We recently got back from a trip to Jaco, Costa Rica. Since we started traveling last year, this is the first big “unplanned” destination we’ve visited. What I mean by “unplanned” is that just a few short months ago it wasn’t anywhere on our radar of 2018 travel destinations.

Learning to Say “Yes”

Last year our travels were mapped out ahead of time. We quickly discovered that we’d way overbooked and had to cut things out. Even after trimming down our itinerary we were still constantly moving and didn’t have a lot of time for “unplanned” destinations. We’ve vowed that this year will be different.

This year we’re striving for flexible travel and learning to say “yes” to unexpected opportunities. One of those opportunities came our way shortly before we left for Florida. It came in the form of an invitation from my awesome aunt to join her family in Costa Rica. They had an extra bedroom in their rental and ironically enough we were already considering traveling there. It was one of those stars aligning moments.

Pin this post for later >

Falling for Costa Rica

Costa Rica just might be the most relaxing place in the world. In fact, it was so relaxing that I returned a bit stumped about what to write. We saw and did tons of fun things, but we were often so relaxed that we forgot to run around snapping pictures. As for writing? Well, I wrote exactly 59 words during our stay. Bad, bad blogger.

Costa Rica is a place that’s hard to say goodbye to. In fact, some people don’t. We met a guy who traveled there on a surf trip 24 years ago and never left.

The land looks like paradise. Lush green tropical rainforests meet sandy beaches and turquoise water. Green mountains rise majestically from the valleys, and volcanoes send up smoke plumes in the distance. Colorful birds and roosters fill the air with their chorus while lizards amble along the sidewalks and trails.

The casual beach town of Jaco is about as relaxed as it gets. Locals and tourists alike wander around the storefront lined downtown, clad in beach attire and usually a layer of sand. You quickly understand why some folks never leave. We did end up leaving (albeit, reluctantly) and I’ve since remembered how to type words on my screen so now we’re sharing this list of 8 incredible things to do in Jaco, Costa Rica.

What to do in Jaco, Costa Rica

Ziplining

What better place to zipline than where it was invented? That’s right. Costa Rica is the birthplace of ziplining so there are many options for soaring from tree to tree in the dense forest. We went on the Adventure Park canopy tour—25 lines crossing 11 waterfalls. It was our first time ziplining and we can’t wait to do it again!

Here’s a video of our Costa Rican ziplining adventure complete with a clip of me struggling to walk across a suspension bridge (it’s harder than it looks friends).

Visit Manuel Antonio National Park

Wandering through the tropical rainforest is one of those “dreams come true” moments for me. You may have noticed that we have a thing for the outdoors. Well, my nature enthusiasm started young. Ever since I was a child I’ve had an obsession with tropical rainforests. I even had a tropical rainforest themed room complete with teal walls, real plants, panther pictures, a hammock, and vines that my mom hot-glued flowers (aka bromeliads) onto. Yeah, my mom’s pretty cool.

We recommend getting a tour guide for Manuel Antonio National Park. It’s worth the cost for transportation and the guide inside the park was vital for seeing all the well camouflaged wildlife.

Deep Sea Fishing

Tom spent a day with my uncle fishing 35 miles off the shore…and saw thousands of dolphins! I promise this isn’t just a “big fish story”—they saw literally thousands in multiple pods throughout the day. While I had some severe FOMO over this, the fresh mahi mahi and tuna that they brought back helped ease my jealousy.

Watch a Surf Competition

The Backyard Bar in Playa Hermosa (known for having some of the best surf in the country) holds a weekly surf contest every Saturday at 5pm. Grab a bucket of beer and watch the surfers as the sun sets on the Pacific.

Soak up the Culture

There’s so much to see and do in Costa Rica it would be easy to fill every day with activities. Make sure to spend some time taking in the atmosphere and culture of this magical place. Sit on the beach and watch surfers. Strike up a conversation at the local pizza joint. Embrace the laid-back, relaxed pace.

Take in Sunset at Villas Caletas Amphitheater

This luxury boutique hotel located on a mountain near Jaco, hosts a free evening sunset viewing in their Greek-style amphitheater. Just make sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before sunset so that you can find a spot and take in the show.

Eat all the Seafood

Really this could just say “food” because everything we tasted in Costa Rica was delectable. The seafood though was some of the freshest we’ve ever had in our lives. It’s on just about every restaurant menu or you can catch your own.

Try Surfing (or Boogie Boarding)

You’ll find multiple companies selling surf lessons along Jaco beach. I dream of learning to surf someday, but I’m also realistic about my coordination abilities so instead we boogie boarded. Go ahead and cringe, but for less than $20 we had hours of ocean entertainment and I was only pummeled by waves about 5 times instead of 50.

There are so many things to do, see, or just sit back and enjoy in Costa Rica. We feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of this amazing country and are already dreaming about when we can go back. Who knows, maybe next time we’ll stay a while.

Have you ever visited a place you really didn’t want to leave? Where was it? And have you ever gone back?

Related Posts:

• 2018 Travel Plans and Goals
• What to do in Everglades National Park

Pin this post for later >

Affiliate Disclaimer
This post uses affiliate links. What does that mean exactly? Just that if you click a product link and make a purchase we’ll get a small commission on the sale (at no extra cost to you). The official legal speak for this is: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated site.