Your marathon recovery week is the perfect time to enjoy a relaxing vacation in Costa Rica! With beaches, waterfalls, and hot springs, it’s the perfect place to recover post-marathon!
We headed to Costa Rica the day after my husband Darren completed the Revel Rockies Marathon. Our itinerary included beach yoga, waterfall hikes, massages on the beach, sunset dinners, and an oceanfront Airbnb with a balcony hot tub! And we did all of this for under $2,000. We’ll share all the details so that you can do the same and be fully recovered for your next training cycle!
Travel-Hacking Our Flight to Costa Rica
I used a tool called Flight Connections to search for the best positioning airport to get to Costa Rica. I typed San Jose (SJO) into the “To” search bar and clicked on “price view” to identify the best airport to position our flight from. Houston (IAH) was the closest and cheapest option for us.
Next I searched airlines that flew from IAH to SJO. It looked like Avianca Airlines had the cheapest flights. I created Avianca Lifemiles accounts for both of us and did a search for flights using Lifemiles points. I found a one way flight for 21.9k points. I’m sure you could find cheaper flights, but since we were tied to our dates, this seemed like a good deal. Roundtrip for both of us was 87.6k points in economy (S fare). I transferred 87.6k points from our Capital One Venture X points to Lifemiles and booked the tickets. Avianca does charge for taxes, so our out of pocket expense for flights was about $250 all-in.
Avianca S fare includes one small personal item and one carry-on bag. Checking a bag would cost an additional $80 per bag, so we decided to pack light! Read how we packed light for Avianca S fare!
Accommodation in Costa Rica
We visited Costa Rica in the rainy season and we wanted to focus on beaches, so we chose to stay in the Guanacaste region on the West coast which tends to stay drier than the rest of the country. We also wanted to cook our own meals to save money – restaurants in that area can be very expensive. For these reasons, we chose an Airbnb.
We arrived in San Jose very late the first night and we were leaving very early on our last day, so I booked two nights at the Fairfield Inn San Jose Airport with Marriott points for a total of 44K points.
I booked The Treehouse through Airbnb. It sits on top of a mountain overlooking the ocean. A hot tub on the balcony was perfect for Darren’s marathon recovery. And it has a full kitchen with everything we needed, including a blender to make our daily protein smoothies.
The Treehouse has air conditioning, but we never used it. We stayed on the third floor and we were up high enough that we could leave the windows open all day and stay cool enough. At night, we fell asleep to the cool breeze and sounds of nature. We’ve never been so rested! In the mornings, we woke up at dawn with the birds and howler monkeys. We watched the sun rise over the forest while the monkeys hooted (although we never saw them).
The Treehouse is located in a gated /guarded resort community, and we had access to all of their amenities including an infinity pool with swim-up bar, onsite restaurant, a few miles of hiking trails, and a large fitness center. The fitness center has large open doors that look out towards the ocean. It has free weights, machines, treadmills, bikes, yoga mats, kettle balls, medicine balls, Pilates balls, and more. It costs $10/visit, $25/week, or $100/month. Darren went just once for strength training. There is also an open-air pavilion next to the fitness center for yoga/meditation that is free to use.
After all taxes and fees, The Treehouse cost $143/night. To pay for this, we used a credit card we were working on a sign-up bonus for and purchased an Airbnb gift card at Krogers which got us 4x fuel points. I loaded the gift card into Airbnb and booked our accommodations.
Car Rental in Costa Rica
After much research, we determined that renting a 4×4 vehicle was the way to go. Since we were arriving in SJO and not the airport in Guanacaste (Liberia), we knew we’d have some long drives. We rented an SUV through Hertz where we have Presidents Circle status with our Capital One Venture X card. I entered the Hertz site through the American Airlines shopping portal so that I could earn miles with my rental purchase. The rental car cost $268 for six days. I opted out of Hertz insurance because I used Darren’s Chase Sapphire Preferred to pay and it has excellent rental car coverage.
We ended up being very glad we rented a 4×4. The roads in Costa Rica are terrible with potholes. Many roads are paved for a bit and then turn into gravel roads. We had to ford shallow rivers when it rained. Driving was an adventure for sure!
Food Budget for Costa Rica
If you are going to be in tourist areas in Costa Rica, you are likely going to pay more for food than you expect. We went grocery shopping for the week at the Automercado in Tamarindo which is a higher end grocery store with American brands. We did this in hopes of finding our health foods like pea protein powder, steel cut oats, and soy milk. In the end, they did not have much of what we needed. We could have bought most of our groceries for much cheaper at a more local grocery store. There was a health food store in Tamarindo that sold anything our crunchy granola hearts could desire, but again, it was very expensive.
We did pack our own spices and oils in our special travel pack. We’ve learned that no matter where you travel, it doesn’t make sense to buy a full bottle of cinnamon or olive oil for a short trip.
We ended up spending $300 on groceries for the week. Those groceries would typically cost us $150 in the US. This was a budgeting fail. However, we still saved money by not eating out every meal. If I had to do it again, I think it may have been cheaper to pay the fee for a checked bag in order to bring our own niche foods and then buy common foods locally. Lesson learned!
Marathon Recovery Itinerary for Costa Rica
When we planned this trip, we had no idea how much Darren would need a good recovery week. He had to overcome injury and an unexpectedly difficult course at the Revel Rockies. After the marathon, he could barely walk. Being forced to walk through airports the couple of days after his marathon helped him keep moving despite the pain. And knowing that there was a beach and a hot tub on the other side of our flights helped too!
Day 1: Getting to Our Airbnb
We picked up our rental car and drove from San Jose to Tamarindo. It was supposed to be a four hour drive, but ended up taking about six or seven. We found that you can generally take the amount of time Google maps thinks it will take you to get somewhere in Costa Rica and add another third of that time to get a more accurate ETA.
In Tamarindo, we picked up groceries for the week and then drove to our Airbnb (about 45 minutes away).
The sun was setting when we arrived. We unpacked, made dinner, and jumped in the hot tub before going to bed early.
Day 2: Beach Yoga and Seaside Massages
Yoga on the Beach
The next morning we woke up to the sounds of the forest. We ate breakfast on the balcony while listening to the howler monkeys and birds. Then we packed lunches, smoothies, and snacks for the day and headed back to Tamarindo.
We had booked a morning beach yoga class thru Airbnb for $14 per person. We found our instructor Virginia set up on the beach in the shade. There was only one other guest. Virginia had many yoga mats to choose from and tiny brooms to brush the sand off the mats. Virginia had asked me ahead of time if there was anything we wanted to do and how much yoga experience we had. I told her that we both practice (me – Vinyasa, him – Yin). I told her that Darren had just finished a marathon and was very sore in his quads and calves.
Before we started, Virginia had us pick an affirmation card from a deck at random. We placed these in the sand next to our mats. She gave us the option of setting an intention for the class and then worked us through sun salutations and other poses while we looked out on the ocean. Virginia told inspirational anecdotes as we worked. She was very positive and I would recommend this class for beginners and advanced yogis alike. The class really helped Darren stretch his sore muscles and he was walking better afterwards.
After class, Virginia led us through a short meditation and then happily took some photos of us. She also called out to Janet, a beachside vendor, who had delicious cold coconut water for us to drink for free. While we sipped and cleaned up, Virginia chatted with us about living in Costa Rica and offered some excellent suggestions for beaches and a place for dinner that ended up being one of our all-time favorite experiences.
Seaside Couples Massages
Next was massages! We walked one minute down the beach to Tamarindo Massages by the Sea where we’d made reservations for a couples massage. The cost was $40/person for an hour.
We noticed many masseuses set up along the beach in Tamarindo, but Tamarindo by the Sea definitely had the best aesthetics. The massage tables were set up in a small covered pavilion under a canopy of palm trees. There was a wooden cubby to store our day packs. We were grateful for the roof when it rained during our massage (the other places had flimsy tents or just tree leaves for protection).
Since we were on the beach, we kept our swimsuits on during the massage. The pressure was not the firmest, but it was slow and relaxing which was perfect for Darren. His muscles couldn’t have handled a deep tissue massage at that point. Listening to the rain and the ocean waves while getting this massage might be the most relaxing thing I’ve ever experienced. I even dozed off for a minute during the massage which I have never done before!
All relaxed and zen, we headed from there to Brasalito Beach near our Airbnb for a picnic lunch and swim. We finished the afternoon at the resort infinity pool with some sparkling water from the swim-up bar.
Back at our place, we made dinner and watched the sunset over the ocean. Darren popped open his Spanish NA beer that he found at the Automercado in Tamarindo. (I had no luck in finding NA wines in Costa Rica). Then it was back in the hot tub for night two!
Day 3: La Leona Waterfall and Rio Negro Hot Springs
La Leona Waterfall Hike
By day three Darren was ready to stretch his legs with some hiking. La Leona is a gorgeous waterfall in Guanacaste, but getting to it is half the fun! It requires some bouldering, scrambling, and swimming to get there. You are required to have a guide. The tours offered on Trip Advisor were expensive for private tours and we didn’t want to join a large group. Before our trip, I joined a local Guanacaste Facebook group. From there, I found Offi Tours. We had a private guide for just the two of us for $40/person. On Trip Advisor, it was $45/person for a group tour. It took about 1.5 hours to get from our Airbnb to Offi Tours.
We loved having a private guide so that we could move at our own pace and have the waterfall to ourselves. Our guide was an 18 year old boy named Alex. He carried nothing with him and sometimes even carried our bag. (They give you a waterproof bag for your water bottles and phones.)
The hike started out in the forest but soon the trail came to a river called Rio Blanca. Alex told us that the dissolved minerals in this water meant that it had no oxygen and so no fish. It also gives the river a beautiful cerulean blue color.
The rest of the “hike” was in and out of the water. We used ropes to pull us through the current or up boulders. There were two places where Alex encouraged us to climb a rock and jump in. I dove in headfirst while Alex showed his skills by doing front flips into the water. Then Darren and I jumped together.
The last leg of the hike was my favorite part. We swam in a narrow canyon with rocks on all sides except for the blue sky above. Ahead we could see an opening to a cavern. We heard the rush of the waterfall inside. The current was pressing hard against us so we had to use a long rope to pull ourselves along.
Once inside the cavern, we were alone with the beautiful La Leona Waterfall. We tried to swim right up to it and underneath it, but the current was way too strong. After some photos and videos, we began the hike/swim back, stopping at one more smaller waterfall that we could go underneath.
Rio Negro Hot Springs
Next was the Rio Negro Hot Springs which was a short drive away. We drove to the La Hacienda hotel and purchased passes for the hot springs for $25/person. You could make reservations ahead of time, and in peak season, I would recommend this. On a rainy afternoon in off-season, we had the place to ourselves for a little bit before a tour group arrived.
There are ten hot springs, each at different temperatures. Some were so hot, there is no way anyone could enter them! We enjoyed the 101 to 104 degree springs. As we lounged, it started to rain. We covered our packs with a poncho and sat in the warm water while the cool raindrops fell down on us.
A hotel-worker stood nearby gathering volcanic mud from a spring and placing it in small wooden bowls for mud baths. After it stopped raining, we picked up a bowl and slathered each other with mud. I can’t say that it did anything to improve our skin, but it sure was fun! There are outdoor showers to rinse off afterwards. That water was very cold, so we hurried from there back to the hot springs for a relaxing end to our day.
Day 4: Las Catalinas, Sunsets, and Rainbows
Las Catalinas
Our beach yoga instructor recommended spending a day in Las Catalinas and having dinner at Sentido Norte. Las Catalinas is a planned resort community about 45 minutes from the Airbnb. It’s architecture will remind you of Europe or the Mediterranean with its winding, cobbled streets and quaint town square. We parked for the day in a pay-to-park lot (about $20 for the day) and were able to walk to the beach, through the town, and up the hill to dinner (though this was an extremely steep trek, especially for Darren’s still-recovering legs!).
We picnicked and relaxed on the beach. Then we moved into town. There are outdoor showers at the town square so that we could rinse off before sitting down for a mid-afternoon coffee break. When it started to rain, we found a covered gazebo overlooking the sea to wait it out. It occurred to us that we should probably make reservations for dinner. We had no problem getting reservations with short notice, but if you are visiting during peak season, I would make reservations at least a week ahead of time. The restaurant requires you to spend $30 per person, but that is not a problem with an entre and a drink.
Sentido Norte Sunset Dinner
Sentido Norte is a destination restaurant. It was voted by CNN as one of the world’s most romantic restaurants and it’s easy to see why. It sits on top of a cliff overlooking Las Catalinas and the sea. The entire restaurant is open-air. There isn’t a bad seat in the place – all seats face Westward so you are well-positioned to see the gorgeous sunset every night.
We arrived at 5:15 for a sunset reservation prior to dinner. This is a thing and you must make reservations for this. We were seated on a loveseat with an amazing view of the sunset in front of us and the green hills of Las Catalinas behind us.
The waiter handed us a drink menu and we were delighted to see a mocktails section. I ordered the Casarita Suave – similar to a margarita. Darren ordered the Sentido Norte Lemonade, which was not too sweet despite its name. We both liked the Sentido Norte better. It had a sophisticated, complex flavor that we both love.
As the sun began to put on its show in front of us, Darren turned around and noticed that there was a rainbow forming behind us! Everywhere we looked was like a painting! I did not know before this day that rainbows and sunsets can happen together!
After this fantastic show, we were seated in the dining area. There were two main vegetarian options that were okay. But you don’t come to this place for the food! There was a live musician playing covers of popular songs while we ate and the darkness descended on us. After dinner, a hotel worker was nice enough to give us a lift back down the hill to our car in his golf cart and we headed home for the night.
Day 5: Playa Minas
Our Airbnb host, Colleen, recommended Playa Minas as a great snorkeling beach. This was our last beach day and we love to snorkel. The other beaches we visited had rough surf which stirred up sediments. That, combined with the dark sand beaches, made visibility bad for snorkeling.
Playa Minas is only 4 miles from the Airbnb but it took 40 minutes to get there. We joked that we could literally run there faster! The reason it took so long to get there was due to the roads. It was almost entirely dirt roads with huge gouges in them. We had to carefully weave around the holes in the road.
But the drive was well worth it! We pulled up to a pink sand beach and clear turquoise blue water! It reminded me of the beaches in Bermuda with its pinkish sand. I couldn’t believe this beach was so hidden and undeveloped. There were just a handful of people there on this Sunday. And we finally had a perfectly clear sunny day!
The snorkeling around the rocks on the North end of the beach was great and we also enjoyed exploring the small caves on the Southern end.
We had such a fun and relaxing day at this beach and we highly recommend it!
Day 6: Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
We woke up before dawn to pack up and start making our way back to San Jose. As a mid-point stop, I had made reservations at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. This cost $25/person.
The drive to the reserve was gorgeous! We climbed up switchbacks towards the continental divide on paved and dirt roads. We pulled over several times to take photographs of the jaw-dropping vistas. Needing a pitstop, we pulled over at a cafe/farm on top of a mountain and ordered chai and mocha hot beverages. We chatted in our broken Spanish with the farmer/owner who told us a little about the area.
When we arrived at Monteverde, we parked in the official parking lot and took a shuttle up the hill to the reserve. We scheduled a tour with a guide so that we would have a better chance of seeing wildlife. While we waited, we explored the Hummingbird sanctuary where the birds buzzed right around our heads.
On the tour, our guide was able to point out all kinds of birds, including a Quetzal, and Coatimundis (racoon-like creatures). We also saw mahogany and fig trees and bromeliads. After the tour, we explored on our own and ended up hiking a total of 5 miles which was a good way to start building back some mileage in preparation for getting back into training after our trip.
We spent over 5 hours at the reserve and could have spent more! But we had to get back on the road to San Jose for our flight home the next morning.
Recovery Elements of This Trip
Here are some things we considered to make sure recovery stayed at the front of our minds for this trip.
Hydration
I may have a phobia about being without my water bottle! Traveling is dehydrating anyway, and after a marathon, you are especially in need of intense hydration. I made sure we were never without drinkable water by bringing our Life Straw Water Bottles. They have serious filters in the straw which allow you to fill it up with water from ANYWHERE, even from a river. It filters out any microbes that your stomach may be unfamiliar with in a foreign country. But I use this water bottle everywhere because it filters out any taste that local water may have.
The only downside is that these bottles don’t hold much water because the filtering straw takes up so much space. I purchased large collapsible jug water bottles to bring with us. This way I could fill up the jugs from anywhere and refill our water bottles. I always had two full jugs of water when we left the Aribnb every day.
Nutrition
It’s fun to eat locally when you travel, but being plant-based and having very high caloric needs, means planning ahead. We decided that for nutrition and to save money, we would be making our own food most of the time on this trip. We brought our supplements and had researched where to go shopping in Costa Rica to find the food that Darren needed for his recovery. Smoothies are essential to our nutrition, but keeping them cold for the day can be a challenge. We use Blender Bottles and have found that they keep smoothies cool for an entire day – even with periods of it sitting in a hot car.
Stretching and Massage
We intentionally scheduled yoga and massage for Day 3 post-marathon. By this date, Darren’s legs were ready to stretch and he could handle some pressure to relieve his muscle pains.
Sleep
We arranged our schedule so that we would end up back at our Airbnb by sunset most nights. This ensured that we had enough time to eat and relax before going to bed. We also travel with ear plugs just in case (although we didn’t need them on this trip). Darren scored more than 10% better on his sleep in Costa Rica based on his Garmin Watch data, so we did something right!
Budget Breakdown
- Flights: $250 plus 87.6k Cap One points
- Rental Car: $268
- Airbnb: $715
- Marriott in San Jose on arrival/departure dates: 44k Marriott BonVoy Points
- Food (groceries for a week, one dinner out): $400
- Monteverde, Rio Negro, La Leona, yoga, parking, massages tours/reservations, and gym pass: $365
Grand Total in Cash: $1,998
We definitely could have saved more money by skimping on some of our experiences and bringing more of our own food or eating more local. Another big money-saving option is to use points to stay at a hotel instead of an Airbnb. The Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo starts at 25k points per night and is in the same location. It is not all-inclusive, but you can buy a meal plan. There are also many local inexpensive hotels of varying quality if you are on a tight budget. But overall, we had a luxury vacation experience for less and found great value in what we did spend!
We wanted to have a balance of relaxation and adventure with this trip. Part of having a great recovery is continuing to move while your body recovers from the intense work of training and marathoning. Going on an international trip may not sound like the most-relaxing way to spend your recovery week, but it does force you to move. It also keeps you occupied so that you aren’t worrying about NOT running during this week. Recovery can be the perfect time to go on vacation if you keep recovery at the forefront of your planning! And Costa Rica is a great destination for it!
