Holbox Island, Mexico

Holbox Island is a quiet little touristy island off the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico

HBX Tips:

• Traveling here is no joke. After arriving at the Cancun airport and fighting through customs and the herds of people trying to get you to take a taxi with them outside you’ll need to take a 2.5-3.5 hour long shuttle, a 30 minute ferry, and then a golf cart taxi to wherever you’re staying. You should also anticipate delays. It makes for quite a long day of travel.

• Get Pesos ahead of time. The ATM at the Cancun airport and on Holbox were both broken when I visited so I had to pay with a card everywhere which tends to be about 5% more. Use Pesos as much as possible.

• The island is very laid back—the locals are all very friendly and there are no cars on the island (only golf carts).

• Holbox is quite pricey all around. It’s an island, so that’s to be expected, but it’s more comparable to a major US city than anywhere in Central America.

• There are tons of bars, restaurants and shops on the island—bop around and see what sparks your interest! Basically everything we ate on the island was insanely delicious—everything is super fresh and handcrafted.

Adventures & Ales Top Holbox Island Recommendations:

• Alma: An awesome rooftop bar with a pool, hammocks, food menu and cocktails. Their tower is also the highest point on the island so it has great views of the entire area. Highly recommend!

• Complemento Café Holbox: This is a fantastic spot for breakfast and coffee. The latte was one of the best I’ve ever had and the breakfast was also superb. On top of all of that their team is super nice too!

• Bah Bah!: A beautiful spot for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everything here was delicious!

• Salma: A delicious restaurant with awesomely spooky vibes. Right across from the beach—highly recommend.

• Crónicas Taproom: A beer bar with full food menu alongside cocktails and wine. They are located right on main square. Upstairs has a nice airy space or downstairs has bar seating.

• Luuma: A great restaurant a block from the beach. The food and drinks here are super tasty.

• Alta Gula: A cute and tiny spot for lunch. They have fantastic empanadas and sandwiches. Further inland so the prices are great.

Other Things to Do on Holbox Island:

• Bikini Bottom: A dive bar on the beach with swing seating. The drinks here are quite cheap and delicious.

• La Playa de Ñaña: A tiki bar and restaurant on the beach. Super cute spot but definitely a bit pricey.

• Stay at Ser Casasandra: This is a very nice hotel with an onsite restaurant, private beach, and gorgeous pool. Morning yoga and breakfast is included in your reservation and the team here is very nice. It is definitely on the pricier side, so if that’s not for you there are tons of cute hotels on the island.

  • Mojito Beach Club: Casasandra’s beachside restaurant and bar. They’ve got nice seating options and tasty eats.

• Clandestino Cafe: A small coffee shop with outdoor seating and breakfast options.

• Mandarina: A restaurant and bar on the beach owned by the same folks as Luuma. The food here is not quite as good as Luuma and a little pricey, so I’d moreso recommend it for drinks.

• Carioca’s: Another fun bar/restaurant on the beach. They’ve got a full food menu and swings.

• La Combi: A fun spot for live music, food, and drinks.

• Birrateca: Unfortunately they closed early so we weren’t able to try their tacos but we heard amazing things from several friends so I wanted to pass those recommendations along!

Costa Rica

Costa Rica miiiiight be my favorite country on Earth. TBD. If you have not been, GO! If you’ve been, GO BACK!

Costa Rica Tips: 

• Get out of San Jose. You should try to spend a very tiny amount of time in San Jose. Get into nature!

• They have shuttles that say things like “meet at the Denny’s off x road”—it seems really sketchy, but it’s legit

• If you’re looking for a quiet beach vacation with some hiking/waterfall options I highly recommend Playa Hermosa, near Jaco. There are two Playa Hermosas—one in the north and one in the south, so be sure you’re looking at the right one!

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations—Day trips from San Jose:

• Poas Volcano: At 8,800 feet, this volcanic crater is an incredible sight to see. Bring layers and be prepared to freeze your tail off. Amazing when the clouds clear to see the crater and beautiful water inside of it!

• La Paz Waterfall: This waterfall is part of a waterfall trail system. It’s a little touristy but it’s a convenient way to see some killer falls

• Doka Estate Coffee Tour: See how coffee is made and sample a variety of coffees. The estate is filled with beautiful rainbow eucalyptus trees as well!

La Paz Waterfall

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Playa Hermosa, Jaco

• Playa Hermosa is an isolated beach town near the large city of Jaco. It is a large surfing community and very chill

• Stay at Tortuga Del Mar: I absolutely loved my beachfront room. The owners are so sweet and it’s nice and small so there’s barely anyone else around. The black sand beach is gorgeous, there are a couple of restaurants and a store within walking distance.

• Day trip to Bijagual Waterfall: I did an amazing adventure where I got to actually hike to and hike up 10 different waterfalls. Highly recommend getting to the waterfalls of the region!

• Grab a cab into Jaco and explore after spending the day at the beach outside your room

  • Green Room Cafe: it’s a cute little nature filled bar. They have beer flights here, and I loved the hibiscus saison from Domingo 7.

  • Surfing: Jaco is a huge surfing destination and lessons are available for beginners, but beware, the rip currents here can be brutal

Playa Samara Sunset

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Playa Samara

• Playa Samara is super chill and an amazing little beach town!

• Stay at Sunset Chill Out B&B! Francisco and Herman, the hosts, are incredibly nice and so is their dog Josefina who roams the property. Their garden space overlooking the water is incredible! You can also walk to town via the beach which is nice, but it is still off the beaten path and relaxing.

• Cocos Mexican Restaurant/2 Gringos Brewing: A brewery within a restaurant in town. They’ve got 13 taps and an open-air setting.

• La Dolce Vita: A super cute restaurant on the water with Italian food.

• Playa Carillo: A neighboring beach with no hotels or restaurants but lots of locals enjoying the sand and water.

• Samara Trails: Hiking with Samara Adventure Company at Werner Sauter Biological Reserve. They offer a morning or afternoon guided hike, I was lucky enough to be the only one on my “tour”! It was incredibly informative as we hiked through various flora and saw several animals as well. The peak of the hike offers a great view of the bay.

• Lo Que Hay: A restaurant and bar right on the water, burgers, tacos and frequent specials.

• Microbar Samara: A craft beer bar located in town with a slue of options!

Cervecería Independiente

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Playa Flamingo & Playa Potrero

• Playa Flamingo is a very Americanized beach town with soft sand and beautiful water. It is touristy but not as built up as nearby Tamarindo or Playa Del Coco.

• Neighboring Playa Potrero is a more isolated beach than Flamingo, but the water is definitely murkier than the clear water on the Flamingo side.

• Coco Loco: A bar and restaurant right on Flamingo Beach with great views. They have a small selection of craft beers to enjoy.

• Cervecería Independiente: A brewery with outside seating and solid craft beers. You can get food delivered and it is next to El Garden and Perlas, two other bar/restaurants in Potrero.

• The Beach House: Another bar/restaurant on Potrero with a large menu and a nice place to watch the sunset. They’ve got 3 craft beers on tap.

• Las Brisas is a bar and restaurant on Potrero with nice beach views, the food was just okay, so I’d say just grab a drink!

• I would NOT recommend booking with Native’s Way for any day trips. There are other companies, go for them or go on your own.

• Day trip ideas:

  • Llanos del Cortés: A pretty, albeit touristy, waterfall that you can swim under

  • Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio: Take a short hike to Río Celeste, the popular bright blue river. It’s not always the color that pictures show depending on rainfall

  • Nicaragua Day Trip (see below)

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Monteverde:

• Monteverde Cloud Forest: The reason to visit Monteverde! This biological reserve is full of trails to explore. It costs $25 to enter, but you absolutely do not need a guide to hike the cloud forest—the trails are well marked. It wasn’t super cloudy/misty when I visited but it was very peaceful and green which was nice. Pack some bug spray when you visit!

  • Each trail is a little different, I hiked almost every trail and it took about 3 hours and was about 5 miles.

    • Sendero Bosque Nubosco to Sendero La Ventana takes about 45 minutes one way and it gets steep closer to the viewpoint. The lookout is at the Continental Divide, this was my favorite trail.

    • Sendero Camino: It was quite boring, I would recommend going the Roble route instead for a challenge. The swinging bridge is definitely cool!

    • Sendero Tosi and Quebrada Cuecha lead to a nice waterfall lookout

• Monteverde Beer House: A Mediterranean restaurant with craft beer options. They’ve got a great outside seating area

Rio Celeste

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in La Fortuna & Arenal:

• La Fortuna is very touristy and pricey compared to the rest of Costa Rica. I enjoyed the waterfall and volcano, but they were not as epic as other waterfalls and volcanoes in the country, I probably won’t return to this area of Costa Rica.

• Stay at Ti-fakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis! It is a ten minute walk from the waterfall, the pool and hot tub are really nice, and some rooms have views of Arenal Volcano.

• La Fortuna Waterfall: A large waterfall that is pretty cool to check out. You can sometimes swim under it, depending on the currents. It costs $18 to enter and it is a man-made staircase to get down to the falls.

• La Fortuna Pub: 40 craft beers in bottles and two drafts with a nice outdoor patio.

• Arenal Volcano: Hike around the volcano in this national park! It costs $15 to enter and takes about 2 hours to hike all the trails. You can have a taxi drop you off and come back to get you if you don’t have a car, they’ll actually come back for you. You absolutely do not need a tour guide/group here—everything is well marked and easy to navigate.

  • Make sure to go to the lookout to see the volcano and cross over the dried up lava!

Tortuga Del Mar

Another Idea: Day Trip to Nicaragua

Personally I did not love my day trip to Nicaragua, but I might have enjoyed it more with a different company/on my own, so here are some highlights if you decide to check it out:

• You can literally walk across the border, it’s pretty wild (for an American)

• Granada is a colorful city full of people trying to sell you things unfortunately

• Masaya Volcano National Park: A large volcanic crater surrounded by dried lava from the last eruption

• Apoyo Volcano & Lake: A little artisan market with benches over looking the volcanic crater that is now a lake

Panama

Panama is up there among my favorite places to adventure. From the beaches of Bocas del Toro to the excitement of Panama City and the tranquility of the mountains in Boquete—there is something no matter what you are looking for!

Panama Tips: 

• Panama is pretty dang cheap and they use the US dollar so that’s really convenient

• Panama City is awesome but I would highly recommend exploring some more of the country as well

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Panama City:

• Isla Taboga: Highly recommend a day trip from Panama City to this gorgeous island a quick boat ride away. There are wild horses, insanely cheap drinks, friendly locals, and it is beautiful.

• Do a day trip to the jungle!

  • We did this incredible day trip from Panama City with Jungle Land Panama where we got picked up at our hotel, taken to a boat where we cruised through the Panama Canal and Lago Gatun to a floating lodge where we had lunch and hung out in hammocks over the water, then kayaked through the jungle to a hidden waterfall. We also got to hang out with some cool monkeys. Cannot recommend this enough!

• Rooftop bar at the Hard Rock: The views are insaneeee (only open at night, as a heads up)

The Classic Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting—Panama City:

• The Panama Canal: One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The locks are actually very intense and very interesting.

• Casco Viejo: The old part of town where you want to spend a majority of your time. This is where to eat/drink/explore

Other ideas—Panama City:

• La Rana Dorada: Panama’s first microbrewery! Right as you enter Casco Viejo the brewery greets you. Great beer, fun place to hang out and soak up the culture

• Ancon Hill: A giant hill overlooking the city. It’s an aggressive climb to the top, but all paved. You get fantastic views on your way up and from the top.

• Casa Sucre Coffeehouse: A great coffee shop in Casco Viejo

• Panama Viejo: The ruins of the ancient city, cool to explore. Bring bug spray.

• Bridge of the Americas: There’s a lot of hype about this bridge, but it’s just a bridge. You can see it from the top of Ancon Hill and if you’re driving in certain parts of the city, so I wouldn’t recommend just going to the bridge itself

Casco Viejo

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Bocas Del Toro:

• Beach. It. Up. Duh, that’s the whole point

• I’d recommend staying at Popa Paradise, it’s gorgeous, the staff is super friendly, and we truly loved it. The food was fantastic and not some crappy buffet like a lot of resorts in the area, everything was made individual to us and the place is quite small so you’re not overwhelmed by other guests. There were max 5 people there while we were there

The Classic Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting—Bocas Del Toro:

• Green Acres Chocolate Farm: Explore the jungle, see how chocolate is made, and eat some amazing chocolate while you’re at it!

• Red Frog Beach: Depending on what island you’re staying on Red Frog is either going to be way bigger than your island (as was the case for us, we stayed on Isla Popa) or way smaller (if for example you stay on Isla Colon, the main island). It’s a cool place to hang out

Popa Paradise

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations in Boquete:

• Volcan Baru: I woke up at 3:30AM to Jeep it up to the top of the highest mountain in Panama. Seeing the sunrise over both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at the same time is unreal [also very very cold, come prepared]. You can also hike to the top if you’re ambitious

• The Lost Waterfalls: Amazing hiking just outside of downtown Boquete. Take a cab, ask them to return 2-3 hours later (they’ll actually do it, so that’s cool). Hike through the cloud forest to three different waterfalls-or just one or two, whatever you prefer. The hike is pretty intense with lots of ups and downs, so be prepared. Totally worth it!

Other ideas—Boquete:

• Boquete Brewing Company: Boquete’s only brewery! Fun place with live music and a food truck. Beer is just okay, but what do you expect in a small Panamanian mountain town!

• Los Cangilones: Take a day trip to the canyons, you can jump in and swim!

• RetroGusto Restaurant: The best restaurant in Boquete and one of the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. It was incredible