We are leaving for our second trip to Costa Rica THIS WEEK, so I thought it would be a good time to start all of the Costa Rica content with a short little nostalgia post about Brian’s and my first trip to this gorgeous country in 2014. Brian and I had just started dating about 3 or 4 months before this trip, and if you really want to get to know someone well, go on an adventure with them! I was planning to come here by myself, but Brian figured it wouldn’t be too terrible to come along, so this was our very first vacation together.

We flew into San Jose’s airport and went straight to the rental car place, where we rented a nice, four-wheel-drive Toyota RAV4. We were later extremely glad for the 4WD and the good, new tires on the car, because just getting up the 1000 foot climb to our resort was a bit rough! It was about a 3.5 hour drive south to our resort from the airport.

We stayed at Oxygen Jungle Villas, near Uvita, Costa Rica, getting super cheap rates on one of the flash sale trip websites that were plentiful back then. This is an incredibly tiny boutique resort; a remote adults-only place (only 12 villas!), and they have these amazing Balinese style casitas that are all glass so that you can see the views all around. We had an ocean view casita right next to the main lodge and pool area. Even though we were next to the main area, it was quiet and private. I absolutely loved this resort, and would highly recommend staying here for anyone who wants to get away from the mega-resorts up in Guanacaste, and enjoy some slower, pura vida life while on vacation further south along the coast. The food and hospitality were excellent, and we loved every second of our stay here.

We spent our days on the trip either lounging by the infinity pool with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean from 1,000 feet up, or taking advantage of having a rental car and exploring the nearby areas. We also took a hike down to the natural pool and waterfall area on the property.

Manuel Antonio park is about a 45 minute drive from Oxygen, and we unwittingly hired a private guide to show us all of the wildlife around, including tiny frogs, and lounging sloths. Even though we hadn’t intended to hire a guide, we were super glad we did, since there is no way we would’ve seen any of these animals without him.

We also got on a boat with the intention of doing some snorkeling. Unfortunately, the waters were too rough for snorkeling, and so it ended up being a long boat ride. We did get to catch some pods of dolphins though, and saw some cool natural scenery as well as a ton of pelicans!

One day, we went to a beach that was very close to the resort, which was pointed out by the captain of our snorkeling boat, and it was almost completely empty. We had to pay about two dollars or so since it was a national or state owned beach, but we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. The water was calm, but had enough waves to make it fun, and we enjoyed the day relaxing here.

There are incredible sunsets on the west coast of Costa Rica, and we caught one while driving to one of the many restaurants in the small surfing towns along the coast for dinner.

I am so excited to go back to Costa Rica after nine years! Costa Rica is one of the most colorful, biodiverse countries in the world, and you won’t ever be bored here – but there is also plenty of time for relaxing, which is definitely on the menu. We are staying in a completely different area of the country this time, and this will be our first trip of 2023. Watch this space, and especially instagram, for all of the Costa Content!