This time I headed to the Pacific Coast on the Peninsula Nicoya, Northwest of the capital, for a weekend trip to Santa Teresa. I took the bus on Friday at 6 am from the Terminal 7-10 (14 $) which drives up to Puntarenas where the ferry leaves for the Peninsula. The price of the ferry is included in the bus ticket, so the procedure is really easy and you can enjoy the 1,5 hour journey on the ferry with a stunning view over the sea and small islands.
Santa Teresa Beach
In Cóbano, you can change to a bus either to Montezuma or to Santa Teresa and Mal País, which is a bit smaller and the ride not as comfortable as the one before due to the non-paved road. In total, the journey took seven hours.
Santa Teresa is a beach town which meanders some kilometers along a rugged road, parallel to the coast and the beach. You can find countless surf shops, hostels, cute cafés and restaurants in varying price ranges.
The bus directly dropped me off in front of my hostel Casa Zen, which is located about 50m from the beach of Santa Teresa. This hostel (Dorm 10$, double private 25$ during low season) is highly recommendable as it offers bike and surf board rentals, free breakfast (a huge plate of fresh tropical fruit and toast) and yoga classes (9$ each, different styles). The atmosphere is really chill.
Surfers at Playa Hermosa
At Banana Beach I met my friends who had arrived earlier from Montezuma. It is a nice beach bar where you can hang out in the hammocks even without buying drinks or food, enjoying the white and powdery sand of the beach and the turquoise water of the sea. We went there again during nighttime for a beach party which was really fun. Insider tip: Some locals sell beer at the beach a lot cheaper than it is at the bar ;)
Hermosa Beach
The next day we explored the beach of Mal País which is located further down south, we were the only people there. We went by car but you could do it by bike too. It is a bit harder to get into the water because of some rocks and stones, so I preferred Playa Santa Teresa and Playa Hermosa where we headed next. This gorgeous beach deserves its name Hermosa, it is wide and flat and spectacular at low tide. I am not really sure where it starts and Playa Santa Teresa ends. Some of my friends rented a surf board on the way but as I only had done it one time before, I didn’t dare to try it without another class. The waves were quite impressive. Nonetheless, watching the surfers can also be nice! Some clouds came up, but this just turned the atmosphere more misty and magical.
Sunset on the ferry back to Puntarenas
We finished this wonderful day by having dinner at a Soda where we got a really delicious Casado (Typical Costarican plate with rice, beans, salad and either vegetables, pork, chicken or fish) and a campfire at the beach close to our hostel.