San Jose, Costa Rica in 36 Hours

Now I know the title says "San Jose," but that's really just where I flew into. We really spent most of our time in Santa Bárbara, which is just north of the city, as that's where our hotel was and most of the activities we were doing. However, two of my restaurant recommendations are in San Jose (from literally abuela's corner cafe to a seven-course pre-fixe luxe menu). I'll warn you now though, if you're looking for a beachy Costa Rican trip itinerary, this isn't it. I spent basically the entire time in the rain forest and cloud forest parts of the country, so do with that what you will, but I'll preface this: there's a reason the country's motto is "pura vida."

• La Esquinita de la Abuela—As soon as our flight landed, we grabbed the rental car (note: Avis airport location requires taking a shuttle, but it is on airport property) and headed straight here to La Esquinita de la Abuela. I don't even remember the name of this dish, but it's their signature so just ask for what everyone gets and you won't be sorry.

• Restaurante Silvestre—Another notable meal for the books, this seven-course tasting menu was a anecdotal journey more than it was plates of food, and I loved every minute. It was ~$105 USD per person for the tasting menu (without alcoholic pairings), and I got a carrot mezcal drink that I adored. 10/10 recommend this stop.

• La Lluna de Valencia—Santa Barbara area doesn't have quite as many options as the San Jose area, but we found the Spanish cuisine here to really hit the spot. The octopus appetizer was delish and then we shared a seafood paella!

• Coffee farm tour—One of the perks of staying on a coffee farm is that if you want to tour a coffee farm, you simply walk out of your hotel room and you're there! This tour was ~3 hours and $40 per person—it included a complete walking tour of the farm, explanations on everything from how the plants are sourced to how the beans are washed from the fruit and how they're roasted. We also did a "cupping" tasting of coffee, and the tour concluded in the hotel restaurant, El Tigre Vestido, for a french press coffee and cascara cookies.

• Poas Volcano Tour & Zip-lining—When in Rome, visit the Coloseeum. When in Costa Rica, visit a volcano & go zip lining. The entrance fee to the Poas Volcano in the cloud forest was only $15 a person—due to the recent volcanic activity, they now require everyone to wear helmets and because it's in the cloud forest, it's likely clouds cover the volcano crater (as it did for us and we didn't get a great view). Zip-lining, on the other hand, was much more action-packed! We went to a Pozo Azul in Sarapiquí—it was $60 a person and there were about 12 different zip-lines throughout the course, it was amazing!

• Finca Rosa Blanca—I can't recommend this stay enough. Our stay at Fina Rosa Blanca came with a lovely daily breakfast, and it was so perfectly nestled in the rain forest, you almost felt like you were inside Isla Nublar (the fictional island that Jurassic Park takes place in). They were so wonderful in helping us book various activities, and they had a lovely spa, where we took advantage of the Pura Vida Coffee Detox treatment (a relaxing Swedish massage, a whole body mask of organic coffee, vanilla and chocolate scrub, a luxury mini facial and finished with a their signature “Rosa Blanca Cappuccino Martini”).

Have you been to Costa Rica? Share your experience in the comments below!