Costa Rica

IAH - SJO Spring 2018

4 Days, Well 2 Full days in Costa Rica
(Arrived on Saturday Morning and flew back on Tuesday Morning)

I look for deals on a daily basis, literally daily.
We planned a trip to Costa Rica back in 2016, and got REALLY REALLY ridiculously cheap tickets $100 RT (IAH to SJO) on Spirit. Prices from Houston to San Jose typically run around $400 RT. I know, I know some people have issues with Spirit, we don't. You can check our airline reviews and travel hacks to see how we fell about Spirit and the best way to fly with them and not end up disappointed.

Okay back to Costa Rica. We didn't get to go back in 2016 due to unforeseen events with CSF (Chatman Security & Fire). So, Costa Rica has been heavy on our hearts. I came across a deal one day in my browsing, $211 on AeroMexico from IAH to SJO. I called Mr.C to confirm the dates and I booked it! We didn't want to bring the kids on this adventure, as we had just booked a trip to Seattle & Vancouver a couple of days before.

We booked a rental car online, it was ridiculously inexpensive. The bulk of the pricing for rental cars in South America is in the Insurance. I booked the rental car through Priceline and I was able to purchase insurance through them. That made things a lot easier or so I thought, more on that later. When it comes to accommodations, I am a bit of a Worry Wart. I literally Research, Research and then Research some more prior to booking. Everything has to be perfect and line up with my vision and travel plans. I finally booked a place via AirBNB (La Luz) about 3 days prior to departure. If you haven't stayed in an AirBNB, I encourage you to do so. Click here to use my code to receive $40 in travel credit .

This was our first time flying Aero Mexico and it will definitely not be our last. The food is decent, seats are big enough to accommodate the two of us (We're both 6'1). We have no complaints. At all. Fly them whenever you can. The only downside is the overnight layover we had in Mexico City. But with the pricing for the tickets we didn't complain. We ended up booking a room at the Fiesta Inn in Mexico City. They are in close proximity to the airport and offer free airport shuttle service. They also have a full restaurant and a Starbucks. The room wasn't anything to brag about, but it was clean and comfortable.

We finally arrived in San Jose around 1pm on Saturday, after retrieving our bags we headed to the Economy Rental Car counter. The rental car facility is off site and they sent a shuttle to pick us up. Upon signing the contract at the counter we were advised that our insurance wasn't good enough and that we should buy their insurance. I wasn't sure what to do, so I split the difference and purchased physical car damage from them. It was an additional $275 for the 4 days. And after that we are on our way, and we headed to Walmart to stock up on water, food, towels and extra toiletries that we would need for the trip. We travel with credit cards because the conversion rates are better than paying with cash and converting to the local currency. We do go to the ATM as well to withdraw a minimal amount of local currency for incidentals and to ensure Mr.C has enough funds to add to his money collection.

After a little bit of shopping we headed over to City Mall to grab a bite to eat before we hit the road down to La Luz (Uvita/Dominical area). It'a nice sized mall with lots of stores. They even had shoes that had been sold out in the US for months. So it was nice to find some of the things on Mr.C's shopping list. After eating we hit the road for a long drive. The drive isn't as scary or crazy as I had read online. It was safe and the roads were paved the entire duration. If driving down to Manuel Antonio, Uvita or Dominical make sure to have money for the toll roads. Back to the drive, It was Beautiful with lots of scenery. You pass through lots of small towns and cities.

We used WAZE as it is the most reliable GPS system down in the area and there are even signs posted at the rental car counters advising of this. So make sure that you download WAZE before hitting the road. It was around a 4 hour drive down the coast, and we even passed by JACO which is a famous area for surfing. It started getting dark once we reached the area and it was extremely difficult to find La Luz even though we had very clear directions. And then it started to rain. Quite literally the perfect storm. Lost in the pitch black, with rain in a foreign country. After speaking with the House Manager we finally found our turn off and made our way to La Luz. Upon reaching the entrance for the house, we thanked God that we rented a 4x4 as the hill appeared to go straight up. Mr.C definitely had to drive, I couldn't do it. It was rather intimidating. After a rough trek up we were at the house and were completely amazed at the Beauty and Simplicity of it. I should mention that once we made it up to the house it stopped raining. Just our luck.

  We located the key to La Luz (Video above) and let ourselves inside. There is a no shoe policy at La Luz so it made unloading the truck a bit interesting. But we made it work. Once we settled in, it was a bit scary being in the middle of nowhere in a glass house. Mr.C fell asleep, while I watched She's Gotta Have it on Netflix with a Glass of wine. The wine was so needed in order to calm my nerves.

Panoramic Bedroom View

When we awoke in the morning we woke up to a new buddy waiting outside of our door and the sounds of birds and monkeys.
We didn't see any monkeys, but we could definitely hear them. We also had a Toucan fly right past the bedroom. We facetime'd the kids and headed out for breakfast. We went to a restaurant right down the highway. I ordered Eggs & Bacon with a side of Ceviche; while Mr.C had a Seafood platter, which ran right around $27. It was loaded with Crab, Calamari, Fish, Shrimp, Mussels, and  'Clams. And at the very bottom of the plate, Garlic Butter.


There was so much the two of us couldn't finish it; because you know I had to dig in his plate. It was too tempting not to. After eating we drove over to the beach in Uvita in hopes that we would be able to see the Whales Tail. There was a $6 Entrance fee to the park/beach for non-residents. The walk to the beach is about 7 minutes from this point and was completely safe in the daylight hours. Upon arriving to the beach we headed towards the whales tail, luckily we made it during low tide so we were able to see it. There were a lot of rocks on the tail, so Mr.C decided to take              up his drone so that we could get a good look at it. After which time we headed into the water.

The water was warm and very clear. The darker sand makes the water look murky, but once you are in it you can see in and through it very clearly. There were little pockets of extremely warm water which was nice. The water was very calm and we spent a couple of hours just enjoying the beauty of it.



Ensuring that we left the park area before dark, Mr.C took the drone up one more time and we headed back to the car. Note, when driving into Uvita don't stop at the first parking place you see. They will wave you in but keep going there is parking close to the entrance and it's the same price.

We planned to go to Manuel Antonio on Monday. However when we looked up directions and the park pricing we realized that the park is closed on Mondays. I guess we didn't plan at all. Our loss, we definitely missed out. Had we known, we would have reversed the days. So we headed to breakfast in Dominical at Cafe Mono Congo (Coco Mongo).
Its an organic restaurant. And was recommended by our AirBNB host. Directly behind the restaurant in the outdoor eating area there is a river area. We were definitely in for a treat as there was an alligator lurking down the gully. He was stalking a dog playing in the river. I'm glad the dog made it out before becoming a alligator snack.

Breakfast was deliciously fresh. I can't wait to head back. They also sell their delicious coffee, we definitely made sure a few bags. While dining we bumped into our AirBNB host, she was amazingly beautiful. We love meeting people on our trips, but this woman was simply amazing. She has lived an amazing life and we were lucky enough that she would share this with us over breakfast. I was completely fascinated with her and I tried to get as much time with her as I could. We ran her to the store and dropped her back at her house. She gave us a tour of her larger place, and we made plans to come back there with the kids soon. She wished us luck and sent us on our way.

On our way back into San Jose we stopped in Jaco to take some pictures and collect some sand for my mother.

Jaco was very touristy, not quite our cup of tea. We prefer to get out and be with the people. However the views there were amazing. We didn't stay long, but long enough for Mr.C to pull out that darn drone again.

We made it into San Jose before dark and it was a nightmare. NEVER again, it literally took us 2 hours to get into Downtown San Jose and turn right back around. It was absolutely insane. There were people everywhere and nowhere for cars to go. Once we made it out we went to Tony Romas for Dinner. It wasn't quite what we expected, but it did the trick. Our last night in we booked a room at the Aloft as we had an early morning flight. The Aloft was just as nice as it is in the States and had their signature Bliss products.

Early the next morning we headed to the airport and our Costa Rica adventure was over. We planned our return at the airport.

Places we plan to visit on our next trip:

• La Fortuna
• Hot Springs
• Starbucks Coffee Fields
• Chocolate Fields
• Manuel Antonio

To be Continued, Hopefully sooner than later.