My wife Sunshine and I recently returned from a week in Costa Rica. We saw a stunning diversity in landscape from urban to mountainous to beachside. Despite hitting three separate locations (four if you count returning to San Jose), it had the feel of a calm, relaxing holiday. This is a far cry from our traditional GO GO GO mentality, and it was a nice change of pace for us among the Ticos.
The planning – Groupon Getaway math
This trip was the fourth Groupon Getaways travel package that we’ve purchased. Ten years ago I would’ve been the first to judge buying a discount travel package, but I am now a loyal Groupon Getaways disciple.
As a reminder, here is why I think online vacation packages are underrated (https://themeticuloustraveler.com/why-you-shouldnt-ignore-online-vacation-packages/).
Before you judge, let’s explore the math. When I searched for flights on my own through Google Flights, I saw round trip airfare from MSP to SJO for about $800. Not horrible but more than I wanted to pay for just a week in Costa Rica.
We paid about $1,100 each for the Costa Rican Groupon package. This was a “lighter” Groupon package. It included the flights, lodging and transfers to/from the airport and the multiple cities.
Read that again. For $300 more than I would’ve paid for the flight, this itinerary included seven nights in three different Costa Rican cities. On top of that, it included two airport transfers and three separate shuttles between cities 2-3 hours apart.
That value is ridiculous. As much as a seasoned traveler wants to find that diamond in the rough deal, packages are so hard to beat on pure value for the cost.
Normally, the con of group packages is that you’re stuck with a group of strangers. They may or may not be dingdongs; it’s simply luck of the draw. On this particular occasion, we were with one other couple.
I use “with” strongly, we shared the shuttle with them but rarely saw them at the stops. I would share a van with two others to save potentially thousands of dollars ten days out of ten. So even with the main con considered, it was a good decision for us.
Leg 1 – San Jose
Well, more like a suburb of San Jose, Heredia. The Costa Rican capital was not a focal point of our trip, since we were there for more nature scenes and relaxation. Most tourists fly into San Jose’s airport or Liberia’s. Since we were at the whims of the planned airfare in our Groupon, we flew into San Jose’s SJO airport without much thought.
Heredia as a stop at the beginning and end turned out to be relaxing bookends to the trip. Since it was too far from the city to walk or taxi to easily, we ate in hotels and nearby restaurants without much guilt. Since the middle portion of the trip was high-speed, we were ok with a slow start and a slow finish.
Leg 2 – La Fortuna
After one night to rest after landing, we headed on a shuttle to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is a small city at the base of the Arenal Volcano, just a few hours drive from San Jose.
The intent of this stop was to get the more active and outdoorsy activities checked off. Since the volcano was visible from the Magic Mountain Hotel where we stayed, we knew we would make good use of time.
The hotel had a nice list of excursions that you could opt into, much like a cruise. We’d call the front desk and order activities like room service. Sunshine hadn’t been on a horse before, so that was our choice for our first day in La Fortuna. The activities included transportation from the hotel (always a sucker for that), so we were soon on our way toward Arenal to find our steeds.
Horseback Riding near Arenal Volcano
We ended up having a great horseback riding experience. Sunshine’s horse Trueno (Spanish for thunder) was very much like our placid dog Hiro, so any nerves dissipated quickly.
I, on the other hand, was saddled (aye) with the sassy Rumba, who didn’t like to be told what to do. Even with an attitude horse, we had a great time and saw some spectacular views from the trail.
After an hour of sauntering, it was back to the hotel to relax and conquer ceviche #2 for the trip.
Hiking the 1968 Trail on Arenal Volcano
The next day we wanted to get a more picturesque view of Arenal Volcano. We spent the morning on a hike on the 1968 Trail. This hike commemorated the last big eruption that decimated the town. The 1968 Trail was literally the lava trail of that blast. Our tour guide Mario explained how that explosion was unique in that it shot out of the “side” of the volcano. This left behind a double-peaked summit which you could see from our hike.
La Fortuna Waterfall
After the 1968 Trail, Mario took us to the La Fortuna Waterfall. A super tall, solitary waterfall made for really nice pictures at the top. After a long stair journey down, people were welcome to swim in the basin. It was a really nice way to end the morning after getting sweaty on the lava trail.
Leg 3 – Playa Hermosa
The following day we headed to the relaxation leg of the trip: the beach area of Playa Hermosa. We drove 2-3 hours from La Fortuna through winding mountain highways, almost to the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border.
Playa Hermosa is one of several beaches in a larger chain within Papagayo Gulf. From the minute we crossed the highway into the region, we knew it was going to be a gorgeous place. Coupled with the greenery and ocean view was the fact that we were on the west side of the country, so the sunsets would be fantastic.
Another element of Groupon Getaways that people may or may not love is the caliber of lodging. I have to say, this was the most pleasant surprise we’ve had in all the time we’ve used them.
We arrived at the Villas Sol resort, which is a gorgeous compound (best word I could think of) that climbs the hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. If the view wasn’t breathtaking enough, learning that it was all-inclusive and meals were covered took the remaining breath away…
Catamaran tour on Papagayo Gulf
The three days near Playa Hermosa somewhat blended together since, for the most part, Sunshine and I were worthless loungers. We visited Playa Hermosa and the multiple pools at Villas Sol.
The highlight of our stay here was the optional catamaran tour. This included an hour-long stop for snorkeling near a cave, lunch and a sunset view on the way back. Really good experience and a nice value at ~$125 per person with Marlin Del Rey tours. This was arguably the best activity we did in our week-long Costa Rica experience.
Wrapping Up: a week in Costa Rica
I’ll skip Leg 4 since it was back to the same hotel in Heredia; nothing new to report for our last night in Costa Rica. Overall, this was a really relaxing trip for us at a really nice cadence.
A short six hours in the air and a week in-country left us feeling relaxed, but also that we had seen a good diversity of sights. Four was the magic number on this trip. This was our fourth Groupon vacation, we made four stops, and I ate four ceviches by myself.
If any of you are curious about a way to see a beautiful region of Costa Rica in a week, definitely reach out! We’d love to go back some day and see other sections of the country. We arrived home relaxed and confident that we used the time exactly how we wanted. I’d love to share more detail with anyone interested in planning a trip there.
Pura Vida!
