Santa Teresa is a popular holiday destination. New Year's is a popular holiday. Do they intersect? We think they do, and here is what we did there!

Santa Teresa is a village in the southern part of the Nicoya peninsula, and it is far from everything else in Costa Rica. Most of the roads in the area are dirt roads and the most common means of transportation are motorcycles and ATVs. The area is very touristy, it is even frequented by celebrities who usually own some property in the area or just want to disappear from the public eye for a while. The area is very chill and full of nature, and just a perfect place to relax. With that being said, there are many people coming there, so think ahead about your accommodation.

How to get there

As I said before, it is far from everything else in Costa Rica. Meaning that it is harder to reach. You can, of course reach there easily with your private helicopter or a boat. But for those of us that do not own these things, there are other ways.

We did it in public transport, but you can do the exact same way with your vehicle.

We got a "direct" bus from San Jose to Montezuma, and it went like this:

• A bus from San Jose to Puntarenas

• A ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera

• A bus from Paquera to Cobano

• A bus from Cobano to Santa Teresa/Montezuma/any other town around

The whole way can take between 5 to 9 hours, depends on the traffic. Usually the "direct" bus is aligned with all the departure hours so that would probably be the fastest one. The ticket costs around 18000 Colones (~36$), or it can be cheaper if you take each part independently. The "direct" bus is going with you on the ferry and later on continues to Cobano, the other buses stay where they left you.

What to do there

1. Craft beer

Well, did you expect anything different? The village is surprisingly full of local craft beer. You can find a great variety in the supermarkets, in the various bars or restaurants, and I even visited 2 local breweries. My favorite was, of course, getting a few beers in the supermarket and heading to the beach. If you want to know more read my post about where to drink beer in the area

2. Diving

There is only one diving center in the village so not much of a choice, but lucky for us, they are very nice and extremely professional. Surprisingly for the Pacific ocean the visibility is quite ok, and there is plenty of sea life in the various diving sites. From turtles and sharks, to huge schools of fish, eels, crabs and plenty of other underwater creatures

3. Go to a New Year's party

Right, so this was a New Year's vacation. For some reason it was very hard to find information online before, but once we got there we discovered that there is plenty of options. There are a few clubs, and a few restaurants that hosted some parties. If you are arriving a few days before and make friends, there are a lot of house parties going on in the area. We opted in for the simplest option of going to the beach and hanging out there. There was more than one beach party, bonfires, and some of the restaurants with access to the beach even brought out their own fireworks!

4. Go to the beach

What else do you do in a beach town? There are plenty of beaches and even though there are plenty of people the beaches do not feel to crowded. The water is a bit rough at some areas, it is a surfing place after all. Choose your favorite one and hang out, have a beer or a cocktail, watch the sunset

5. Sushi

Another pleasant surprise, the village is full with amazing sushi places that will create their original sushi flavors for you. We have tried only 2 of the places - Mitzuki Sushi and Roman's Sushi (delivery only) and we couldn't be more content

6. Go to Cabuya

The area is also home to the Cabo Blanco national park, which is easiest to reach from Cabuya. Cabuya is reachable from either Montezuma or Santa Teresa by car, or even by walking, if you're up to it. Us? We hitchhiked.

There are a few restaurants that serve fresh fish, but the main attraction is the quiet. There are also some hidden beaches, and even an island you can walk to during low tide. And, of course, everything that the national park can offer

7. Go to Montezuma

Montezuma is another village in the area, it has only one beach and offers a bit more flexible options for accommodation. In the area you can find some nice viewpoints, and even a tall waterfall that is reachable by a short hike. The village itself is reachable by bus from Cobano.

Final thoughts

Once again I only touched the tip of the iceberg, and I can recommend only the things that we did there. There are plenty more possibilities, from hikes, different tours, and of course the most popular activity in the area - surfing. Choose your favorite and go to Santa Teresa for your next New Year's!