Golden rays of the setting solar fell on my face and a gentle breeze blew by way of my hair. I used to be sitting on the seaside of Santa Teresa watching the sundown. Mesmerized and awestruck, I seemed round, solely to search out the seaside full of individuals. It was as if the entire city had gathered to observe the sundown.
Santa Teresa isn’t just about sunsets. With wonderful surf breaks, palm tree-lined seashores, white waves, and vibrant yoga tradition, this small, former fishing village has gained reputation amongst surfers (each skilled and rookies), yoga practitioners, and seaside lovers from Costa Rica and world wide.
Situated on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in Puntarenas, Santa Teresa is a small city that runs alongside a 4 km lengthy road, with lush inexperienced hills on one aspect and the white sand seaside on the opposite.
Visiting Santa Teresa: How one can attain
From San Jose
By Automobile: Take Route 1, Route 18 & then Route 21. It’s a 6 hours drive from San Jose Airport to Santa Teresa.
By Automobile & Ferry: Drive to Puntarenas which is a 2-hour drive from San Jose Airport. As soon as there, purchase the ferry tickets to Paquera. You too can guide the tickets on-line at https://www.quickpaycr.com/.
Please notice – you want to purchase a ticket in your automotive, and separate tickets for all passengers. It prices 12,882 colones for the automotive, and 800 colones per particular person (taxes additional).
It’s a 1.5 hours ferry trip from Puntarenas to Paquera. After deboarding the ferry, proceed to drive from Paquera to Santa Teresa which is a 1-hour drive.
By Bus: There’s a direct bus from San Jose to Santa Teresa by Transportes Cobano at 6 am each day. Please notice that as of September 2022, the bus stops after reaching Cobano and leaves for Santa Teresa solely at 2.30 pm.
By Shuttle: You too can take a shuttle to Santa Teresa from San Jose. A shared shuttle from San Jose prices round 65 USD per grownup and a personal shuttle prices round 260 USD a technique for as much as 8 folks.
By Flight: Take a home flight from San Jose airport to Tambor Airport, after which rent a taxi or lease a automotive to Santa Teresa.
From Liberia
By Automobile: Drive down Ruta 21 (be sure that to remain on this route, and never different routes usually proven by Google maps and Waze. The drive normally takes round 4 hours.
By Flight: Take a home flight from Liberia airport to Tambor Airport, after which rent a taxi or lease a automotive to Santa Teresa. It’s a 40-minute drive from Tambor.
Actions: Issues to do in Santa Teresa
There isn’t a dearth of actions in and round Santa Teresa. Whether or not you like to calm down on the seaside, or bask in out of doors actions, Santa Teresa has one thing to supply to everybody.
Here’s what you are able to do when visiting Santa Teresa!
Browsing
Wherever you go in Santa Teresa, you’ll find surfboards! Whether or not it’s exterior the outlets, mounted on an ATV, folks strolling with it of their arms, or mendacity round on the seashores.
However there’s a cause for that! Santa Teresa is well-known among the many browsing neighborhood for its unbelievable surf breaks and lots of surf spots. So whether or not you’re a newbie or an skilled surfer, Santa Teresa is a spot with a continuing swell year-round and might give you an incredible surf expertise. You may both convey your surfboard with you or lease one when you are on the town.
Exploring close by seashores
Santa Teresa is a small seaside in itself. What makes the expertise nice is clubbing visits to different seashores together with this one. Playa Carmen, Playa Hermosa & Playa Manzanillo are 3 different seashores close by which can be a must-visit. From Carmen to Manzanillo, it’s an 11 km stretch and may be coated simply by automotive or ATV.
Yoga & Wellness
Like many different seaside cities in Costa Rica, Santa Teresa, too, is fashionable for its yoga lessons, applications, and wellness retreats. Many lodges and hostels supply yoga classes & wellness experiences for his or her company (both complimentary or paid). There are additionally many yoga studios dealing with the seaside.
ATV using
One factor that you’ll immediately discover on arriving at Santa Teresa is the ever-present presence of ATVs. Attributable to unpaved, slender roads and rugged terrain, vacationers like to rent ATVs to discover the city and close by seashores. It’s the most handy choice for shifting round, much more handy than your private automotive!
You may rent an ATV for the expertise, or for exploring Santa Teresa and close by seashores.
Mal Pais
Mal Pais is a small fishing village south of Santa Teresa. A 15-minute drive away, Mal Pais is nice for catching sunsets and stress-free on the quiet & much less crowded seaside.
One other spectacular function of Mal Pais is its tide swimming pools. These are naturally carved swimming pools that seem throughout low tides and might have scorching or chilly water. What’s much more wonderful is that yow will discover marine life like fish, sea urchins, and crabs, in these swimming pools.
Montezuma Waterfalls
In case you are up for an journey in your in any other case laid-back journey, climbing to the Montezuma Waterfalls will awaken the out of doors fanatic in you.
There are 3 waterfalls in Montezuma – higher, center, and decrease. The decrease one is essentially the most engaging. The trail is a mixture of strolling, climbing, and crossing hanging bridges.
Cabo Blanco Absolute Pure Reserve
One other out of doors exercise which you could bask in is the Cabo Blanco Reserve hike. You may take the shorter trails or hike the total circuit of 10 km. It is a nice path for recognizing wildlife, and the path results in the secluded seaside of Cabo Blanco the place you’ll be able to soak within the solar and wash away your tiredness.
Tortuga Island Tour
Tortuga Island is a 45-minute boat trip from the Santa Teresa space and is thought for its snorkeling alternatives. There are various day excursions from Montezuma seaside to Tortuga Island.
You may both calm down on the island, take a dip within the ocean, or take a guided snorkeling tour. All the pieces is taken care of by the tour firm.
Eating places: The place to eat in Santa Teresa
There’s a mixture of eating places serving native meals and worldwide delicacies between Santa Teresa and Carmen. Listed below are just a few eating places below varied classes –
- Asian Delicacies – Katana Asian Delicacies
- Israeli Delicacies – Zula Restaurant
- Latin & Caribbean meals – El Tercer Ojo
- Italian Delicacies – Pronto Piccola Italia
- Breakfast & Bakery – The Bakery
- Beachfront Bars – El Carmen, Banana Seashore
- Soda – Soda Pura Vida
- Burgers – Burger Rancho
- Vegan & Vegetarian – Drift Bar
- Icecream Parlor – L’arte del Gelato
Lodging: The place to remain in Santa Teresa
It is very important perceive the structure of Santa Teresa to be able to choose appropriate lodging. The world between Playa Santa Teresa and Playa Carmen is the principle and the busiest. Many hostels, lodges, Airbnbs, and resorts dot this stretch. You may be near facilities and eating places.
Nonetheless, for those who want a quieter and calmer keep, Mal Pais has a justifiable share of lodging too.
I stayed at Level Break Santa Teresa, which is conveniently positioned near Santa Teresa seaside and 1 mile away from Carmen seaside. The property boasts a backyard, a shared kitchen, a BBQ facility, a terrace, and rooms with balconies.
Security: Is Santa Teresa Protected?
Many vacationers are left questioning if Santa Teresa is in any respect protected! Notorious for robberies previously years, vacationers visiting Santa Teresa usually worry for his or her security. Whereas it’s usually protected, you must observe basic precautionary measures such as you would at another place. Don’t put on jewellery, keep away from remoted areas, go away your valuables on the resort, park your automotive in a busy and well-lit space & by no means go away the home windows down.
It’s undoubtedly a nasty concept to stroll on the seaside alone at evening. In case you are getting back from a late-night social gathering and aren’t fully sober, ensure you are in a gaggle and should not have valuables. It’s most well-liked to take a resort near the city in case you should not have a automotive or rented ATV.
Issues to find out about Santa Teresa
- The closest station is at Cobano which is a 30-minute drive away.
- Although bank cards weren’t readily accepted earlier (it was money solely), they’re welcomed now.
- The primary highway will not be well-paved and never properly lit. It’s advisable to not enterprise out on foot late at evening.
- Be ready to courageous a number of mud (from the highway) and the gang (within the busy season).
- Lodging are comparatively costlier than in different elements of Costa Rica. In case you are okay with hostels, they’re good in your pocket.
- It isn’t suggested to drink faucet water right here. You’ll need to test together with your resort/property for that.
Summing it up!
When visiting Santa Teresa, it is very important know that Santa Teresa is a creating city, and the amenities aren’t that nice! You might discover development in every single place and a number of filth & mud on the roads.
However, the uncooked fantastic thing about Santa Teresa is what attracts vacationers trying to unwind, rejuvenate, and reconnect with nature. Some are on a quest to search out the aim of their life whereas some need to hone their browsing abilities. No matter cause it’s you might be visiting for, go along with the proper expectation, and you’ll not be disenchanted. The seashores and the sunsets are to die for!
I hope this journey information was helpful to you, and that you’ve a memorable keep in Santa Teresa. Cheers!
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