there is tall hill where you can catch this view. Have you been?

06/08/2024

Fun time ocean kayaking in Samara. The island was about 20 min off the beach.

04/08/2024

Busy day but worth it! Today we tackled two tours plus the Samara farmer’s market. First it was a nature walk with Berny, an extremely knowledgeable local guide. We trudged through the forest learning about trees, insects, ghost bats, and more. It was muddy and fun!

Next was a stop at the weekly
farmer’s market (with fun live music, produce, crafts, etc.) and lunch.

After a couple more cups of coffee, Sam and Matt took surf lessons in the afternoon while Jenn and Evan checked out the beach. The surf was perfect and the instructors were amazing.

Tomorrow we head back home. Samara is still up there as one of our favorite towns in Guanacaste. More articles in the works…

02/08/2024

Fun day ocean kayaking in Samara! We had amazing weather on our paddle out to Isla Chora. The island isn’t far and only took us about 30 minutes. Once there we enjoyed the fluffy white sand, thousands of hermit crabs, and snorkeling off the beach. Even with the giant rainstorm last night, the water was clear enough to see some cool fish. We’ll definitely be adding this activity to our online booking engine so stay tuned. 🤿🛶🐠

02/08/2024

We made it to Sámara!
It’s a holiday in Costa Rica tomorrow so we took advantage and are spending the long weekend in Samara. Samara is a small, laid back beach town with a main area set along the sand. It’s probably our favorite beach town in Guanacaste so we’re excited to be back and do some more exploring.
Tomorrow morning we’re doing an ocean kayak tour. It’s pouring rain now. Fingers crossed for good weather! 🤞
🇨🇷

01/08/2024

Say hello to the Volcano Hummingbird! This tiny bird's image can be seen on Costa Rica's 20,000 colon bill. They are only found in the highest parts of Costa Rica and Panama. We spotted this one in the San Gerardo de Dota cloud forest.

30/07/2024

In case you missed it! Our latest post is about our recent visit to the Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park. This amazing waterfall is near Dominical on the southern Pacific coast. It's one of our all-time favorites. To plan this for yourself, check out the article and short video we made... links in the comments.

27/07/2024

Playa Ocotal, Guanacaste ⚓️
Black volcanic sand mixes with white sand from nearby coral reefs.

25/07/2024

Today the Amistad Bridge was reopened after several months of repairs. This bridge on Route 18, connects Route 1 (north of Puntarenas) to the Route 21 (Nicoya Peninsula). This is an important road/bridge for travelers going from San Jose or central Pacific towns to areas on the Nicoya Peninsula like Samara, Nosara, and Punta Islita. It's also a good route if you are heading to beach towns like Tamarindo, Playa Grande, Conchal, etc. in Guanacaste.

Tip: On the Nicoya side of the bridge there is a nice parking area with a short trail to a lookout and monument. Another trail brings you down near the edge of the water.

24/07/2024

Something to look up to🌳
Just one of the awe-inspiring trees you'll find on a hike through the rainforests of Costa Rica. How many of you have shots like this on your camera roll?

22/07/2024

So cool! 50 baby leatherback sea turtles released in Cahuita. These are some of the rarest turtles with the least numbers of successful nests. Each baby is so important. Thanks so much Turtle Rescue Cahuita 👏

17/07/2024

Did you catch our latest article this week? It's a sample 7-day itinerary from LIR Guanacaste Airport. ✈️ Liberia is Costa Rica's smaller international airport but is becoming more popular with some airlines and travelers. Find the link in the comments below and start planning your dream trip! ⛱

16/07/2024

During our recent visit to Uvita we got to stop by the feria (farmer's market). El Mercado de Bahía Ballena is held every Wednesday and Saturday from 8am to 2pm. Besides great produce there are handmade crafts, jewelry, furniture, bowls, clothing, foods, and much more. We even saw our friend Deiner from Café Don Emilio serving up and selling his family's delicious coffee!

14/07/2024

🍍White pineapple? We got to try this special type of white pineapple during our recent chocolate tour at Rancho Raices de Puerto Jimenez. It was sweet and less acidic than regular pineapple. Super tasty, especially paired with the rich chocolate we made!

P.S. They gifted our kids another pineapple at the end of the tour. We saved the top stem and planted it in our yard. With luck it will fruit in about 1 year! 🪴

11/07/2024

Always look carefully! This tiny tree frog was hiding inside a curled-up leaf next to our lunch table at Lori Restaurant in Dominical last week. 🔍🐸

09/07/2024

Another highlight from our adventures to the Osa Peninsula was hanging out with Jim Cordoba.

This was really inspiring! Jim is somewhat famous. Not only for his insect research and the discovery of over 40+ new species in Costa Rica, but also because he is the founder of the BioSur Foundation. This is a non-profit protecting rainforest that we help support through our site.

Jim talked about how he got started on this journey, what is in store for the future, and about his many recent appearances on the Brave Wilderness YouTube channel, one of our favorites!

08/07/2024

Our road trip may be done but we have a lot more to share with you. This week we'll give you some different angles from our travels. To start off, here are some more pics from our dolphin watching tour in the Gulfo Dulce (near Puerto Jimenez). The dolphins were amazing but this was the other highlight... When looking around, you are completely surrounded by rainforest!


Changing Tide Tours, Costa Rica

06/07/2024

We made the best out of a cloudy day today. First stop was Marino Ballena National Park, which is home to the famous whale tail. This giant rocky sandbar looks like a big tail from above. We walked out to the tip but the tide was coming in quickly so we only stayed a few minutes. Still fun to be out on the sand!

After lunch at one of our favorite spots (Ballena Bistro), we visited the only coral growing lab in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Coral Restoration has big tanks of coral fragments that will eventually be transplanted back into the nearby reefs. We learned a lot about coral and how their efforts will help combat the ongoing coral bleaching going on. Such cool work.

05/07/2024

Today we revisited the popular Nauyaca Waterfall in the mountains near Dominical/Uvita. But this time we tried the newer Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park entrance. It was awesome! They have a truck that can bring you one way or roundtrip for most of the way. We opted for one way, hiking down and getting a ride back up.

The hike was really nice through the jungle. We heard howler monkeys and even saw a sloth. The waterfall was flowing like crazy with the recent rains but still stunning.

It’s a two-tiered waterfall so we first visited the top then hung out below on a sandy part of the river to cool off. Finished the hike with a tasty lunch back at the base camp.

Tomorrow is our last full day of this road trip and we are hoping the weather cooperates for a beach day.

04/07/2024

Local experiences in Uvita today. First it was a hands on coconut tour with David at Productos de coco punta lagarto. We cracked open fresh coconuts to drink the water, ate the yummy insides, and even made coconut milk and oil. Later we stopped by El Mercado de Bahía Ballena to shop for some local fruits, coffee, and art!

03/07/2024

Fun hike today at Hacienda Baru in Dominical. We saw a ton of wildlife including white-faced monkeys, agouti, coati, birds, butterflies, and many of these peccaries. This one in particular gave us some attitude…yikes!

This private reserve is a good alternative to Manuel Antonio National Park (45 minutes away), especially for those looking for something more rustic and off-the-beaten-path.

02/07/2024

The new viewing platform at Arenal Volcano National Park is open! We saw this being built when we were there in April. It’s flat and a nice alternative to walking the old lava flows while still getting a great view! 🌋

: Este mirador está ubicado en Sendero Coladas que cuenta con un trayecto plano de 1.7 kilómetros.

Lea más aquí: https://sinartdigital.com/trecenoticias/nacionales/item/nuevo-mirador-360o-en-parque-nacional-volcan-arenal-cautivara-a-turistas

02/07/2024

Very low key day today with a visit to Reptilandia. We saw tons of snakes, turtles, lizards, and even some frogs. The facility is under new ownership since our last visit and the paths and enclosures are looking really good. This place is always a hit with our kids. 🐍🐢

Also grabbed a bite to eat at Lori Restaurant & Deli in Dominical. Wow, it was some of the best falafel & pita we have had in Costa Rica! 🥙

01/07/2024

Awesome weather this morning at Playa Preciosa (aka Playa Platanares). Our hotel (the Botanika) said it was fine to check out late so we spent a couple hours at the beach club before we hit the road. Later, we drove through some rain, but nothing crazy, and arrived in Dominicalito just before dark. More adventures tomorrow!

29/06/2024

Today we visited an organic cacao farm called Rancho Raices. This was a really cool tour of a 50-year old family property. Our guide Glenda taught us a lot about growing cacao, we got to make some delicious chocolate, and really enjoyed the trails where we saw a 200-year-old ceiba tree!

28/06/2024

Road trip! We made it to Puerto Jimenez today. With a tropical rain system moving in, it was a wet 5-hr drive. But we broke it up with some stops and are excited to be back on the Osa Peninsula.

19/06/2024

We're excited to announce that we're now booking tours online! 🥳

On our site, you'll find a list of hand-picked tours in several destinations in Costa Rica that you can book quickly and easily. Right now, we have La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Jaco, and a few things from Guanacaste, but we'll soon be adding more. These are tours we've done ourselves and have been booking for people for years. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Link in comments.