‘Costa Rica is more than a vacation destination; it is an interactive sensory experience.’-Unknown
Costa Rica had always been in the background of my travel radar. I know so many people who have been and speak highly of the country, the people, and the outdoor activities to be had. One of the things that I learned from my trip to Ecuador was how hard it is getting around somewhere when you do not speak the language and English is not widely spoken. So with this, I thought maybe Costa Rica would be a great opportunity to test out a trip with G Adventures!
A friend from grad school and fellow millennial has used G Adventures for many a trip so I decided that was the one to go with. The price was pretty great and would give me a highlight reel of some of what Costa Rica has to offer. I traveled during December and it is just as the rainy season ends and tourist season begins. I was VERY nervous as someone who travels almost exclusively solo that I would be on a group trip with a bunch of 20 year olds. To combat this, I did splurge to get a private room for the duration. While I was pleasantly surprised at the age mix (from 25 to 70s) and they were all awesome, I’m glad I was able to shut the door at the end of the night and not see any of them.
The trip was going to hit three of the regions and offer different adventury type of excursions. The guide who was with us was good, I have nothing to compare to and I do wish it was a bit more organized as far as when/time/where we were going. Some of this is out of the guide’s control. You could only book a couple of the available options ahead of time and when it came time to decide on something else, it just seemed rush and not a clear picture of what I was doing. I’ll go into which I would still have booked and what I would have just done on my own via Get Your Guide as we move along through this series. We had so much free time (a major plus) but I felt I could have utilized it better.
There are a few things I would not do again but the only regret was the snorkeling. This is what I was most excited about and it was offered in my pre-booking. It was 4 hour sunset catamaran boat tour with snorkeling. How it sounded was there would be a lot more time in the water and there wasn’t-like 15-20 minutes. The sunset was incredible though. Also a note on bookings, they had an Adventure Bundle which included a zipline and canyoneering. You have to book ahead of time, you get the bundle discount (which I did). A friend I made on the trip decided she wanted to do it but, while she could book separately, it was a lot more money.
Packing was also hard. I had bought a Cotopaxi 42L backpack to bring with me but the lead up to the trip, I was running full throttle planning a huge event plus my actual job and when it came to (last minute) pack, I used my trusty Away suitcase. Many others also used suitcases and I did overpack. Partly because 3 different climates, partly I did not have the bandwidth to think about it. Things that made my life easier were my favorite Kuhl gear-Vantage joggers and shorts plus my Danner trail shoes. I knew because of my trip to Zion that they could get wet and dry quickly, which would be helpful because canyoning would be a lot of water and if they got trashed, I have had them for nearly 10 years. They did great though and I can still wear, although much more green than the blue they started. They do need to be retired but cannot bring myself to do it yet. I did bring my Cotopaxi 26L Daypack and worked just as great as it did in Europe last summer. Cannot recommend enough.
I did make two purchases for the trip. The packable jacket I had used forever zipper broke when I was in Iceland and after asking a lot of friends, I bought the Patagonia Hooded Nano. It is expensive but they just redesigned so I was able to save about 20% on last season’s. I also bought a pair of rugged Teva’s. I sold my Chacos on Poshmark and someone I follow on instagram recommended the Tevas. The did not tear up my feet as the Chacos had but I like the fit of the chacos better due to my having a high instep, so pondered trying the ones with a toe loop. Just indecisive lol. Feel free to share any recommendations!
Overall I had a wonderful time and would travel with G Adventures in the future…which was supposed to be Jordan in May but that trip has been delayed for obvious reasons. Cannot wait to share it with you….I went WAY out of my comfort zone and saw many a way to die, ha!
