How to Spend 24 Hours in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
A solid 24 hours is all I had in the Nicoya Peninsula surf town of Santa Teresa. Here's how and where I spent my precious time.
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I’ll be perfectly honest and share that my visit to Santa Teresa barely lasted 24 hours. It was a spot I slipped into my itinerary at the last second en route to Montezuma from Sámara. I stayed one night in a giant queen-sized bunk bed and spent the one afternoon and one morning I had either on the beach with a book, snagging a table at a restaurant Google claimed to be good, or downward dogging in a yoga studio. The town itself, I am sure, requires more time than I gave it to catch its charm. On the surface, it’s crowded, dusty, and international, without a trace of any sort of authentic local culture - or sidewalks! But I can honestly say that by my final few hours there, after connecting with others at my hostel and getting past my own initial judgements, I kinda sorta wished I had more time. I know I owe Santa Teresa a second chance. Nevertheless, here are the gems I did find in my brief time in this Nicoya Peninsula surf town.
First Things First: Getting to Santa Teresa
If your plan is to arrive to Santa Teresa from points further up the Nicoya Peninsula, places like Sámara, Nosara, or Tamarindo, read my how-to on navigating the public transport and/or booking a shared shuttle. The step-by-step is included at the end of my Santa Teresa travelogue. Warning: It’s a pretty involved journey should you choose to take public transport. There’s also information in there on how to get to/from Montezuma from Santa Teresa (a much easier journey).
Restaurants
Eat Street
This food hall-style eatery offers a variety of Asian-inspired bowls and Mexican fare like burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, plus a craft cocktail-slinging bar with happy hour specials, fresh juices, and a highly tempting dessert line up to pair with any meal.
Ani’s Bowls & Salads
Good luck snagging a table at this popular Santa Teresa brunch spot. Their menu is full of fresh, healthy, and delicious bowls, salads, smoothies, and sandwiches - exactly what I crave in the Costa Rican heat.
Things to Do
Attend a Yoga Class at Don Jon’s Surf & Yoga Lodge
Don Jon’s Surf and Yoga Lodge offers affordable daily yoga classes multiple times a day for guests and non-guests. While I was there, they had classes at 8am, 10am, and 6:30pm daily, ranging from Hatha and Vinyasa to Kundalini. Just wander over to their chalkboard outside the hostel for the latest schedule. No need to reserve in advance.
Catch Sunset on the Sand
With the beaches of Santa Teresa perfectly west-facing, sunset is an event in this surf town. By 5pm, the beach fills out with what feels like every living soul in town, either equipped with a cooler of beers or their surfboard, while vendors roam hawking everything from empanadas and ceviche to happy brownies and supplemental cold Coronas.
Hostels
ICO Living Hostel
This new-to-the-scene Santa Teresa hostel has something I’ve never seen before - bunks with queen-sized mattresses! Another perk of staying here, besides the air conditioning in the room, is that it’s tucked off the dusty main street so it’s pretty quiet at all hours. There’s a communal kitchen and plenty of space to hang out or get some work done if you’re a digital nomad like me.
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Accommodations: Booking.com, HostelWorld, Trivago
Tours & Experiences: Viator, GetYourGuide, EatWith, TripAdvisor
Trains, Buses, & Transfers: Bookaway, 12Go, BusBud
Car Rentals: DiscoverCars.com
Trip Insurance: Squaremouth, WorldTrips
Learn Spanish: Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Pimsleur
What to Read Next
Getting over my sinus infection, being a beach bum on sands all over the Nicoya Peninsula, and making friends with Capuchin monkeys that seem to make daily appearances in these parts of Costa Rica