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Jaco Costa Rica Reviews

Jaco Costa Rica Reviews

There is some important Jaco Costa Rica Reviews about Jaco, Costa Rica from pleased tourists. Check out:

Jaco Beach itself is a bit touristy, but still rustic enough to feel Disney hasn't arrived. The surfing is terrific, as is the fishing (or in our case, the eating of much fresh fish!). And it's still relatively inexpensive to eat and stay there. Outside of town, we found waterfalls to swim in, and funky areas like Hermosa Beach and Herradura. Jaco Beach is a nice central location from which to make day trips up and down the coast. You can even take the ferry from Puntarenas across to Mal Pais, rumored to be amongst the most beautiful places to go.

I love to drink Coca Cola down there, because they still make it with sugar (the 'classic' stuff you get in the US doesn't come close!) The meat is all very good, and the fruit & seafood are amongst the freshest you can get. It's all grown and produced locally, so it makes it to the table that day. Every meal we had was super! I enjoy Jaco Beach during the summer rainy season, because I don't mind the quick showers, and the rain makes everything really bloom. I have never seen so many shades of green! And the coffee is tops- I brought quite a bit home with me. On hotels: a few times, we went down without a reservation, and we were fine. But check ahead anyway. Also~since Jaco Beach is a surfing destination, call a surf travel specialist-they buy seats in bulk and may have better fares.

We rented a car in San Jose and drove in, which takes a little time. The roads are much better now~just 5 years ago, you'd hit potholes as big as kiddie pools all over the road. Having a car freed us up to travel a lot, but certainly towns like Jaco Beach and Tamarindo up north can be good walking towns.

I used to live in Costa Rica for 6 years. The easiest beach to get to is Jaco Beach, like 2/3 hours from the Capital, San Jose, depending on the hour (tip: I used to go at 3 in the morning and be down there in time for the sunrise, a good breakfast, and time to relax before heading out) It is close enough to allow you to go down for the day and get back to the hotel in San Jose for a shower (or to hit the bars in my case!)

There is a great deal of it with great clubs.
Sometimes I would go down to Jaco Beach like at 11pm and return home like at 3, just to go to the clubs!
Discoteque La Central is the best one, and there is also a new one called cocodrilo. Do be careful not to be too obviously lost when hanging around as there is crime there as there is everywhere.

The beach is quite crowded, in Costa Rican term!! At high season you may have to dodge someone playing footbal to get to the water, the waved may contain 10 surfers ever 400 meters.
The waves are, I must admit, temperamental. Some days there is nothing but chop and you can only really white water surf which isn't really surfing at all! Other days there is a wonderfull swell with these sweet waves which are a real pleasure to ride. The waves a ridable at waist depth and the water is as warm as a bath (I have been spoilt, I know!!)
Further out, the second set of waves is very deceptive, as they seem almost the same as the first set, yet they are Very Powerful. Do not disrespect them.
Once I was out on this calm water with no waves in sight, i faced the sky for a few seconds with my eyes closed and relaxed and then opened my eyes and saw this HUGE wave bearing down on me.. It must have been at least 11 feet and straight beind me, I had no chance to get out of the way or get past it, it was already foaming so i dived. It took me like 40 seconds to get out of the bottom and amazingly my board was in one piece!!

You have to eat the local's cooking. Best food I have ever had and really cheap if you stop at a place on the side of the road. Try Grandsiodos (hand shaved ice with flavored syrup, and powdered milk) - I ate one everyday!!! Pop's ice cream in Jaco Beach - Great! Shop around in Jaco Beach, some places are cheaper than others, if you see someone cooking roasted chickens on the side of the road in a pit, stop and buy one - incredible!!!

Best Way To Get Around Jaco Beach
rent a car, you can go anywhere you want and the drive from Jaco Beach to Arenal is so beautiful you will want to take pictures of everything. You can see more when you have your own car instead of paying for a tour bus to take you because you can stop whenever you feel like it!!! Enjoy!!