Our Honeymoon In Tamarindo, Costa Rica

When John and I started thinking about where we might want to go on our honeymoon, we had a few criteria we wanted to hit:

• Somewhere warm, since our wedding was in the middle of winter
• Somewhere we wouldn’t normally be able to just pack up and go
• Somewhere that wouldn’t take an insanely long flight to get to
• Somewhere relatively affordable

After doing some research (aka me listening to John read off posts from Lonely Planet), we narrowed it down to a few options: Yelapa, Mexico, Guadeloupe or Martinique in the French Caribbean, or Costa Rica.

I got a little freaked out about traveling to Mexico after the whole poison tequila fiasco, and the Caribbean was still in pretty rough shape after Hurricanes Maria and Irma, so we settled on Costa Rica.

There are a ton of great beach town options in Costa Rica, but we chose Tamarindo because A) I had been there before and felt comfortable getting there/getting around and B) it has a great mix of everything: dining, nightlife, beach, nature, proximity to mountains/jungle, and more.

We booked our trip and started dreaming of sun and sand in the middle of the icy NYC winter!

Getting There

One of the biggest upsides to a Costa Rica honeymoon is that it’s so easy to get to from the U.S. By air, San Jose (the capital) is three hours from Fort Lauderdale, five hours from New York, or about five-and-a-half hours from Los Angeles.

From San Jose, you can easily connect to the smaller beach/mountain/jungle towns. You can also fly from New York and other major cities straight into Liberia, which is about an hour’s drive from Tamarindo.

In our case, on the Monday after our wedding we flew from Fort Lauderdale to San Jose, then connected to a Sansa Airlines flight to Tamarindo.

Just an FYI, most of the flights out of San Jose aren’t going to be the typical connections you’re used to in America. Many are run by smaller, regional airlines that fly itty bitty planes, AKA puddle jumpers, to get you where you’re going.

For Sansa airlines, for example, you go through customs, leave the main San Jose airport terminal, and walk about a block away to Sansa, which operates on a separate airstrip. Because I had been there before, I knew to expect all of this and left a three hour window between our flights to give us plenty of time to make the connection. Unlike in the U.S., a tight connection window like 40 or 50 minutes probably wouldn’t be enough time to make your flight.

So we took the tiny plane to Tamarindo, gripping onto each other for dear life the whole way.

Where To Stay

The first time I visited Costa Rica, I stayed with a bunch of girlfriends in a rented house. Aside from the house getting broken into (which is another story for another blog post), we were really happy with the location and convenience of having a whole house to ourselves. So, for our honeymoon, we decided to do something similar and stay at an AirBnb.

The AirBnb we picked was a cottage in a small, five-unit complex just blocks from the ocean. It was a one bedroom, one bath with a kitchen and everything we needed to cook, which is one of my favorite perks of staying in an AirBnb! There was a cute little balcony right outside our front door and just beyond that, a pool.

I love staying in AirBnbs instead of hotels because it gives you one more memorable aspect that’s unique to the place you’re visiting. When you stay in a hotel, it’s basically the same every time—bed, TV, bathroom, maybe a minibar or some artsy décor. But who really remembers the different hotel rooms they’ve stayed in? Not me.

But I do remember the adorable studio apartment I rented when I visited Boston and the house boat we stayed on in the Florida Keys. It’s just one more unique experience to have when you visit a place. (If you’ve never tried AirBnb before, use my promo link to get $40 off your first trip! I’ll also get $20 off a future stay, which is pretty cool).

If you’re headed to Tamarindo, there are tons of great options on AirBnb and VRBO to choose from, from luxury homes to rustic beach bungalows. If you’re more traditional, there are plenty of hotels too—the Jardin del Eden and the Langosta Beach Club are two I noticed that looked particularly beautiful.

Getting Around

I’ve talked to friends who rented cars when they traveled to Costa Rica, but both times I’ve been we’ve gotten around just fine on foot. In fact, drivers are pretty crazy there, weaving around like lanes are non-existent and pedestrians are invisible, so I’m not sure I’d feel safe navigating while driving anyway.

If you want to go on an excursion, there are endless tour companies that will take you where you need to go as part of the package. If you just want to head to another town to explore, you can take a public bus (if you’re not on a tight schedule) or a private car. When we flew home, we needed to get to the Liberia airport about an hour away and took a private car for $60.

What To Do

Now for the fun part! There are endless things to do in Tamarindo.

You can…

• Kayak
• Snorkel
• SCUBA dive
• Go fishing
• Go boating
• Hike
• Zipline
• Parasail
• Soak in hot springs
• Go to a spa
• ATV
• Surf
• Horseback ride
• Stand-up paddleboard
• Lay on the beach and do absolutely nothing

And the best thing is it’s all right there at your fingertips.

On our first full day there, we slept in late and just hung out on the beach and explored the town. At low tide, if you walk south along Tamarindo Beach, you can walk all the way around to Playa Langosta, the next town over. Not only is it a gorgeous walk, but a cool way to snoop on the different hotels and beachfront properties along the water. We stopped in at several oceanside bars along the way and particularly enjoyed the fresh mojitos at El Chiringuito.

On Wednesday, we did a guided kayak tour of the Tamarindo Estuary. The two-hour trip took us up the mangrove-lined estuary between Tamarindo and Playa Grande to the north. Sometimes you’ll see crocodiles and howler monkeys along this route, but our guide told us it was probably too hot for most of the larger wildlife to be out. Instead we saw a ton of birds, fish, stingray and smaller animals and got some great exercise in the process.

On Thursday, we decided to test out our surf skills. We had both surfed (or in my case, tried to surf) a few times before, so we opted not to pay for a lesson and just rented a board instead. Just off Playa Tamarindo is a great beginner spot to surf; the guy at the surf shop told us about an hour before high tide is the perfect time to go, so that’s what we did. I swallowed about a gallon of seawater, but I actually managed to catch a few waves bro. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the beach and popping into the local shops while John surfed some more.

Friday was the day we flew out, so we grabbed a quick breakfast in town before catching a car to Liberia Airport.

Our trip lasted Monday through Friday, which we planned so we’d still have the entire weekend in New York to decompress before heading back to work the following Monday. I was a little hesitant that it wouldn’t feel like a long enough trip, but it ended up being plenty of time. By Friday Johnny and I had both had our fill of beach time and were ready to get back to our pets at home. It was unbelievably nice to have Saturday and Sunday to unwind and veg out on the couch, too. Highly recommend it if you’re planning your honeymoon!

What To Eat And Drink

One amazing thing about Tamarindo is that it’s hard to have a bad meal. There’s fresh seafood and fantastic Spanish food literally everywhere you look, so no matter where you choose to eat or drink you probably can’t go wrong.

That said, here were some of my favorite spots we went on our honeymoon:

Dragonfly Bar & Grill. I’d call it a must-visit. We had dinner here two out of our four nights in town! I had the whole red snapper and the tuna and both were fantastic.

El Chiringuito. We had cocktails here a few times and dinner our last night in town. Both the drinks and the food were fresh and delicious.

The Ocean. Solid option for an inexpensive breakfast with amazing views and atmosphere.

Longboard’s BBQ. Cheap beer, good tacos. A little more low key than the oceanfront options. We parked it here to cool off and take a break from the beach crowds after our kayak trip.

Wild Panda. On one of the nights we set off in search of live music. Right on the main drag, this place had $20 buckets of beer and a great live band.

Pacifico Bar. This place can get packed and rowdy, but we went early in the night and watched the salsa dancers tear up the dance floor. So much fun!

We also heard great things about Pangas Beach Club, but the night we tried to go it was closed for a private event. Womp womp.

The Tourist Factor

The only thing I didn’t completely love about Tamarindo is how touristy the area is. Yes, I realize I’m a tourist, but I like not feeling like one when I visit a place. Tamarindo reminded me at every turn, with vendors hawking tchotchkes at us and t-shirt shops on every corner. It felt a bit like when you come to New York City and visit Times Square.

But, I guess that’s the trade-off for everything else like lodging, transportation and nightlife being so accessible. I really can’t complain too much about it, but if you’re looking for a more off-the-beaten-path experience, Tamarindo probably isn’t it.

If we do visit Costa Rica again, I’d love to check out one of the sleepier beach towns where you trade some of the nightlife and activities for a more secluded atmosphere.

All in all, we had an amazing time on our Costa Rica honeymoon. Writing this post is making me seriously want to go back and do it all over again!

Tell me, where did you go on your honeymoon? Or where would you one day like to go?

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