Playa de Jaco

Pura Vida !

December 31^st 2013. After 5 hours on the aircraft we finally landed in San Jose. Right the way the sun welcomed us with its incredible hotness. I felt very Michigan-winter-dressed, wearing boots and a sweater and holding my winter jacket in my hand.

So, after exchanging dollars for coronas at the airport we rushed quickly to rent a car. We had still few hours to drive before we would arrive to our first destination – Jaco city where we planed to spend New Year Eve. According to random sources Jaco is "the" place to go to celebrate New Years. I must say it was on of the kind experience. Thousands of people hanging out on the beach, barbecuing, listing to the music, just having fun and awaiting for New Year to come. At midnight fireworks and a big party. 

! First thing to mention: If you decide to go to Costa Rica, take cash with you and exchange it for coronas at the airport. However, you can also pay with U.S. dollars there as you wish. Just remember that you will receive change in coronas. Although, if you use the credit card be prepared that you will be charged international fees, which is about 3% !

!  Second thing to mention: In Costa Rica locals operate on their own, unique time. For them 5 minutes is like an hour in U.S. !

To continue with my story, unfortunately, at the car rental our vehicle wasn’t ready, after a quite a long wait we were finally able to pursue with our trip to Jaco city.

! Warning: In Costa Rica there is not too many road signs !

Shocker, even GPS got confused. We drove around the airport for a while after we figured how to get to the highway. There were no signs on the roads indicating where to go. We had to guess and choose random turns in order to find the correct way. But it was all worth to get lost because were able to see how locals live in the suburbs of San Jose.

The road trip was spectacular. I was so amazed of how beautiful Costa Rica is. All this greenery and nature, rugged lands combined with flowery bushes, trees and wildlife. So astonishing.

About after 4 hours drive we arrived to Jaco…

Paya de Jaco is a long stretch of beach strung with hotels, souvenir shops, seafood restaurants and rowdy bars. The number one attraction is the surf, and this is definitely a surfer-dominated beach town. However, the beach itself is not really appealing. It consists of dark-gray sand with lots of little rocks, and it often pretty rough for swimming. Although, Jaco is always packed with mix of foreign and Tico vacationers. The city is also known for its nightlife. A range of raging bars offer everything from live music venues to chill lounge environments, to beach front bars. (Frommer’s, p.367, 2013).

My recommendations :

Restaurants:

Caliche's Wishbone. Serves delicious fresh seafood and steaks, generally food is excellent.  Reasonably priced. Very friendly and welcoming staff. 

Bars:

Monkey Bar, Le Loft, Beatle Bar. 

Hotels:

Hotel 9. Affordable, beach front, close to downtown, walking distance from the beach. 

                                          

Reference:

Frommer’s (2013). Paya de Jaco. Costa Rica 2013. Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.