This is the third segment of Love and a Suitcase's series about Costa Rica. In the last two posts, we discuss why Costa Rica is a great destination for just about anyone and we provide tips for getting around. Make sure to check those posts out if you haven't yet!
This is also a two-part post. Here you can read about our recommendations for lodging, excursions, and cuisine in Costa Ballena—Costa Rica's "Whale Coast." Stay tuned for Part 2, which focuses on the Arenal/La Fortuna area.
First Stop: Ojochal, Costa Ballena
So, where did we end up going in Costa Rica? As many places as possible. We kicked off our trip, as most tourists do, in the capital city of San JosĂ©. That’s simply because San JosĂ© offers Costa Rica’s largest international airport—Juan SantamarĂa International Airport or SJO.
Once we grabbed our luggage in San José, we quickly jumped into a shuttle to the Budget rental car lot a couple miles away. Once loaded into our RAV4, we headed south for the Pacific Coast.
Our first drive was relatively uneventful, if you don’t count unwittingly crossing the infamous Crocodile Bridge (see below). We were driving over a river when I looked out and—to my surprise—saw about a dozen crocodiles on the riverbanks below. Turns out this is a popular tourist site in Costa Rica and it's one we would definitely recommend!
Park your car and lock it securely, then walk towards the pedestrian part of the bridge. Here you can (safely) behold anywhere from a dozen to forty wild crocodiles below. But stay on the bridge—these are wild animals and people have been killed after getting too close to them. Please respect nature!
The rest of the drive was relatively calm other than some heavy rain showers. The scenery along the drive was lovely, despite our jet lag.
Lodging
Four-ish hours of rain later, we arrived in Ojochal. In search of a unique place to stay—and hoping to use our Chase Rewards Points—we had stumbled upon El Castillo. El Castillo is a small boutique hotel full of luxury villas overlooking the Pacific. It's also located up one of the steepest and windiest driveways I’ve ever seen.
Again—get an SUV, you won’t regret it. David steered us expertly up this drive and, suddenly, El Castillo came into view. A beautiful whitewashed building with wooden shutters and tropical plants all around—the sight of it was extremely welcoming.
The next sight awaiting us was even more so. As we entered our lodging, we looked out through an open set of doors to see an infinity pool and—beyond this—a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.
Despite the fact that it was pouring, I couldn’t have been more awe-inspired by this initial view. Our concierge awaiting our arrival with cocktails in hand—a local libation of passion fruit and gin—didn’t hurt either.
This is where we started to really appreciate the rainy season. Turns out, not a lot of people were staying in El Castillo in July. And when I say not a lot, I mean we were literally the only guests throughout our entire stay. It was amazing. Having an entire hotel to ourselves was a lovely way to begin married life.
Cuisine
In addition to offering lovely airy villas with private balconies, amazing sights, and a beautiful swimming pool, El Castillo also boasts a delightful gourmet restaurant. Although the menu is a bit sparse due to El Castillo’s small size, every meal we ordered there was delectable.
Breakfast, which came with our stay, was also served every morning out by the infinity pool. This often consisted of a local Costa Rican dish known as gallo pinto—a mix of rice, black beans, and spices. Ours was typically accompanied with bacon, fresh avocado, fried plantains, and a variety of fresh local fruit and honey.
As a gluten-free gal myself, Costa Rican food was quite the delight. Costa Ricans don't eat much in the way of bread or pasta. Instead, their diet is dominated by naturally gluten-free things like rice, beans, meat, fruit, and veggies. El Castillo was also very accommodating of allergies.
On our last night at El Castillo, the chef made us a special complimentary meal since we were on our honeymoon. I kid you not, this was the fanciest meal I've ever had. There were multiple courses of seafood, steak, chicken, and other delectable things piled artistically on our plate—plus wine pairings and dessert.
Excursions
Ojochal, the small town where El Castillo is located, is part of the Costa Ballena—or Whale Coast. While there are some tourists in this area, the hilly region is neither heavily populated nor gimmicky. There are three towns in the region—Ojochal, Dominical, and Uvita. Each of these towns offers a taste of authentic Costa Rican culture—lots of houses but few hotels and resorts, peaceful beaches, and local restaurants and shops.
Beaches
We started our stay off by visiting the local beaches. More or less deserted in mid-July, the sandy beach was spotlessly clean and peaceful. Here David took a surfing lesson—and I took in the sun.
One thing to note: turns out, the lovely beaches in Costa Ballena are also home to crocodiles. This is something David's surf instructor told us after I had been wandering the beach alone for two hours. Until I stumbled upon a warning sign, that is. Costa Rica is very lax about this kind of thing—they fit their lives into the surrounding nature rather than the other way around.
Another very cool sign of this attitude was the plentiful supply of wildlife inside our luxury boutique hotel. With windows thrown open all day, huge praying mantises, butterflies, and other harmless insects would shelter on the walls and ceiling during the heavier rainfall.
Not a fan of bugs myself, I enjoyed living alongside these ones—their size made them much more similar to small animals than creepy crawlies.
Snorkeling
We also scheduled a snorkeling expedition. Unbeknownst to us, this involved taking a small boat out into the Pacific and jumping into pretty choppy (and polluted) water. It's possible we were just unlucky, but we didn't see any fish and the actual snorkeling was pretty disappointing.
In order to make it up to us, however, our boat captains took us to a small island where they took us on a hike through jungle trails full of hermit crabs, monkeys, macaws, and even some crocodiles. This was an amazing opportunity as we did not see any other monkeys or macaws throughout our stay in Costa Rica. They also let us swim in some jungle pools—a nice way to rinse off the salt water from snorkeling.
ATV Jungle Tour
Our final, and favorite, excursion in Costa Ballena was our ATV tour of the jungle. In a caravan of about ten ATVs and side-by-sides, we got to drive up into the mountains above Uvita and experience the rugged terrain and natural beauty these remote areas have to offer. Our guides helped us spot sloths, toucans, and other wildlife.
Plus it was a blast to ride up the mountainside in our side-by-side ATV. In addition to the wildlife, we also got to visit a coffee plantation, see local farms, and hike to some waterfalls.
Again, Costa Rica is a lot more lax when it comes to safety than the U.S. We felt safe the whole time, but this definitely wasn't an excursion we could do back home.
Our overall experience in Costa Ballena was peaceful, stunningly unique, and private. This is a wonderful place to visit if you want to see authentic Costa Rican life away from the hubbub of major tourist attractions.
Because we planned our trip during the rainy season, we were fortunate to have an entire hotel to ourselves, not to mention knowledgable staff who were able to help us schedule our wonderful excursions.
Our second stop in the Arenal/La Fortuna area made us appreciate the peace and tranquility of our first stop and we'd highly recommend it.
Stay tuned for Part 2: Arenal and La Fortuna!
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