After dreaming of visiting beautiful, lush Costa Rica since I was student at Clemson University (go Tigers!), I was finally able to realize that dream with my husband and children! It’s impossible to sum up our incredible days there in mere words and pictures, but I pray this is a good start. If I could only choose a single word to describe this magical green place, it would be this: a d v e n t u r e.
So much adventuring was packed into this week, and we barely scratched the surface! I wouldn’t change a thing if I had those days to do over, which makes me both grateful and proud.
We flew into Liberia airport, picked up our rental car, and drove three hours inland to stay at the iconic Tabacon Resort and Spa in La Fortuna, Costa Rica for 4 nights. After our stay there was complete, we drove back in the direction we came to spend our final 3 nights at the Andaz Costa Rica in Guanacaste. Our week began with adventure and ended with relaxation, which was exactly the way we wanted it.
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LA FORTUNA
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We were originally not scheduled to do a split stay during our trip, but I made a change a few months after the original booking to include this majestic area of the country. When I say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, I’m not lying. We were going to do a couple of tours in this direction (from the coast), but being submerged in the culture for a few days was just…wow. It’s hard to describe just how much we loved it.
Here are the highlights of our explorations:
•Mystico Hanging Bridges
•La Fortuna Waterfall
•Arenal Volcano
•A coffee & chocolate farm tour
•Local, delicious food
•Tabacon Hot Springs
•All of the amazing wildlife sightings
•Rio Celeste waterfall & river
We booked most of these as excursions via Viator, complete with tour guides on each, and we were really glad we did. It was more expensive to see these particular places than if we had driven ourselves, but it was worth the peace of mind and fantastic, knowledgeable guides.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Arenal area of Costa Rica, DO IT. Seriously, just do it. We 100% lived our best lives! This trip will be a hard one to top, and even our kiddos agree. We are so happy that this gorgeous country was our first family-wide passport stamp!
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PAPAGAYO PENINSULA
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Opposite of the adventure of the first part of our week, the theme on the coast was this: r e l a x. A luxury resort on a pacific peninsula with stunning bay views around every turn? Yep, that was exactly it. We had never experienced anything else like it!
Once we arrived onto the stunning property, we never left the grounds. We spent the majority of our waking moments in the water, and made some really cool friends who enjoyed all the same things we did. All four of us agreed that this is the best hotel we’ve stayed in to-date, which is a pretty big deal as we’ve been blessed to stay in some fabulous places over the past few years. It was just that amazing — the grounds, the decor, the food, the pools, the resort’s Beach House, the monkeys, the people, all of it. Especially after a thrill-packed first part of the trip, this slower pace was the perfect way to end our time in this awe-inspiring place.
We made a pit stop at the Llanos de Cortez waterfall while we were driving from La Fortuna to Papagayo Peninsula, and it was a fabulous pivot from go-go-go to take-it-slow. A wonderful final excursion, if you will. This was another bucket list waterfall for me, personally, too!
These beach bums were in absolute paradise. Just look at this place! It’s hard to believe it’s even real.
Costa Rica was inspiring and beautiful, mysterious and compelling. Oh, how I hope we haven't seen the last of it. What bliss to spend a week getting acquainted with this bright, fun country!
Pura Vida from the Bargerons!
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