Our intention was to go to South Africa, but flights were very expensive, so I have been looking for a warm, sunny, and exciting place to go at Christmas, and I somehow got a bit too excited and made an emotional (but no-regret) purchase: flights to Costa Rica!
Day 1 – 23rd December 2025
Arrive in San Jose, we land at 16:40 so we have a bit of time in San Jose. Maybe head out for dinner (that if we can stay awake!).
We did manage to stay awake for dinner but it has taken us longer than expected to get out of the airport and make our way to the hotel, as we first experienced the local Tico Time. ‘Tico Time” is a relaxed, flexible approach to punctuality in Costa Rica (where “Ticos” are locals), embracing a slower pace where things happen when they happen, often meaning lateness is acceptable, linked to the “pura vida” lifestyle of enjoying the moment rather than strict schedules.
We headed out to Barrio Escalante, a neighbourhood known for trendy restaurants and a love for craft beers, dinner was fun, but nothing to write home about.
Seeing the Christmas lights in San Jose was great fun though, so totally worth the drive. Lots of animal-themed colourful decorations, with Toucans and Red-Eyed Tree Frogs being iconic symbols used creatively for Christmas cheer in Costa Rica. Shame I didn’t take any pictures!
Day 2 -5 – 24th – 27th December: La Fortuna
24th December
We woke up bright and early (with a bit of help from the jet lag) and had a lovely breakfast by the pool at the Crowne Plaza.
We got a lift to La Fortuna and spent the next 3 days exploring around. On day one, the boys went zip lining and girls went on a shopping adventure!
Day 3: 25th December:
We made some exciting plans for Christmas Day! Sloths, coffee and chocolate tour from 8am until midday. The sloth watching tour was interesting (one of those things you have to do, but I feel you’d probably see more visiting a Sloth sanctuary rather than the La Fortuna main road options). The coffee and chocolate part was wow, nicely done, lots of info and things to see, touch, smell and TASTE along the way! 😋
A cacao tree with two developing cacao pods growing directly from the trunk
We had our Christmas lunch at the Mexican truck in La Fortuna, it was delicious!
Day 4: 26th December
More excitement planned for today so we started nice and early with a visit to the Maleku tribe settlement and a swim in the La Fortuna waterfall. The waterfall is a very popular attraction, so it was properly packed but still impressive with its 70 meter drop into the pool below. We took the 530 step journey down and had a quick swim at the end of the pool (some braver than others!).
Question Mark Butterfly – It gets its name from the distinctive silver mark on its wings, which resembles a question mark.
The ragged, irregular wing margins and brown coloration provide excellent camouflage, mimicking a dead leaf when the wings are closed.
After lunch, we walked a couple of short trails at Mirador El Silencio. Interesting to learn that local farmers used to think Cerro Arenal is a ‘hill’ / just a peak, with no thought that it was actually a volcano until July 1968 when the volcano unexpectedly erupted. It continued to be extremely active until 2010. It was fun to walk up the old lava flow – now hardened into volcanic rocks (steep but short hike). On the way back we took a rain forest detour and spotted monkeys, birds, leaf cutter ants, lots of interesting plants, Honduran white bats (tent makers) and a red eyed tree frog at the very end (unfortunately it closed its eyes as I was trying to take a picture, no posing today!).
Palicourea elata has become endangered due to deforestation in its native range. Expansive farming and harvesting of trees are causing forests to be turned into fields for crops, or pastures for livestock, and wastelands. Due to its appearance, it has been widely used as a gift for Valentine’s Day and harvests can be overbearing. Since this species is a understory shrub that relies on the shade that the overhanging trees provide, the population sizes are rapidly decreasing and harshly diminished by over-harvesting, climate changes and loss of habitat.
Day 5 – 10 – 27th – 31st December: In and around Samara. A hippie, dusty, a bit too congested for our taste little beach town with some cool spots to explore.
Day 5: 27th December
We (happily) left La Fortuna and drove to the Pacific coast to be pleasantly surprised arriving in Sámara, our home for the next 4 nights! Lots to do in La Fortuna, but not quite our style, a bit too touristy, too busy so we were happy to have seen it and move on. Well impressed with the Airbnb house we rented, a super relaxing place to be, with its back blending into the jungle.
Day 6: 28th December
With jet lag wearing off we woke up later than usual with a wow view and the sound of howler monkeys (I am no expert but I am feeling pretty confident given the loud howling noise they made). The howler monkey are the largest and the most widespread in Costa Rica and they eat leaves, fruit and flowers and spend most of the day snoozing to digest the low energy food.
Day 8: 30th December
After a short boat ride close to Isla Chora (an small inhabited island) we anchored in the bay and had our first dive after 10 years. Visibility wasn’t great unfortunately, but still good to be back in the ocean. We saw star fish, sea urchins, lots of reef fish, an octopus 🐙 I do think snorkeling around Isla Chira would have been a better idea, it looked exciting and it is supposed to have a coral reef full of bright puffer fish, bat fish, mantas even or a lost reef shark if lucky.
To wrap up an eventful day (including both Leon and I being sea sick) we spent the second consecutive evening at Gusto Beach. Best to arrive before sunset and get a table with a view of the ocean and an enjoy cocktail or two. Very atmospheric, not cheap but food was good (best burger we had in a long time). We loved the fire show on the beach, nice way to wrap up our stay in Sámara!
Day 9-13: 31st Dec – 4th Jan
Guanacaste, the Pacific Ocean: Brasilito and Playa Flamingo
Day 9: 31st December
Ready for a change of scenery, we left Sámara and drove to Brasilito checking into our new place! Once again, happy (and relieved!) with our choice of accommodation.
As we were debating whether you need a 4×4 in Costa Rica or not (especially in the dry season) we encountered an obstacle on our way to Brasilito.
Day 10: 1st of January, day at the beach!
We explored a few local swimming spots walking from Playa Brasilito to the end of Playa Conchal and found a quiet spot to swim, it was so much fun! Playa Conchal is famous for the sand made of shells and its turquoise water. Lucky most people stop at the northern end (Lazy them) and don’t want to walk further otherwise we would have struggled to find a quiet spot.
Ok, this is crazy and feels like there is very little appetite to walk. There are some local ‘beach taxis’ taking people to and from Playa Conchal.
Day 11: 2nd January
We ventured out to Playa Ventanas just to check it out, not being entirely quite sure what to expect. We had a couple of surprises on the way there: a massive snake in the road driving in and shortly after a few racoons white-nosed coatis hanging out.
Playa Ventanas is part of the Marino Las Baulas National Park so it is an important sea turtle nesting site, especially for leatherback turtles.
Unfortunately the number of nesting leatherbacks have decreased the past few years
Playa Carbón (Charcoal Beach) a stunning, secluded black sand beach known for its unique dark sand, dramatic rock formations, tide pools, and wildlife, including nesting sea turtles within the Las Baulas Marine National Park. It’s a quieter, more adventurous alternative to nearby beaches like Playa Grande – a short walk from Playa Ventanas, a quiet swimming spot for those appreciating serene and natural beauty.
Day 12 3rd January – last day in Brasilito
We started with a yummy brunch at Puro Costa Rica in Potrero. After a failed attempt yesterday, I finally had a good cold brew tonic!
We drove past a couple of local beaches today (Penca, Danta) and whilst I thought they were pretty cool, the kids were keen to return to the black sand beach between Ventanas and Carbon so we decided to return. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves, this time having brought a cooler bag with refreshments, yay!
Last 2 days 4th – 6th January
Ending on a high with an exciting 2 night stay at Hideaway Rio Celeste. Private trails. Exclusive swimming access. And a world of comfort and natural beauty nestled in the foothills of Tenorio Volcano in Northern Costa Rica, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world.
We were very excited to swim in Rio Celeste so as soon as we arrived at the HideWay we took one of the trails and went for a splash! What an experience especially as most other residents preferred the heated pool, so lucky once again to have the place to ourselves!
Rio Celeste’s blue colour – A mineral composed of aluminum, silicon and oxygen found suspended in the river, reflects light from the sun in such a way that to the human eye the water has a blue colour. Scientists have attributed the estranged coloration of the Río Celeste not because of chemistry but because of optics.
You know it aaall! 