The Costa Rica Blueprint
The Costa Rica Blueprint
🇨🇷 The Costa Rica Blueprint
Jungle. Surf. Wildlife. Waterfalls. Discover the Costa Rica Beyond the Resorts.
Costa Rica is one of those destinations I keep coming back to.
I've traveled there three different times and experienced it three completely different ways—once with a group of friends, once when I hosted an international yoga retreat for 17 people, and once spending two weeks exploring with a friend.
Each trip took me to different parts of the country and taught me something important:
There isn't one Costa Rica.
The experience you have depends enormously on where you choose to stay.
The Costa Rica Blueprint takes everything I've learned across those trips and turns it into a visual guide packed with beaches, wildlife, hidden gems, restaurants, transportation strategies, tourist traps, insider tips and the places that made me fall in love with Costa Rica.
🌴 NOSARA HAS MY HEART
Of all the places I've experienced in Costa Rica, Nosara is my favorite.
There's something about it.
Jungle roads. Yoga. Surfing. Incredible food. Monkeys in the trees. Expats mixed with locals and travelers. Beautiful beaches. A wellness culture that feels woven into everyday life.
It's the kind of place where you arrive with an itinerary and quickly realize you'd rather slow down.
One of my favorite stays is Norte Nosara, and the Blueprint includes a dedicated Nosara spotlight covering the beaches, restaurants, bars, hotels and places worth knowing before you arrive.
🌊 BUT NOSARA IS ONLY ONE VERSION OF COSTA RICA
Want surf, restaurants and bohemian beach-town energy?
Head toward Santa Teresa.
Want an easier Pacific Coast escape with nightlife and plenty happening around you?
Jacó offers a completely different experience.
Want a more polished resort experience and access to incredible Pacific adventures?
Look toward Papagayo.
Costa Rica is a destination where choosing the wrong region for your travel personality can leave you wondering why everyone else loves it so much.
That's why the Blueprint focuses heavily on helping you understand the different regions before you book.
🐒 THE WILDLIFE IS EVERYWHERE
This is one of those destinations where wildlife isn't necessarily something you have to schedule.
Sometimes it just shows up.
I've seen monkeys throughout my trips—especially howlers—and Costa Rica is filled with opportunities to encounter tropical birds, reptiles and other wildlife simply by exploring.
One morning you might wake up to the sound of howler monkeys.
Another day you're watching something move through the trees while eating breakfast.
Keep looking up.
💎 LOOK BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
One of my favorite examples is El Miro in Jacó—an abandoned structure hidden above town that rewards the climb with incredible views.
It's exactly the kind of place I love finding when I travel.
Not necessarily the attraction plastered across every tourism brochure.
Just somewhere interesting that makes you think:
“How did we even find this?”
Those are the experiences the Blueprint Series is built around.
🌙 DON'T FORGET TO LOOK UP
Costa Rica gave me one of my favorite unexpected travel memories.
During one trip, I experienced a lunar eclipse—a blood moon—under an incredible Costa Rican night sky.
Away from heavy city lights, the stars can be spectacular.
If your dates are flexible, I recommend checking the moon phase, meteor showers and astronomical events before you travel.
Sometimes planning around the sky creates an experience you couldn't buy on any excursion.
🎣 PAPAGAYO GAVE ME ANOTHER SIDE OF COSTA RICA
One of my most memorable experiences was a private deep-sea fishing trip from the Papagayo area.
Getting out on the Pacific completely changed the perspective again—and we even encountered wild horses on an island during the adventure.
It's another reminder that Costa Rica isn't just about choosing a beach and staying there.
Get out and explore.
⚡ EXPECT A LITTLE IMPERFECTION
Costa Rica is beautiful.
It's also a place where things don't always run exactly according to plan.
I've experienced power outages in both Nosara and Santa Teresa, rough roads can make short distances take much longer than expected, and cash can still be incredibly useful.
Don't over-plan every hour.
Build some flexibility into your itinerary and accept that occasionally the adventure is the inconvenience.
🤝 TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE
One of my favorite travel strategies works especially well in places like Nosara:
Talk to expats and locals.
Ask where they eat.
Ask which beach they actually go to.
Ask what they'd do tomorrow if they had the day off.
Those conversations can lead you to experiences you'd never find by searching “Top 10 Things to Do in Costa Rica.”
💙 PERFECT FOR TRAVELERS WHO LOVE:
🐒 Wildlife
🌴 Jungle landscapes
🏄 Surfing
🧘 Yoga & wellness
🌊 Pacific beaches
🥾 Adventure
🎣 Fishing & boating
🌅 Sunsets
🌙 Stargazing
🍴 Great food
💎 Hidden gems
🚗 Road trips
🧭 Independent exploring
❤️ Slow travel
✨ WHY I'VE RETURNED THREE TIMES
Costa Rica can be whatever kind of trip you need it to be.
It can be adventurous.
It can be restorative.
It can be a surf trip, yoga trip, romantic escape, friends' vacation, road trip or two weeks of simply figuring things out as you go.
I've experienced Costa Rica with friends, brought 17 people there for a yoga retreat, and returned again for a completely different two-week adventure.
And I would still go back.
🇨🇷 DON'T JUST GO TO COSTA RICA. CHOOSE YOUR COSTA RICA.
Whether you're trying to decide between Nosara, Santa Teresa, Jacó, Papagayo or another part of the country, The Costa Rica Blueprint helps you understand how dramatically your home base can change your experience.
I've done the digging. You get to do the traveling.
Download The Costa Rica Blueprint and discover the beaches, jungle, wildlife, restaurants, hidden places and unexpected experiences that have kept me coming back to Costa Rica. 🇨🇷🌴🐒