Rainy Season, Part 1

The first time we visited Costa Rica was in August, right before I was due back on my teaching contract for the school year. I'm the trip planner in my relationship-- so obviously I had researched ad nauseum every aspect of the trip; climate and weather, transportation, lodging, activities, one million different places to eat...you name it, I had information about it. So we knew that arriving in August meant arriving mid-rainy season and we set our expectations accordingly.

Stop 1: La Fortuna

Our first stop on the trip was La Fortuna and the Arenal volcano. I had read many anecdotes online about driving in Costa Rica, so we opted to use Interbus to get from San Jose to La Fortuna in a shared van ride. It was totally worth it for our first visit because Costa Rican drivers and roads both lived up to their reputations LOL. The best way to describe the weather when we arrived was overcast and humid, but the drive to La Fortuna was beautiful. We stayed at a lovely resort (Hotel Arena Kioro) that had THE BEST breakfast spread, monkey and bird spotting, lush landscaping, natural hot springs, and a view of Arenal. Bob's only hotel rule is that breakfast be included, so he was in heaven.

The entire time we were there, it drizzled in the afternoons most days but was not bothersome. The altitude kept the temperature moderate and the hot springs on site were chefs kiss when the air was damp and cool. We never did see the top of the volcano but had an amazing time anyway.

Stop 2: Santa Teresa

Next, we hopped on another Interbus shuttle and headed over the the Pacific Coast to Santa Teresa, at the bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula. Now...if you look this up on Google Maps, you can see that the trip is about 270 km or 168 miles. A reasonable person might assume it would take around 4 hours, accounting for traffic and terrain and assuming and average rate of 40 miles/hour or 65 km/hour.

A reasonable person would be mistaken.

6.5 hours later we arrived in the very cool surf town of Santa Teresa with sense of excitement and very sore bottoms. But it was SO worth the drive. My ADHD-fueled trip planning also forewarned that getting around by car here would be more or less futile, especially during the wet season, so we rented a 4x4 as soon as we got there, which was PERFECT and also super fun. The dirt roads were absolutely gnarly -- muddy, uneven and bumpy AF. When it wasn't raining, they quickly dried out and covered everything and everyone in road dust.

The climate here was different, too. More beach-lush than rainforest chic, and the rain came mostly at night. Which we found out when it started raining on our bed through the ceiling LOL But we were embracing the pura vida of it all and just laughed it off. Our little cabina at Banana Beach Hotel was awesome. On the beach, bungalows tucked into quintessential tropical landscaping, a pool, and the on-site restaurant takes credit for turning me into an absolute cafe con leche snob. We had the best time; sunny during the day for exploring and a calming nighttime symphony of chirping frogs and rain on the tin roof.

Banana Beach Hotel, Santa Teresa, CR

The best thing about coming to Costa Rica during the rainy season was the prices and the crowds were much lower than during the dry season (looking at you Christmas and Spring breaks). 10/10 would recommend an August trip even though its part of the rainy season.

Now...October/November? Different story. Onward to part 2...