Santa Teresa is a lovely backpackers town in the southwest of Costa Rica. I went here in June of 2021 for half a month to vacation and work remotely. I traveled with a large group of coworkers and friends, and our main draw of going here was that we found an amazing AirBnb. The trip and the town completely exceeded my expectations! The people were so nice, the beaches were amazing, and I never had a bad meal.
Since the pandemic, Santa Teresa has become much more popular (and thus more expensive than when I went), but it is still a hidden gem and a bit off the beaten path! It is a small town, but it is aesthetically impressive with boho restaurants, beach lounges and amazing landscapes.
How To Get There
Since Santa Teresa is a remote town, it is not the easiest destination to get to, but it is well worth the travels! If you are flying internationally, you cannot fly directly to here. You must first fly into San Jose (SJO) or Liberia (LIR) airports in Costa Rica, and then you can either fly, drive, or ferry to the final destination. When I traveled here, I did option 1 getting there and option 3 getting back. I would highly recommend the small regional flight as it is super quick and so beautiful!
Option 1: Fly into Tambor Airport, Fastest Option
After landing in SJO or LIR, you can take a 30 min flight to Tambor. Flights are usually $120 on Sansa airline. Something important to note, they only do these flights once or twice a day. I would leave a solid time buffer in between your international and your regional flight to ensure you make your flight to Tambor. After landing in Tambor you are about 45 mins to Santa Teresa. You can take a taxi which will cost $40-60 or have your hotel set up a driver.
Option 2: Ferry to Santa Teresa from SJO, Cheaper Option
To get to Santa Teresa from San Jose, you have to drive, take a ferry and then drive once more. This journey will take about 6 or 7 hours. Ferries operate 6 times a day from 5:00 am until 8.30 pm. You can rent a car in SJO and drive it onto the ferry at a cost of $25 per car. Alternatively, you can book a shared shuttle at around $70 per person which follows the same route.
Option 3: Drive to Santa Teresa from LIR, Cheaper + Faster Option
The drive from LIR to Santa Teresa is about 4 hours. It is much shorter than the drive from SJO, but typically the international flights into LIR are more limited than into SJO. I would warn you that although the drive is not very long, it is not a super easy drive. It is quite windy with not the best roads at times. I would recommend doing it during the daylight.
Getting Around
There were no Ubers or taxis when I visited Santa Teresa. Many people rent ATVs by the day, and it is the best way to get around. They were about $30 for the day, and super fun to drive! You can usually fit two people on one ATV. Our group had a rental car, which was super cheap per day divided by all of us and another great means of transportation. Our AirBnb was on the hillside, instead of centrally in town, so we needed a vehicle to get to and from. Whether or not you need a rental car depends on how close you are to the main part of town.
The town itself is not super big, so if you don't have transportation for the day it is easily walkable. The town has dirt roads, therefore I wouldn't recommend wearing super nice or heeled shoes if you plan on walking around. It can be muddy especially during the rainy season.
Things to Do
Zip Lining (Canopy Mal Pais): We went to the closest place to our AirBnb in the next town over. It was very cheap at $40 per person and we had the best time! The views were insane and the staff was so fun. If you are looking for a little bit of an adrenaline rush, this is a great group activity. I would recommend to make a reservation in advance if you have a big group.
Horseback Riding (Ollie's adventure): I loved this so much I did it twice - once with the group and once alone so I could do a more advanced ride. I grew up horseback riding and wanted the opportunity to do more a more fast paced ride with the trainer. The trainer was so sweet and the horses were well taken care of. They have very big pastures and they only use them twice a day! I got to run up and down the beach on horseback in the sand - pretty much the best thing ever and a major bucket list item!
Tortuga Island Boat Tour (Zuma tours/Ollie's adventures): This was one of my favorite activities on the whole trip. It is a 7 hour boating excursion starting at 9am where you go to Tortuga Island. The day consisted of snorkeling, swimming, tanning, jumping off the boat and having drinks on a private beach. They picked us up from our AirBnb, drove us to Montezuma and we got on the boat from there. You ride the boat about 40 mins to go snorkeling, and then have lunch/free time on Tortuga Island. It was one of the most beautiful places I have been to. The boat, lunch and experience completed exceeded my expectations. For $70, this is also a great value for what you get. I could not recommend this excursion enough. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Day trip to Montezuma on ATV: Montezuma is a neighboring town and a great day trip. One of the main attractions to visit here is the waterfall. You will also have the opportunity to pay and walk across a suspension bridge near the waterfall, which was super fun. The downtown is a cute area with shops and restaurants for a bite to eat afterward. The drive here on the ATV is very beautiful, and it is worth a day trip for that alone. There are amazing beaches you can stop by along the way if you take the main road. I would not recommend doing this the day after it rains, or if it is going to rain. The water level to cross the river can get very high and hard to get back.
Surfing: Santa Teresa is known as an epic surf spot. I have some experience surfing and decided to go out one day. I was completely overwhelmed because the waves were huge. If you are an experienced surfer, this is a great spot to do it. If you are a beginner, maybe enjoy the waves from the beach or have a local take you to a specified beginner spot.
Restaurants
Katana: For amazing sushi and Asian fusion food, this is your place! It is also one of the nicer restaurants in Santa Teresa. If you are looking for a girls night out or date spot, this is a great choice. I loved it so much, I ate here twice! The sushi, noodles and cocktails won't disappoint.
Kika: This is a fun, moody place for food and cocktails. It has an upbeat vibe and is also a great place to meet other young people. Thursday through Saturday they have live music which was a blast. I didn't try the food but the cocktails were great!
Eat Street: A unique dining experience, this restaurant marketplace has a variety of food options with different vendor stands and a lively ambiance. They have a wide variety of options, serving burgers, tacos, bowls, salads and more. We also enjoyed their happy hour from 5-7. The cocktails and food were great!
The Roastery: For great coffee and breakfast, this was my go-to place. It is very quick and casual with reasonable prices. I enjoyed the bagel sandwiches and coffee.
Zula Israeli food: A change from all the amazing fish and sushi in Santa Teresa, this Israeli place will not disappoint! The hummus was amazing and I enjoyed the chicken shawarma plate. This place is very causal - perfect for a post-beach lunch. I loved it so much, I ate here twice.
Satori: If casual and delicious sushi is what you are craving, this is just the spot! They were able to accommodate our large group of 11 and we were delighted by the live music they had. The rooftop dining was so cool and a fun ambiance.
The Bakery: This is a trendy breakfast spot, but the food is just as good as the vibe. They have an extensive menu for whatever you are craving, and great coffees. This is a great place if you need to do some work, or bring a book to hangout at.
Zwart Art Café: If you are into funky cafes, this is your spot! As the name describes, it is an art café, so it is half an art studio and half a café! It is cool to look at all the art projects and the food was good as well. The service was quick and the staff was very nice.
Somos Cafe: Another casual breakfast spot, Somos is very cute with an old air stream turned into the kitchen. This is a pay-at-the-counter spot, so it is good for a fast breakfast or with big groups. It has a boho ambiance with communal tables and a very casual vibe. This is a great stop for before or after the beach in your bathing suits! The food was awesome.
Angelina: If you are looking for a cute wine bar with a good selection of wine and food, this is your place! On Tuesdays if you buy a bottle, you get a free charcuterie with your purchase. In general, the wine selection in CR is not the best, so this is the only good place for wine that I found. ( I had a friend recently visit Santa Teresa and said this place may be closed now, so check it out and let me know! Hopefully it was just temporarily closed )
Beach Front
For a bit of luxury, there are plenty of beach clubs you can rent loungers from and get full service drink and food. If you want a day of pure relaxation, this is it! Many of them are touristy, but the experience is amazing nonetheless. Since you will be on the beach, you will likely pay a premium for the food and drinks. Many of the places were still within reason, just slightly more than you would expect to pay elsewhere in town.
Banana beach: This is a popular spot with a great ambiance and view. The food is mediocre and the cocktails are decent, but it’s literally in the sand, so it is worthwhile to go to for the location. This is a great place to tan, swim and hang beachside during the day. The often have fun music and a DJ going on, so it is a good upbeat spot to meet other young people!
Shambala: This is more of a hidden beachfront gem. They have wayyyy better cocktails than Banana Beach with a super cool vibe right on the sand. This was my fav beachfront spot and we were the only people there! It is more of a relaxing and secluded ambiance than Banana Beach.
Rocamar: Come here for a more causal and less touristy beach front spot. They had good fish tacos and great drinks. It is not as much of a tanning place during the day but rather a good place for happy hour/sunset dinner and drinks.
Tips
Bring sunscreen from home: For some reason they charge a lot for sunscreen (around $20 a bottle) at most places, so bring your own. The UV is super high even early in the morning, so you will definitely need lots of it.
Bring shoes you don’t care about: Everything is muddy and rocky especially since it rains often. I wouldn’t even bother bringing really nice or cute shoes. The roads are also very uneven, so I wouldn't recommend wearing heels. I would stick to flats and sneakers you don’t mind getting a little dirty. My packing recommendation would be flip flops and a pair of sneakers.
Skip the hair and makeup: Since it's hot and humid, I didn’t even bother with hair or makeup. With the humidity, it is hard to even get your makeup to stay on. Likely, you will be in the pool or ocean everyday, so spending time on your hair is a waste. Get ready to play in the sun, all-natural!
Wear bug spray: Not going to lie, I got so many mosquito bites on this trip. I would recommend wearing bug spray consistently, especially at night to prevent the mistake I made!
This was an amazing trip and I hope to go back to Santa Teresa soon. It was the perfect mix of adventurous outdoor activities and pure relaxation. The people were very kind and I felt safe the entire time, even when I went places alone. Although it is not the easiest place to get to, it was well worth the journey. If you are looking to go to Costa Rica, I couldn't recommend Santa Teresa more!
Opmerkingen