Montezuma to Jacó & Uvita
A quick, flight's-about-to-board recap of the final week and three days of my Costa Rica adventure, one that taught me through experience just what "pura vida" means.
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If you landed on this page seeking information about how to get from Montezuma to Jacó and Uvita (or any combination of those cities), scroll to the bottom of this post for step-by-step instructions and recommendations.
January 22 - February 1, 2023
I’m writing this from the VIP Lounge at the San Jose Airport. I finally signed up for one of those fancy travel credit cards (the Capital One Venture X to be exact) that gifts you a world of travel perks, including lounge access via Priority Pass. Out the window are the forest-coated mountains I’m most certainly going to miss when my flight to Fort Lauderdale takes off in an hour. Yes, this is the final update from Costa Rican soil. Time to catch you up on what’s happened since I last wrote you from Montezuma.
My final day in Montezuma was as I told you it would be. I wrote you that update, then shut my computer for the day and walked to the Montezuma waterfall - a walk that was more of a hike than I expected or planned for in my plastic flip flops. It involved about 20 minutes of hopping from rock to rock across rivers, clinging to ropes on stretches of trail that had no real foot holds, and lunging up and over tree roots. It was worth it, though. The falls were gorgeous, much bigger than I expected they would be and the water was so refreshing after hiking and sweating my way through the steamy jungle.
After the waterfall and backtracking my way down the same obstacle course of a trail I came in on, I decided to walk to a brewery that apparently had its own butterfly garden. Again, the route to Butterfly Brewing Company threw me for a loop. This one was near vertical uphill on hot and unshaded pavement. But a cold craft beer and butterflies were supposedly at its end, so I pushed on. The beer alone was worth it. I ordered an Amber Ale made to perfection and a plate of pulled pork with a side of hashbrowns and potato salad. Unfortunately, the butterfly garden was out of commission until they could raise enough funds to bring it back to life.
Normally, I’d try to finesse this transition a bit better, but I’m short on time. My flight boards in 20 minutes! So, here we go, we’re jumping ahead to Jaco, where I spent a week learning how to surf at School of the World. It was incredible. I played it safe and only surfed the already broken waves, choosing to prioritize getting a feel for being on the board, practicing my turns, and learning skills like turtle rolls and paddling that I’d need when I did eventually go out to the line up for the unbroken waves. I kept telling myself, I’m in this for the long haul. Why push myself before I’m ready?
By week’s end, I not only felt ready to graduate to the unbroken waves, but I walked away with a host of new friends and connections from all over the world and a feeling that I’d be back at School of the World again someday, likely tacking on their yoga or photo/video classes to my daily surf lessons when I do.
After surf camp, I traveled down the Pacific Coast to another beach and surf town called Uvita. It was a spot I’d been hearing about over and over again across Costa Rica from backpackers who claimed it was their favorite spot in the country. And it was just two hours south of Jaco. I obviously had to check it out.
Fresh off surf camp, all I wanted to do was keep surfing. As soon as I checked into my hostel in Uvita (Whale Tail Hotel), I called any and all surf instructors to see who could get me out in the water the two days I was there. I was able to snag a lesson for the next day with Leandro of Uvita Surf and Tour and another for the following day with Adrianne of Bodhi Surf + Yoga.
Leandro brought me out into the “green water,” the surf term for unbroken waves I learned. He taught me how to turn my board and paddle and had me practice the turtle roll as enormous waves crashed over my head. I can’t say I successfully surfed even one unbroken wave, but I did feel good about just getting out there and beginning the process of getting over my fear of the unbroken waves, some of which were as big as 10 feet tall…or felt that way at least.
Adrianne took a different approach to Leandro, spending half of the two-hour surf class on the beach walking me through mechanics and how to read the ocean, which I appreciated. I had come to realize that to feel safe, I needed information and the why behind everything. All of my previous instructors would sort of just throw me out there with minimal instruction or understanding of technique. Adrianne’s approach left me feeling far more confident out there and less fearful of my next time out in the green waves. She even taught me something called the plank to get over powerful whitewater and how to get back on my board more easily after the turtle roll, something previous instructors hadn’t even thought to share, and even how to time my turtle roll.
Surfing was the end game in Uvita. I didn’t really do much of anything else there besides work, enjoy craft beer at the brewery attached to my hostel, and get to know some of the other guests in my dorm. But all of it was thoroughly satisfying. Just what I needed for my final 72 hours in Costa Rica.
I’m feeling complete with this Costa Rica adventure. It didn’t quite take the form I expected it would, due to the surprise illness at the start and overall sense of just needing a slower, gentler pace from start to finish. I’m walking away with the beginnings of an understanding of that phrase that floats off the tongue of Costa Ricans everywhere. Pura vida, as I’ve come to understand it, is about letting life flow as it wants to and not interfering with whatever ways it wants to go. It’s about joining that flow and seeing where it takes you.
So, I’ll leave you with that. Pura vida, my friends! Until the next adventure.
How to Get from Montezuma to Jacó
By Water Taxi: This is the option I opted for. There are a few different companies offering the service in Montezuma, with Zuma Tours being the most reputable. Most water taxis depart Montezuma around 8:30am for the 1.5-hour journey across the bay to Herradura Beach. From there, they’ll usher you into a shuttle that will drop you at your destination in Jacó. Often advanced reservations are required, as these taxis book up quickly. The price should be around $63USD.
By Public Transport: Traveling by public transport between Montezuma and Jacó requires a combination of public buses and a ferry from Paquera to Puntarenas. Here’s how it’s done:
The Route:
Take a bus from Montezuma to Cobano via Transportes Cobano (~25 minutes) - latest schedule
Take a bus from Cobano to Paquera (~1 hour 15 minutes) - buses leave roughly every two hours from 4am thru 4:30pm
Board the ferry from Paquera to Puntarenas (~1 hour 15 minutes) - latest schedule
Walk from the ferry port in Puntarenas to the bus terminal (~20 minutes’ walk) - location of bus terminal
Take a bus from Puntarenas to Jacó (~1.5 hours) - latest schedule (look at Puntarenas-Quepo)
How to Get from Jacó to Uvita
By Shuttle: If time and your sanity is of the essence, I highly recommend booking a shuttle from Jacó to Uvita and avoiding public transport. I wasted far too much time waiting for buses in both Jacó and at the transfer point in Quepos (if you want to do it that way, those instructions are below for you). Prices start at $50USD for a direct shuttle and the journey takes about 2.5 hours with departures at 6am, 12pm, and 5pm daily.
By Public Transport: You have two options - 1) you can flag down the direct bus (the bright pink Tracopa bus) on the main highway (exact location) and hope they have room - latest schedule here or 2) you can break up the journey with a transfer in Quepos and an assured seat (this is how I did it). Here’s how to do option #2.
The Route:
Find the nearest public bus stop on Pastor Diaz Ave (beach side of the road) and wait for a bus that says Quepos in the window - they depart almost hourly from 6am to 7pm (2000CRC, pay onboard)
In Quepos, you’ll be dropped at a bus terminal where you can purchase a ticket for Uvita with Trasportes Blanco y Hernandez (~2 hours) - buses depart at 6am, 9:30am, 11am, 2:30pm, and 5:30pm daily
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