Is Costa Rica Really Worth It?

Plenty of backpackers on Central America trips wonder ‘is Costa Rica’ really worth it?

Costa Rica is located deep in Central America, known for its untouched rainforests, luxurious beaches, abundance of wildlife and incredible pura vida lifestyle.

Sounds great right?

The problem is, Costa Rica has become known for its amazing scenes and the tourists have flocked in their millions. This is driving, prices higher, developing gigantic resorts and an explosion of tourist scammers. This leads us to the question, is Costa Rica really worth it?

Now, as an experienced traveller, I had done all my due diligence and I’d heard all the horror stories of backpackers visiting Costa Rica. On my first leg through Central America, I actually decided to skip it! I didn’t have the budget or motivation to spend my time counting my pennies and hard bargaining. 

However, in December 2023, my family decided to do a 2 week Costa Rica trip. So, is Costa Rica really worth it? 

 

Here is my verdict:

Upon landing in San Jose, we picked up our 4×4 Ford Everest. It is more or less essential to have an off-road car if you want to drive around Costa Rica. Before we had even been in the country for an hour we had forked out $1000 on the car hire, insurance, deposit insurance and multiple other add-ons. First red flag…

We set out on our way to the Airbnb, checked in and hit the sack for the night. Upon waking up the next morning and watching the sunrise over San Jose in my jetlagged state, I watched the massive Central American city wake up and the hustle and bustle commence. We shortly set out on our 4-hour drive to our first stop.

One thing I noticed on our journey was just how clean the streets were, all of the verges well maintained, virtually no litter and random wildlife everywhere! It blew my mind. The wildlife is 10-fold what I experienced in all of Central America. Green flag.

 

We arrived at our first stop in La Fortuna, the sky was moody and rain began to fall and it came down hard. We hunkered up in our Airbnb and waited for the storm to pass. Once things had cleared up we ventured into La Fortuna itself, in search of a supermarket. Upon entering the supermarket I realised just how pricey things were. I’m talking 5 or 6 times as much as the neighbouring countries. Doing a food shop is no cheaper than eating out in a restaurant.

I wasn’t overly impressed with La Fortuna. It seemed a bit of a tourist area, with lots of overpriced restaurants and tourist/gift shops. We spent 2 nights here and enjoyed two great meals out eating local cuisine. We also did a great hike on day 2 of Arenal Volcano. It cost us around $10 each to enter the site and park the car for the day. Green flag.

Plus, we stayed in a beaut wooden cabin, in the rainforest, where we watched birds of paradise strutting their stuff all day. 

You can find the cabin HERE

 

After our two days, we moved on to Monteverde, much colder, much more rainy and exceptionally windy. Not what I expected. However, a great respite from the humid air of La Fortuna. Other than the rainforest zip lines and cloud forest wildlife there’s not a great deal going on in Monteverde. We stayed for 2 days and did the cloud forest zip lines on our second day. This was totally amazing, a memory that will stick with me forever. It cost $100 and I genuinely don’t think you can get it much cheaper than this…I would say it is 100% worth the money providing it fits into your budget.

As we trundled southwards down the country we checked in to our stunning Airbnb in Tamarindo. Tamarindo is a popular surf town in the Guanacaste Province. The surf was great. The amount of tourists was not. The beach was littered with tourist scammers selling overpriced cocktails and coconuts. There were a few big resorts as well as loads of surf shops, cafes, restaurants and gift shops. 

I have mixed feelings about Tamarindo, whilst the beach and surf were amazing I feel it has lost its culture and is essentially a tourist trap. Worth visiting but just be prepared for what you are walking into. 

 

Leading us on to Jaco. Now, we really didn’t know what we were walking into. The streets were packed with sex workers, beaches covered in litter, massive tourist resorts and strange nightclubs. Jaco has it all. The surf is probably the best we had in Costa Rica, but Jaco is known for this. Board rental is cheap, as are drinks and dinner! These are probably the only upsides. If you aren’t into surfing or partying, Jaco probably wouldn’t be your thing. Great surf, cheap drinks (for Costa Rica standards), sex workers everywhere. Amber flag.

Well, the next two destinations made up my mind.

Uvita was our next stop. Known for the famous whale tail beach. After another extortionate supermarket shop, we headed to our accommodation. Uvita was hot, like really hot. We spent Christmas day on Whale Tail Beach, sipping beers and swimming in the warm sea. It was the first time we saw the elusive scarlet macaw, and after the first sighting, they just didn’t stop. Green flag 

Uvita had the perfect balance of tourism and chilled vibes. Some great bars and eateries, one of the best beaches in Costa Rica, and a few things to do. The weather was great the whole time and the wildlife was even better. 

 

The final and favourite stops, are Drake Bay & Cano Island. This untouched paradise takes the top spot for me. Whilst it may be a bit of a pig to get to it is absolutely worth it. The wildlife is second to none, parrots, toucans, monkeys, sloths, whales, and turtles. You name it, they got it. Green flag. 

This place has not been developed yet, dirt roads in and out. Super basic hostels, authentic culture, it really is the real deal. We spent 2 nights here and I did not want to leave. 

On day 2 we did a boat trip to Cano Island, which is a biological reserve and has some of the best coral reefs and snorkelling spots in Costa Rica. This did cost $100 per person which seems to be the standard price of any activity in Costa Rica. Red Flag. However, once again it was so worth it! A memory that will stick for a lifetime. You may even spot humpback whales! Definitely one of the best places to visit in Costa Rica. Green flag

So, is Costa Rica really worth it?

I may have waffled on a little with this article. That’s because I can’t even decide for myself. Would I go back and do it all again? Absolutely! How about on a backpacker’s budget? Probably not. 

Whilst you can backpack through Costa Rica, staying in the cheapest hostels and eating pesto, I don’t think it’s worth it. You won’t be able to fully experience all the unique activities that Costa Rica has to offer. And there are a lot of them! Sure, you will see the great wildlife, enjoy the great weather and even better views. But you will miss out on a lot that the country has to offer. 

If you have a bigger budget on the other hand. Maybe a holiday, honeymoon or just have more money than most. Well, then Costa Rica is absolutely for you. When I visited, I knew it was a 2-week holiday, I had saved and prepared and accepted that I was going to part ways with my hard-earned money… so it wasn’t so bad.

I hope this article has cleared things up for you a little. Or maybe it’s confused you even more?

Let us know in the comments below.