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Central America · The wanderer's guide
Costa Rica
Golden light, green hills, and the gentle art of taking your time.
01 · Overview
A first look at Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is the place that taught me to stop overpacking my days. I came for a week of beaches and left with a whole different rhythm: long walks before breakfast, a hot spring instead of a second coffee, and an afternoon spent doing absolutely nothing at all. Guanacaste gives you the sun-baked coast, but the country keeps giving — volcanoes, cloud forest, and a quiet, stubborn kindness from the people you meet on the road.
Costa RicaDecember — April
02 · Best time to wander in
December — April
Dry, golden, and glowing
This is the stretch everyone means when they say 'good season' — reliable blue sky, warm Pacific water, evenings cool enough to sleep without a fan. I like May and November better if you don't mind a dramatic afternoon storm: everything goes impossibly green, the crowds thin out, and the light at four o'clock is worth the wait.
03 · Top adventures
Make time for these.
Soak in volcanic water
Rincón de la Vieja hides hot springs, mud pools, and a waterfall at the end of a dry-forest walk. Go early, bring a towel that can get dirty.
Watch the sky turn to gold
A small catamaran past the hidden coves, snorkelling stop included. I've never once been able to speak for the first ten minutes of the return leg.
Let the wildlife find you
Howler monkeys at dawn, iguanas on the fences, scarlet macaws overhead in the coastal reserves. Quiet feet and an early start do more than any binocular.
04 · Passages & itineraries
Routes I'd walk again.
Copy these whole, or steal the shape of them. Each one is the order I'd do things in, not a checklist to tick off.
7 days
The Pacific Coast Passage
TamarindoAvellanasPlaya GrandeNosara
Surf schools, long walks, and slow mornings. I'd give Tamarindo two nights for arrival and acclimatisation, then keep going north — the further you travel, the quieter it gets.
5 days
Volcanoes & Cloud Forest
Rincón de la ViejaMiravallesTenorioNosara
Hot springs, cocoa farms, and the Rio Celeste's impossible blue. This is the passage for travellers who want the green interior rather than the coast.
05 · Wander with intention
Where to put your money, your time, and your attention.
Wellness
Nicoya's slow habit
This is one of the world's blue zones. Mornings begin with movement and end early: sea swimming, a stretch on the sand, dinner while it's still light out.
Culture
Ranch country, not resort country
Guanacaste's soul is cowboy culture — salsa in a dusty town square, corn tamales, and a chichería where the conversation outlasts the drinks.
Sustainable
Pura vida means the small things
Refill rather than rebuy, choose solar-powered lodges where they exist, and keep your distance from wildlife — no feeding, no touching, no selfies with baby animals.
06 · Practical notes
Before you set off.
Getting around
A rental car is freedom; take 4WD in the wet season, because river crossings are not a joke.
Currency
Costa Rican colón (CRC). US dollars are accepted in visitor towns, but paying in colones gets you better prices.
Where to base
Tamarindo for energy, Nosara for wellness and stillness, Papagayo for polished seclusion.
Know before you go
Distances look tiny on the map and take twice as long. Build in slack and you'll never resent it.
The wanderer's kit
What I pack for Costa Rica.
The unglamorous bits that make a trip run smoothly. Where a link is attached, it may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Sun care
Reef-safe SPF and a rash guard — the Pacific sun is stronger than it feels in the breeze.
Water
A filter bottle. Tap water is safe in most of Guanacaste, but it saves a hundred plastic bottles.
Day bag
A dry bag for beach days; it doubles as a wet-clothes bag on the ride home.
Footwear
Sandals that can handle river stones and a pair of shoes for red dust.
Keep wandering
A different coast is calling.
Found something here that helped? That's the whole point. Tell me where I should wander next — I read every note that comes through the newsletter.