I recently published a post on the allure of the Costa Rica southern zone, which was tightly focused on the city of San Isidro in Perez Zeledon and the Costa Ballena beaches of Dominical, Uvita and Ojochal.

However, the southern zone is much bigger than that! So, how about the rest of it?

Well, the rest of it is pretty special too. Therefore, I decided to write another post – the allure of the Costa Rica southern zone – part 2.

Below are a few locales that are worth a look, in random order…

Golfito

This historic port town is located on the Golfo Dulce, not too far from the Panama border. It was until the mid 80’s headquarters of the infamous United Fruit Company. The banana plantations that once surrounded this area and kept the port humming have been replaced with African Palms. Nevertheless, Golfito retains an historic appeal with many of the homes and commercial buildings well-preserved from that bygone era. It is also a very beautiful and serene setting with sweeping views of the tranquil Golfo Dulce.

It is also the home of a major “free trade zone” that lures ticos and expats in to take advantage of “tariff-free” pricing. To do that you have to stay one night in the town, which can make for an adventurous and money-saving mini-vacation.

Puerto Jimenez

The two major tourist “gateways” to the famed Corcovado National Park are Puerto Jimenez and Drake Bay. Corcovado is one of the largest national parks in Costa Rica and the one that National Geographic once dubbed, the most biodiverse area on earth. Puerto Jimenez is the last outpost before reaching Carate Station, which is the southern-most ranger station in the park. It is also near famed jungle lodges, such as the Lapas Rios and La Leona Ecolodges. Puerto Jimenez is also situated on the Golfo Dulce and is a quaint little touristy town that can be a fun place to pass a night before trekking into the park.

Drake Bay

This is where you go to visit the northern end of Corcovado park. Drake Bay is a little harder to reach than its rival outpost, Puerto Jimenez. Most tourists will either fly in, or leave their car at the river town of Sierpe and then take a boat down the river, out into the Pacific, and then around the rocky coast to Drake Bay. Drake Bay is home to some really nice ecolodges, such as Aguila de Osa and Copa de Arbol.

It is also only a short boat ride to Caños Island, which with its coral reef, is one of Costa Rica’s top diving destinations. It is a fairly short boat ride from Drake to the very heart of the Corcovado park, the famed Sirena Ranger Station, which is an unforgettable experience as you will get up close and personal with some of Costa Rica’s most exotic wildlife.

San Vito

San Vito is a small inland pueblo in the canton of Coto Brus. It is very close to the Panama border. There is an official border crossing only about 30 minutes away at Rio Sereno. San Vito is a beautiful area of green rolling hills and is very unique in that it was founded by Italians. You can get great authentic Italian food there. My favorite is Pizzaria Liliana, which probably has the best pizza in Costa Rica.

The La Casona indigenous reserve of the Ngäbe-Buglé, or Guaymi, peoples is also close by. This is an indigenous group that is centered in northern Panama and southern Costa Rica and has a bright and colorful culture.

Boruca Indigenous Reserve

One of my favorite places to visit is the Boruca Indigenous reserve located in the fila brunqueña coastal mountain range, not far from Palmar Norte, where the Costanera and Pan American highways meet. The Boruca people are well-known for their arts and crafts, especially carved and painted masks. The masks are often of a devilish design stemming from their traditional festival called the Danza de los Diablitos, or dance of the little devils. The festival is in December of each year and is a surreal re-enactment of the struggle between the indigenous people and the Spanish conquistadors. The Borucans are also famous for their cloth items, all of which are made on traditional looms with naturally produced colors.

I used to operate a store in San Jose that sold indigenous arts and crafts. Here’s a short home-made video from that era on the Boruca reserve…

Mountain Pueblos of Perez Zeledon

These pueblos are too many to name in this short post, but the entire canton is dotted with them. They can be great places to visit and even live. In fact, I actually do live in one one of them, Quebradas. It is on a gorgeous mountain river, at an altitude that delivers a near-perfect climate, and is only minutes from the city of San Isidro. I believe it might be the best place on earth…I know, my bias is showing. In my real estate practice I get to discover new pueblos all the time and even though I’ve been at it quite a few years now, I know there are many as of yet undiscovered.

I must also give a shout-out to the in-between-area (IBA) pueblos of Tinamastes and Platanillo. These are in the area that’s between San Isidro and Playa Dominical in the coastal mountain range. They are drop-dead gorgeous little towns and you can live in them at high altitudes and if you’re lucky, even have an ocean view. This area is also home to three incredible waterfalls, Nauyaca, Diamante and Eco Chontales.

I know I’m leaving out some of the gems that help give rise to the allure of the Costa Rica southern zone. Please leave comments on anything I might have missed.

I hope my posts are painting a compelling picture for you of how special the Costa Rica southern zone is.

The allure of the Costa Rica southern zone that attracted me almost nine years ago was that it possessed both of the things that I love most about the country in general, i.e., its mountains and beaches.

I found out later that the people are pretty special here too!

Now, when I say “southern zone”, I am primarily talking about the mountainous area called Perez Zeledon and the coastal area called the Costa Ballena. Granted, there’s more to the southern zone that that, but this post will focus on those two areas that tend to draw the most people.

To begin, what is it about the Costa Ballena, versus other coastal areas of Costa Rica, that makes it so special? I like to keep things simple, so I’m going to break down the Costa Ballena to its component parts of Dominical, Uvita and Ojochal, and then focus on the “one thing” that makes each part special.

Dominical is a stretch of coastline that is very open to Pacific swells. Back in “the day” the road between Quepos (or Manuel Antonio) and Dominical was unpaved. Only the most adventurous would make that arduous trek, which could take up to 2 hours, versus the half-hour it takes today traveling along the Costanera Highway, what I like to call Costa Rica’s Autobahn. The only real draw back then was the surf. Dominical has some of the most consistent (and at times very powerful) waves of the country. The village grew up into a highly regarded tourist destination wholly on the reputation of it being a surfer’s paradise.

Folks that live along the Costa Ballena usually refer to “going into town” as going to Uvita. Uvita is the most active and developed of the three beaches of the Costa Ballena. It is also home to a very famous and popular national park, the Marino Ballena National Park. Uvita has an area we realtors like to call “the flats”, that extends from town (which has developed largely along the Costanera Highway) to the ocean. Moving away from the coastline and just beyond the so-called flats is the Fila Costeña mountain range. Many of the high-dollar homes and resorts built in this area are up in those hills. From there you have a dramatic view of what draws thousands to the area each year, the Whale’s Tail. This is basically a rocky sandbar formation that is shaped just like, you go it, a whale’s tail. That’s very ironic since the marine area off the coast is home to a very important migratory route for humpback whales.

As you pass Uvita driving south along the Costanera you will arrive at the final Costa Ballena component known as Ojochal. Tourists in the area have a horrible time remembering and/or pronouncing the name. The pronunciation is easy if you just remember that the “j” sounds like an “h” and the two “o’s” both have the long vowel sound, with the “a” being short, so o-ho-chal.

Now, back before the road was paved, Ojochal was completely off the map for gringos. It really isn’t a place for surfing, so even the most adventurous surfers didn’t pay any attention to it. Boy has that changed. I would venture to say that Ojochal is currently the fastest growing of the the three Costa Ballena beaches. It is also the home to a thriving and close-knit community of North American expats from the U.S. and Canada. A few of them have started restaurants, which has helped Ojochal gain the reputation of being a culinary hotspot. It is also the area where an expat can find a home with ocean view at an affordable price, as those in the areas of Dominical and Uvita tend to be out of budget range for many.

If you read this blog from time to time you probably know that I opted for the mountains of Perez Zeledon rather than the beach. You also might have read about my four C’s of Costa Rica expat living (Climate, Convenience, Culture and Context). In my humble opinion and according to my tastes, the mountains beat the beaches on the first three of my four C’s. The last one (context) is entirely subjective. However, if I had to break it down to the thing or things that are the biggest draws for Perez, I’d have to say it’s actually the “three C’s” noted below…

The number one reason any Perez Zeledon expat will mention if you ask them why they live in the mountains versus the beach is climate. There’s a world of difference in temperature between, say, 900 meters (the altitude where I live) and sea level. San Isidro has been called the fastest growing city of Costa Rica. You can live a ways outside of it (in the cool mountains) and still have its many conveniences at your fingertips. I live in the mountains outside of town at 900 meters, but it only takes me 5 minutes to get downtown and often I even walk it! Finally, there is no arguing that you can make ends meet in Perez a whole lot cheaper than at the beach. Perez is a tico-dominated culture, whereas the beach is tourism-dominated. And ticos on the whole simply can’t afford to pay tourism prices. Many of us gringo expats don’t like to pay tourism prices either!

Of course, it’s all subjective, according to individual tastes, and everything about the allure of the Costa Rica southern zone written above is purely the opinion of a lone gringo who’s lived in the area long enough to sort of have a handle on what makes it tick.

Deciding on the particular allure of the Costa Rica southern zone that floats your boat is certainly the most important thing (for you). I hope this post helps you get your own unique handle on that.

Don’t miss The Allure of the Southern Zone – Part 2