May 17-22- Playa del Coco, Costa Rica

I picked El Coco because of the reviews in my Lonely Planet book, it was close and there was a direct bus from Liberia. There was also a really cool looking hostel that was online that I wanted to check out. I wasn't sure what to expect because I typically don't like really touristy towns.

I arrived at Playa del Coco at about 10:30am. It was already hot and humid so I wanted to find a hostel quick so I could get to the beach. Already it was looking like one of the touristy towns that I wasn't too fond of because of all the gifts shops along the sides of the main street. After checking out one of the hostels along the main strip and finding that there were no other people staying there I wandered off to find the hostel I had seen online. I had to walk about 300m from the strip to find it, which doesn't seem like a lot but when you're carrying a pack and it's hot and you just really want to get to the beach it seems longer than it is. Luckily there was a really friendly retiree from the states in a gulf cart that stopped and gave me a ride. I was starting to like El Coco a little more by that point.

Pool at Pacific Palms Hostel

We found the hostel which was called Pacific Palms Backpackers Resort and is one of the nicest hostels I've ever stayed in. There's a pool with a swim up bar (that unfortunately wasn't stocked when I was there), clean rooms, huge bathrooms and it's super close to the beach. The staff were also really friendly.

Playa del Coco

After checking in, I headed straight to the beach. The sand here is dark brown which is why it's called Playa del Coco. Its also really fine, almost like silt. It's not the nicest beach I've ever seen but I like it. And since I was there during low season the beach was practically empty. The water was alright too. It had some waves but was still safe to swim in.

Joe and Anthony at Coconutz Bar

Several hours later I headed back to the hostel where I met the three other people staying in the same room as me: Javed from Bangladesh and Joe and Anthony from England. We headed out for some drinks and food and just hung out that evening at the bars in town. Playa del Coco is really small, and there is only really 3 bars which are all beside each other. They are also about a 3 minute walk from the hostel.


The next couple of days we basically just hung out at the beach and bars during the days, went out for dinner and then head to the bars in the evening. We met a lot of interesting people in the evenings including bar owners, staff and other travelers. I also ended up talking to a handsome and charming guy from New Jersey for two nights in a row so much that I lost my voice!
On the last night at the hostel, I met a lady who use to live in Playa Hermosa which is a 15 minute drive from El Coco. She was driving there the next day, and then on to Playa Flamingo which was right by where I wanted to go next. So the next morning I packed my stuff and caught a ride with her. I was a little sad to leave the guys I had met at the hostel. I was also knew I was going to miss El Coco too.  I know most of the fun I had there was due to the awesome people I had the pleasure of meeting (as I usually find it is when travelling), but it also had a lot to due with the friendly locals, the nice bars and phenomenal hostel. It wasn't the boring little tourist town that I had first thought it was and I would definitely go back anytime for a vacation!

El Coco