Santa Teresa was one of my favorite vacations yet. I was honestly surprised by how much I love this remote, coastal surf town just west of San Jose. To travel to Santa Teresa, you will need to take a hopper or charter flight over to the peninsula from the mainland. This is the quickest and easiest way to get there… unless of course you are traveling by boat. There are a ton of options when deciding where to stay.. everything from hostels to boutique hotels resorts and AirBnbs. We chose to stay at the newly opened Mint Santa Teresa, which is on the hillside overlooking the coast with incredible views and a short walk [or drive] down to the beach.
Outside of the pure beauty of Santa Teresa, we were blown away by the food scene. There are 63 restaurants in Santa Teresa alone… which is pretty wild when you consider the population size is just under 3,000 people. Businesses rely heavily on tourists who come through town, and tourism is booming at that. We met many people along our trip, but noticed that the destination tends to attract more Eastern Europeans [Isrealis, Swedes, etc.] than it does Americans. The Israeli and European influence certainly played in to the food options available. Restaurants served everything from Peruvian ceviche to Italian seafood dishes to sushi rolls. Our favorite restaurant we tried during the trip was Chicken Joes.
The best time to visit Santa Teresa is from November to April when the weather is driest. February [the month we visited] is the driest month of the year. Tourists still visit during the rainy season, but in September when the weather is rainiest almost everything in the town shuts down [restaurants, hotels, etc].
About Mint Santa Teresa:
Our hotel, Mint Santa Teresa, was an adults-only boutique property with just four guest rooms and a shared pool deck. The architecture and design of the building itself was truly amazing, and very Instagram-worthy. Jonas and Johanna [the owners] welcome guests upon arrival and are at the property to give recommendations and advice from 8am-8pm every day. They take hospitality very seriously and were so warm– you can tell that opening this property has been a dream come true for them. After the owners leave, there is a 24-hour security guard who stays on site throughout the night. It was really nice having the ease of mind to know that no one could come up and bother us. Breakfast was complimentary, and included a selection of local fruits, hummus, biscuits and banana bread. Yum! When we weren’t out dining, surfing and enjoying the beach, we spent our time enjoying cocktails by the infinity edge Mint pool. Book a room here!
Where to Eat:
As mentioned, we tried many restaurants throughout our five day stay and were impressed by almost all of them [outside of one resort we dined at on the beach]. The food in Santa Teresa is priced similarly to what you would pay in the United States and not as affordable as other parts of Costa Rica, so do keep this in mind. Our favorite restaurants were honestly some of the more casual. We loved the chicken, fish tacos and Peruvian ceviche at Chicken Joes [sad to say we missed out on Passionfruit cheesecake]. Earth Cafe, Bali Beach Deli and Product C were amazing & healthy options for lunch. Earth Cafe had awesome poke bowls, Bali Beach deli had great sandwiches and veggie burgers, and Product C had amazing tacos. We also tried Koji’s during our stay, which was an upscale sushi restaurant. I really love the drinks, and a couple of the rolls were pretty good as well. Our last dinner was at another higher-end restaurant called Al Chile Viola– where we had a delicious squid ink pasta and ravioli.
Transportation:
The best way to get around Santa Teresa is to rent an ATV, or a car. The ATV’s are super fun, and an easy way to get around from beach to beach. Being that our hotel was on a hill, it was much easier to get up and down with a ride. The cost to rent an ATV was $65/day, and there are deals if you are renting for multiple days.
Beaches:
Santa Teresa is known as one of the top surf destinations in the world. It attracts many avid surfers and even professionals regularly to its beaches. Playa Hermosa is a great nearby beach for beginners to learn to surf. The waves are fairly consistent and not as rough. You’ll find several surf schools and board rental shops in the area. Board rentals were only $10-$15/day.
Local Art:
Outside of the beaches and food, my favorite part of our trip was shopping artisanal boutiques in the town. We discovered one shop called Dos Unicas, where you could shop handmade fashion and art by artists: AIP and Johanna Van Parijs. Their artwork was amazing, and fit my personal bohemian style well. We will be ordering a few of their pieces when we move into our new place too!
If you do decide to make the trip to Santa Teresa, do not hesitate to ask me anything. This trip was a recommendation from my good friend Alex Reichek who runs the Chek Mark Eats blog.
