Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Tamarindo, Costa Rica is a beautiful beach destination located on the Northern Pacific Coast of the country.  It is known for its great surfing, delicious food, breathtaking sunsets and laid back way of life. And don’t forget some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. 

A few weeks ago Mike and I made a five day trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I first fell in love with Costa Rica 12 years ago when I studied aboard in college.

I lived with a Costa Rican family in a little town outside of San Jose while attending a school there.  While I studied in Costa Rica I got to explore a new place of the country almost every weekend.  The nice thing about Costa Rica is that it is small enough that you can get to almost any place in the country in half a day or less, unless it is a really remote beach that requires you to drive on dirt roads {in my opinion those are always the places that are the most beautiful, so if time permits, do it!}.

One of my favorite beaches that my friends and I visited while in Costa Rica was Tamarindo.  I have so many good memories there. Tamarindo is known for the great surfing and beautiful beaches.  Mike and I like to pretend like we know how to surf…we’ve taken lessons, rented boards at a lot of the beach spots we have gone to.  Obviously we have a long, long way to go. On this trip I got to live vicariously through all of the amazing surfers that make their way to the beaches. in Tamarindo.

The Tamarindo that I knew 12 years ago and the Tamarindo today are structurally different.  The last time I was in Tamarindo there were only dirt roads and small bars along the beach.  Now there are paved roads, restaurants galore and tons of shopping.  Luckily the things I went there for, beaches, fresh food, sunsets and a laid back way of life were still right where I left them.

We stayed in a really cute little bed and breakfast called 15 Love ,near Witches Rock Surf Camp {this surf camp was actually there 12 years ago} right as you drive in to the town of Tamarindo.  We went to Costa Rica in the beginning of May, which is the start of their rainy season, but the nice thing is that the crowds have died down, prices are less and you only see rain for maybe an hour at the most.

The storms make for some awesome pictures, especially if you find a nice little happy hour spot to grab a cold Imperial and watch the storm roll in.

If you follow my Instagram you might have seen some of my pictures of the breakfast that was served each day at our bed and breakfast. I went pretty crazy for the fresh mango, pineapple and freshly squeezed papaya juice. Heavenly.  Stay tuned for a smoothie that was inspired by our trip.

Since Mike and I were kidless for five days {yes, I said five days without kids..still wondering how we pulled that off} we did a lot of relaxing at the beach.  One of our favorite beaches that we visited Playa Conchal where the sand is made of crushed seashells and the color of the water was a bright teal color.  My kind of beach.

I will warn you that if you go to this beach you will have to drive along another beach to get to it so make sure your car is up for it.

While you are there make sure you hydrate with a fresh coconut…who needs store bought coconut water. 😉

On almost all of our vacations we like to squeeze in some sort of excursion to get to know the country and do something adventurous and active.  Since Mike hadn’t been to Costa Rica, we did a whole jam packed day of fun things including horse back riding near a volcano, tubing down a river filled with rapids, zipping and repelling down a waterfall and ended the day with a mud bath and hot springs.  It was exhausting but the perfect way to show Mike some Costa Rican fun.

This ziplining was the best I have done on any trip.

We repelled down that wall of rocks to a waterfall, which was scary but awesome.

If you haven’t seen from my Instagram pictures, I have an obsession with sunsets.  Mike claims that after you have taken ten pictures of a sunset they all start to look the same.  I beg to differ.

We spent every evening sitting on the beach with a cold drink, watching the sunset, my idea of a perfect night.

Being the foodie that I am, I had to eat all kinds of delicious food while I was there including these Mango Fish Lettuce Wraps. So light. So fresh.

And the drinks were fruity and went down easily. 😉

Smoothies were everywhere in the local cafes and they hit the spot on a 100 degree day.

One thing I took away from this trip is that it is really important for Mike and I to get away alone.

If you have children and haven’t been on a vacation alone with your significant other in a while, I highly recommend it.  Even if you only go for a few days, it is totally worth the money and time away from the kids to do something positive for your relationship.  I think we are better parents when we take time for ourselves and our relationships once in a while.

Work, kids and our daily commitments start to take over our lives.  I like to remind myself that stopping to breath and appreciate each other and the beauty around us is so important in finding balance.

By the end of the trip I was ready to go home and snuggle my kids, but it was the perfect trip.

Hopefully you got a glimpse into the beauty that is Costa Rica.  From the monkeys that you will see in the trees, to the amazing beaches, to the fresh food, to the warm welcoming people, Costa Rica is one of a kind.

For more travel adventures follow me on Instagram or the hashtag #cedartravel or check out my Travel section of the blog.

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Are you wanting to learn more about Costa Rica? Check out the Ramblist and her helpful posts about what to do while you are there.