4-San Jose
Kalesu Tourism, which provided financial support to me before, arranged a free 3-night hotel stay in San Jose.. That’s why I didn’t pay for the first 3 days in San Jose.. In the next days and next visit, I stayed in a nice hostel for 8 USD.. There are many hostel alternatives in the center. You can find a nice hostel for a maximum of 10 usd.
There was not much in the city where I spent about 7-8 days.. I tried to get to know the country by hanging out with a few local people I met.. That’s why I stayed here for a long time, normally a place to stay for a maximum of 2 days.
The appearance of the city is just like us 20 years ago. Except for a few shopping malls, everything is outdated for us.. But the beautiful part of the city is there are parks everywhere. It is not parks consisting of 2-3 trees, but full parks.. I’ve seen dozens of working people grab their lunch and eat in the park.
Even though it has a few museums I did not enter any of them because the entrance fees are too expensive for foreigners. It does not have a very important museum that is worth noting.. They have a street called “Central Street” in the city center.. You can think of it like Istiklal Street in us.. Everything is gathered in and around this street.
A local friend I met invited me to Cartago city one evening.. Since it was the independence day of Costa Rica that day, we went to watch the celebration and concert in the city.. It was a fun evening as it was festival time, but other than that, there’s nothing to see and do.
There are so many universities in San Jose. If you want to come here and study, you cannot go to a state university, but you can go to private universities.. The annual fee of the best university is 8,000 usd. It is also possible to find lower ones.
Now I will go to the pacific side of the country. I took the bus from San Jose to Quepos for 10 usd.
6- Quepos
The reason why I came here is Manuel Antonio It was to go to the natural park, but I came to Quepos because the hostels there are expensive.. They are already at a distance of 5 km from each other, it is easy to go and get there.. I stayed 3 nights in an affordable hostel for 8 USD.
I gave up on entering Manuel Antonio Natural Park when it was 15 USD.. Because now natural parks are starting to look almost the same.. Also, when there is a long public beach right next to this park, I said that there is no need to enter the park.. My primary goal was to see the sloth, which we know as a sloth, but since I’m going to the Caribbean side, I left that for later.. Because sloths mostly live on the Caribbean side of the country.
On the first day, you can visit the surrounding beaches, large and small. I traveled. Beautiful beaches full of trees and palm trees, none of which have been commercialized. The next day, I went to the place called the secret waterfall, the video of which I shared below.. You can walk here for about 1 hour through the forest.. It’s not easy to find, but I’d say go for it.. You’ll agree with me when you watch the video.
From here on, I thought I’d go to Uvita, which has a coast to the ocean, but for some reason, I had to return to the capital, San Jose.. I went to San Jose by bus for 10 usd. After a few more days in San Jose, I switched to the Caribbean side rather than back to the Pacific side.. Bus ticket from San Jose to Cahuita is 10 usd.
7-Cahuita
Classic quiet Caribbean town. Everywhere is closed after 9-10 pm. Local people go to bed early and get up early. I stayed 6 days for 10 USD per night in a decent hostel. Along with its beautiful beach, the natural park of Cahuita makes this place special. In a way I can’t understand, this park entrance is free. I saw more animals inside than I’ve ever seen in any park in Costa Rica.. Likewise, I have seen the sloth that I want most, many times.. The park is about 9 km from one end to the other.. With the sea on one side and a small pond on the other, the trees, vegetation and animals in the park also show great diversity.. I came to this park two days in a row.. I’m sharing the photos below.
You can see a lot of monkeys and sloths in the trees around without entering the natural park.. Lonely this sloth is not easy to see or find.. They have a favorite type of tree. You should find out which tree it is and look around those trees.. Another problem is that these sloths don’t move much during the day because the weather is hot, they just sleep and wander at night.. I mean, they’re kind of spoiled animals.
There are also the coastal towns of Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, close to Cahuita. I went to both for the day.. Puerto Viejo is the party and entertainment place you know. The beach is not like that. Although there are many hostels here, I preferred to stay in Cahuita.. Manzanillo is the same as Cahuita, but slightly smaller.. The beach is beautiful, but again, it’s not a beach that can’t be found.. In short, Cahuita was ideal for me and I stayed there all the time.
As I said before, there are many important natural parks in Costa Rica.. Chief among these is the Corcovado natural park.. This park is huge compared to the others and the wildlife inside is very rich. You may even see cougars, jaguars and leopards inside.. This park is not accessible without a guide.. So I’ll go myself, you don’t have a chance to say I’ll hang out. The daily entrance fee of the park is 15 usd.. The daily fee of the guide is 75 USD per person.. There’s not much humor in going here for the day because it’s far away and it’s a huge park.. There are several stations with tents ready to stay in the park.. Of course, you pay extra for accommodation there.. I wanted to go for at least 3 days, but when I made the book, it cost 400 usd in total.. That’s why I gave up. Yes, Costa Rica is a country that respects nature, has closed its zoos and loves animals, but it also offers you these natural beauties at very high prices.. If you have in mind to go to every natural park, your wallet must be bloated.
I’m actually happy with my one month trip to Costa Rica. The only problem is; it is such an expensive country but it does not give you the same comfort in return for this expensiveness.. Therefore, lower your expectations when you come here and just come to see its natural beauties.. It has the most diverse forests in the world.. Especially if you are a nature lover, Costa Rica is sure to attract you.
I went to Panama border by bus from Cahuita for 4 USD.
