Travel
Getting to the Pura Vida Adventures retreat location was no easy feat. It took a lot of planning but was totally worth the effort and travel time. I was coming from NYC so I flew from NYC, had a layover in Ft Lauderdale, then landed in San Jose, Costa Rica. There I met up with Irene who was flying from DC and we flew on a tiny 12-person plane (felt more like a mini van) to Tambor, the flight is only 20 mins and the views are amazing. To call the Tambor airport an airport is being generous. It’s a stand with a scale to weigh you and your bags and a notepad with a list of people who should be on the plane. There, a cab was waiting to take us the 45 minutes to the hotel. The roads are extremely bumpy and this ride is pretty rough. One way our cab drive took a detour to drive through a small path in the trees, through a little creek and we saw monkeys during the ride!
[it’s a liiiiitle cramped in here]
On the way home I did the same thing but unfortunately had an an 8 hour waiting period in San Jose (there are only a few flights daily from Tambor to San Jose so you take what you can get). Obviously not ideal sitting in a mostly closed empty airport from 6pm until 2am but you gotta do what you gotta do for a remote vacation!
My roundtrip flight from NYC to San Jose was just under $600 and then the tiny Nature Air flights were about $125 each way. The taxi was $50 total between all riders (2-3 of us per trip). Oh also my flight to San Jose was Spirit Airlines and holy hell, that is a crappy airline. The seats don’t recline and you have to pay for everything including your carry on and water. I didn’t want to pay for water so they offered me a free cup of ice so I could wait for it to melt into water…not kidding.
Hotel Tropico Latino
PVA puts you up at Hotel Tropico Latino in Malpais. This beachside hotel is made up of individual bungalows, some more in a jungly setting and others closer to the water. Our retreat took over some rooms and then there were a few other hotel guests there. It’s the off season so not crowded at all (either way I think there are only 12 huts so I guess it never is actually crowded). Our bungalow (#12) was right by the water. The rooms are pretty bare bones. Ours had a king size and a queen size bed, a huge shower (basically it’s own room), a large bathroom area with two sinks, a safe and air conditioning. There was plenty of hot water. Sometimes the water had a certain smell to it…not the most pleasant thing but yea. There was also an enormous porch with a bed to lay on, chairs, and a hammock right out front.
[view from our front porch]
The rooms are a little musty but they are jungle/beachfront so it’s pretty much what to be expected. The cleaning service was good, they came in daily but when we had two light bulbs go out, no one fixed them. Whatever, no biggie. The hotel felt beachy so it wasn’t the cleanest thing in the world but for this retreat it was totally fine. We saw a couple of little hermit crabs running across our floor, hey it’s rustic, what can you do about it. It wasn’t as if I was in a 4-star hotel but for a surf retreat these accommodations are great.
The hotel has a spa which is set outside, the massage tables are in little individual huts where you can hear the ocean. There are two yoga studios which are open-air, the tops are covered but there are no walls. You can see/hear the ocean from the studios. The hotel offers two classes daily.
[me having a morning laugh with a Buddha in the yoga studio)
The hotel has a great pool that also overlooks the ocean.
There is a restaurant and bar, also covered but wall-less. The food was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised that everything was SO GOOD. Tons of fresh fish, seared tuna, fresh tortillas, beachy cocktails, etc. I would classify the food as very fresh and relatively healthy. You can be as healthy as you want when ordering (salads, fresh fish, or go the other way and get a burrito and dessert) and the flavors and tastes all seem very “clean” and natural to me. When we ate at nearby restaurants I’d say the same thing goes. Lots of fresh fish on the menus and a good opportunity to stick with healthy or splurge here and there. We tried out a bunch of local restaurants within walking distance of the hotel and every meal was quite good. Also nice to note that the hotel had unlimited filtered water available throughout the property.
[Grilled fish on top of mashed potatoes-dinner on the last night]
The entire hotel is built into a jungle-like atmosphere. When you’re at the beach and look back you barely see anything which is kind of cool. Out front on the beach are chairs and hammocks for hotel guests to use. If you look down the coast there is a nearby bar but again, you barely see it peaking out, you mostly see trees and ocean, the way it should be.
[Often random horses are just walking down the beach…totes normal]
[morning view right out from the hotel]
[sunset view with the hotel chairs and hammocks]
To get around the hotel grounds you follow barely-lit paths through the trees, it’s pretty cool.
So here’s the deal, this place is sorta hard to get to and it’s rustic. If you want a real getaway retreat, this is the spot to do it. If you want a four-star direct flight kinda deal, go elsewhere. But like…why would you want that when you could have this?
