Hairo3113

This is the second time I've visited Costa Rica, and the third will be to settle down.

I fell in love with the kindness of the people, the culture, and the diversity of the landscapes.

The first time in 2018, I came with my wife and we traveled around the country in a 4*4 and a roof tent.

During our 10-day trip, we started by heading for La Fortuna, where we stayed for 3 days near the volcano. We camped directly on the road to Arenal Park. The rental company gave us an application listing all the campsites in the country (ioverlander.com).

We took the opportunity to hike around the volcano and end the day in the free hot springs opposite Tabaccon. On the second day, we visited the La Fortuna waterfall and headed for the Rio Celeste.

This is a magical place - you can't swim in it, but the water is brilliantly blue. We spent the night at Pedro's campsite and enjoyed the evening with other campervan travelers.

We then headed for the Pacific coast, where we thought we'd only stay a few days, but the beauty of the place paralyzed us on the spot.

We arrived at a small beach, Brazilito, where we decided to spend the night in a wild campsite facing the sea. The place is magical, and waking up in the morning with a swim is just heavenly.

From there, we made the most of passing through Tamarindo, a seaside resort that was more for partying than anything else, so we moved on.

We continued our journey along the coastal road to Samara. We made several stops along the way, the first at Playa Avellana, a great spot for surfing, with a single super-fun restaurant with its feet in the sand. Then we headed down to San Juanillo, where we spent the night in a wilderness campsite. This was our best spot. We bought fish from local fishermen and cooked it over a fire on the beach. It was an incredible experience alone on the beach. We slept with the roof tent open, million stars bedroom….

We then continued on to Samara, where we found a campsite near the beach called Pablito.

There we met a young Belgian couple who were also traveling in a van from the same rental company.

We had a great evening and the 4 of us set off the next day on a boat trip. The program included sport fishing and snorkeling, and the highlight was seeing dolphins.

It was an incredible day, and we ended it at the campsite with this young couple.

As the trip drew to a close, we headed back to Alajuela with a detour to Monteverde, where we enjoyed zip-lining and Tarzan swinging with the company 100% adventure, as the name suggests, I 100% recommend for a good adrenaline rush.

Our last night was spent in Monteverde at Camping Verde, the spot is incredible and the owners are super welcoming.

We finally returned our 4*4 jeep and the agency, which organized our return to the airport. It was an incredible stay, we saw so much and shared wonderful moments with other travelers. The campervan adventure was a revelation for us, not only did we sleep in exceptional places, but we also got to meet some great people.

That's why we came back 5 years later to relive the experience, but this time with our 2 children.

For this week's trip, we opted for a pickup truck with 2 roof tents, perfect for our little tribe. We wanted to share this kind of trip with our daughters so that they could be in contact with nature and learn the simplicity of vanlife.

This time we moved less, but enjoyed it just as much. We spent 3 days on the Caribbean coast. We visited the Cahuita and Manzanillo parks, a refuge for sick animals, and the Jaguar rescue center, and the girls were amazed to see these animals up close. We camped in a campsite in Punta Uva, arecife, the spot is 100m from the sea and has all the amenities, which is practical with small children.

We then returned via Orosi, where we spent the night near the lake so we could take the famous El Cierro de la muerete road to Dominical.

The road is as beautiful as it is cool, with very low temperatures, so we decided not to stop for the night. We continued on to a wild camping spot near the Nauyaca waterfall. The advantage of the 4wd with roof tent is that we decided on our itinerary from day to day, according to the weather and our feelings.

The next morning we walked to this beautiful waterfall, where it's possible to swim and even jump.

Then we visited the Marino Ballena park in Uvita. It's a protected beach where you can go on whale-watching excursions, but it wasn't the right time. We found a campsite right on the beach, El Chaman, where we spent the night.

For our last day, we headed gently up the coast and made one last stop at Esterillo Oeste Beach. I highly recommend this beach for camping. On the seafront but with grass, we made a big fire with the girls, it was magical to find ourselves all 4 in these conditions.

We finally returned the rental car in Alajuela to get to the airport.

I can only recommend this type of trip to enjoy the beauty and authenticity of this country. .

Finally, I'd like to thank all the Ticos we met along the way, who were always smiling and ready to help us if we needed it. This country has left an indelible mark on me, and who knows, I'll see it again when I retire... 😊

jonjon589

Thank you Hairo

With my husband, we went to Costa Rica for 15 days in September and traveled with a 4x4 with a roof tent.
Despite the rainy season, we loved the freedom of sleeping on the beaches alone with our campfire.
It's a superb experience and this country lends itself perfectly to it.

The Ticos are great people and their country is a paradise.