Hi everyone! I feel like it has been a century since I last wrote on here. I am coming back with a fun post all about the beautiful country of Costa Rica. So many of you voted for this topic and I am so excited to share this trip with all of you! I am going to break down this post to a few categories; where I stayed, how I booked, what I did, and why I chose Costa Rica.
First, I am going to give a little background about this beautiful country which plays in to the why I chose this as a vacation. First and foremost, I was trying to find a destination that was all inclusive and kind of like Mexico, without all the insane horror stories. I have visited Mexico and it was beautiful, but with how dangerous things are down there these days, I strayed away. I then started researching Costa Rica and I immediately knew this is where I wanted to go. The people who live in Costa Rica live by the expression "¡Pura Vida!"which translates to pure or simple life. They literally live by the expression, it is their way of life. You can see it by the way they act and the way they interact with others. Costa Ricans will say this as a hello, goodbye, or just because. Everyone I met who is a true native to the country is so unbelievably kind and absolutely adores their country. It was inspiring to see a country that values where they live and their way of life so much.
So on to how I booked. I had never done an all inclusive trip before and I was nervous to try and book all of it on my own. I ended up using Apple Vacations and it was so incredibly simple and effortless. I will without a doubt use them again in the future for trips like this. Through Apple Vacations I booked both flights, and all inclusive meals, drinks and stay. They will also let you book excursions with your trip through out the process, but my boyfriend and I decided to book those once we were in Costa Rica. 
This leads into where we stayed. We ended up picking the Riu Palace in Guanacaste. I have always heard positive things about the Riu chain and I was very pleased with our experience. They have two Riu options in Guanacaste. One is called Riu Palace and the other is Riu Guanacaste. They are right next door to each other. We went with the Palace option, because it was a little more upgraded and if you stay at the Palace you can also utilize the pool at the Riu Guanacaste. Below are a few images of our room. Also included, but not pictured, is a bottle dispenser of 4 different booze free of charge to use, along with chasers, and a balcony.
After getting settled we were off to explore the resort. The first thing you see walking out is a strip of palm trees with fountains all down the middle leading to multiple pools. Each night, as you can see below, featured a specialty drink to grab along with music and appetizers.
Our favorite spot of the resort was of course the swim up bar, where we tried every cliché resort drink you can think of. We became obsessed with dirty monkeys, which if you haven't tried one I highly suggest it, it tastes like a boozey milkshake.
swim up bar
dirty monkey
If you keep walking down a path past the swim up bar you will eventually find yourself on the resort's beach, which is beautiful and really nice to have the option between going to the pool or there.
beach connected to the Riu Palace
Just ten minutes down the beach you can stumble upon a place called the Monkey Bar. This is just a tiny bar that coincidently if you sit at, you have a chance for monkeys to visit. Fitting name, huh? I walked the path towards the bar where there is a little opening that also is a common area to spot monkeys and well, I lucked out.
We had about ten of these guys flying around in the trees above us and coming right up next to us. They were so cute and so fun to watch jumping in between the trees and so awesome to experience while being so close to the resort.
The last thing I will mention about the resort is of course the food. I think you can all tell by now how much of a foodie I am. I will say the resort food is average at best. Now in saying this, a few of their specialty restaurants were really good, my favorite being the steakhouse. They also would pull out a giant grill by the pool during lunch hour and grill up BBQ ribs, chicken, pork and veggies and that food was so so good. Their lunch and breakfast buffet however was nothing special. It was just random odds and ends of food options, definitely edible, but nothing to get excited over.
some of the food from specialty restaurants
Now that we have touched base on our stay, we are on to how we spent our time. Like I said, we booked our excursions once we were in Costa Rica. We did all excursions through Apple Vacations as well. They have multiple representatives sit in the resort lobby for you to book excursions so don't feel pressured into booking them before your trip. We ended up booking a catamaran excursion and a 13 hour excursion to the rainforest. For reference, Costa Rica is split into two sides: a wet side and a dry side. Guanacaste is located on the dry side and the rainforest is about a four hour drive from Guanacaste; however, I highly suggest you make a trip to the rain forest during your stay if that is not the side you decide to book on.
While on the topic of the rainforest, I will explain that excursion first. It was split into three parts, a volcano boat tour, a walk through the rainforest and then a visit to the hot springs. Our tour picked us up bright and early right at the resort where we then boarded a bus and started our journey. This excursion provided two meals, and both meals were so good. The first stop was at a local restaurant where we tried their passionfruit chicken, rice, beans(which costa rica is known for), and a dessert that to be honest, I have no idea what it was, but it was so tasty.
We then all went back on the bus where we drove for about another half hour and docked at a boat to get a tour around a lake surrounding Arenal Volcano. It's hard to pick my favorite part of the excursion, but I loved this boat tour. It felt like you were in Jurassic Park with the volcano, greenery, and bright blue water. I was waiting for a dinosaur to pop out at any second. On the tour we learned history about this volcano, which at one point was active. It was really interesting and like I said, a beautiful scenery.
Arenal Volcano
The boat lead us to our bus a few miles away where we then boarded again and headed to the rainforest. This was such an awesome experience. I have never been in a rainforest before and to see all the wildlife in their natural habitat was amazing. Could I have done without seeing a snake and tarantula? Yes, yes I could have. On the plus side I got to see a sloth, so I'll deem it a wash in experience. We also crossed hanging bridges while in the rainforest. Let me fully disclose I loathe heights. I am petrified of being suspended in the air and I almost had a panic attack crossing the first bridge. Phones were almost flying, thank god for my boyfriend who talked me through it and saved my Iphone from a bitter plunge. By the time we got to the last bridge, my nerves were at ease, but if you ask me if I'll do it again, I'm not sure the response you'd get. All in all though, it was an amazing experience and I loved all we got to see.
We boarded the bus again and headed to our last portion of the excursion, which was the hot springs. This was the perfect way to end the long day. Here they had an outdoor bar where they would take your order as you sat and worked your way down the multiple hot springs. The way hot springs work is that the top spring is the hottest and each spring runs into each other, working their way down and as you go lower in the springs, their temperature decreases.
It was such a perfect ending. Afterwards, we went to an amazing dinner at a resort within the rainforest and then made our way back to our resort. I would redo this excursion in a heartbeat if I ever again am in Costa Rica.
As for our second excursion it was only a half day event. Similar to the previous excursion, they picked us up from the resort where they brought us into town by another beach where we boarded for the catamaran. We didn't get a chance to hang around town, but if you have time, I suggest it. They have so many restaurants and bars and it was a really fun atmosphere from what I could tell.
Once lunch and snorkeling were done, they drove us around the ocean as we waited for sunset. It was a super relaxing excursion. The views were incredible and it was a perfect way to spend our last day.
Our experiences in Costa Rica were so amazing, we saw such amazing animals and places. However, this trip was made even that much better by the amazing group of friends we met while there. Southern hospitality was at it's all time high when we met our new Houston friends Missy, Megan, Nate, and Devin. These four were some of the best people Ryan and I ever met and they made the resort experience so much fun. This trip brought us so many memories, not just with that country, but also with this group of people and I am so thankful for the entire experience.
Alright everyone, this is it for Costa Rica. I hope you all enjoyed this post, this was such an amazing experience and I highly suggest anyone and everyone to visit this beautiful piece of the world. Until next time..
¡Pura Vida!
xo H
