Pranamar Ocean Front Villas and Yoga Retreat.
An intimate, consciously designed oceanfront hotel recently built on the spectacular beach of Playa Santa Teresa. This little piece of heaven offers tropical beauty and nature in an exotic and friendly ambiance. Along with world-class surfing and our top-quality Yoga classes, numerous activities and adventures. We would without a doubt return to this establishment!
We did things a little backwards. Instead of planning our honeymoon after our wedding we decided to plan a honeymoon like trip before we got married. This trip to Santa Teresa was just that. We prefer to go off the grid when we travel and find a piece of untouched paradise where we can relax and be reminded of what really matters in life.
Our Don’t Miss List
- Where to stay – Pranamar Ocean Front Villas and Yoga Retreat
- Small B&B – Esencia Hotel
- Amazing fresh food with a tropical flair, great drinks too – Buddha Eyes Restaurant – at Pranamar
- Brizilan surfer shack for great food (fish) on the beach – Kika
- Zip Lining and Tree Topping – Mal Mais Canopy Tour.
- ATVing up to the waterfall
- Surf Lessons – Delmar Surfcamp
- Yoga on the beach – Pranamar
Day One – Sunday March 20, 2011:
We flew out of New York and landed in San Jose, Costa Rica. As per any place really worth traveling to, we then needed to take a puddle jumper (Nature Air) followed by a 45 min. car ride to get to Santa Teressa. We had our heart set on staying at Pranamar but unfortunately there were no available villas until Monday evening. So, we checked into an adorable bed and breakfast Esencia Hotel which was very inexpensive, lovely, clean, and the staff was great. If you’re looking for a less expensive place to stay in Stanta Teresa I would highly recommend staying there.
After we checked in we went to dinner at a local spot called Kika on the beach run by two Brazilian brothers, known for their slow cooked pork. When we tried to order the pork the adorable surfer told us that the waves were too good today for him to cook and they didn’t have time to make his grandmother’s recipe. We asked what fish they had available and he said… “It’s Sunday, the fisherman was drunk, let’s see what we have”. It was really fun and the boys were so funny and entertaining. The food was yummy and the atmosphere was so quintessential “surfer vibe” it’s def. a don’t miss spot.
Day Two – Monday March 21, 2011:
We ate our delicious breakfast of fruit yogurt and pastries that was included as part of our stay at Esencia Hotel. Then we walked down to the beach and watched the surfers for a bit then back to the B&B and took a dip in the pool. Around lunch time we were picked up to check into Pranamar. WOW – it’s just a beautiful place. We ate lunch and settled into the beautiful location.
Day Three – Tuesday March 22, 2011:
Our activity for day three was zip lining – Mal Mais Canopy Tour. Located near Cabo Blanco, between Mal Pais and Montezuma. This great zip line canopy tour is almost 1 kilometer long, with cables at different heights, from 5 – 25 meters above the ground, amidst the tropical tree tops and canopy. The highlight is one 300 meter long cable that will make you “fly” across a tropical evergreen canyon. We went with our driver Richard. It was great — our group included a few younger girls so we were able to convince the guides to let us go backwards and upside down.
Day Four – Wednesday March 23, 2011:
We had wanted to go ATV-ing and mentioned it to the two sweet guys that worked in the hotel office. One of them told us he was planning on going up to the waterfall him self and offered to take us with him. So we had a personal guided tour by a Dany Garcia doppelganger (we couldn’t believe how much he looked and acted like our friend Dany, it was uncanny). We rented our ATVs and off we drove. It was dusty and bumpy and TOTALLY awesome. We were completely filthy but in that little kid playing in the mud kind of way. Once we got to the waterfall we were able to jump in and cool off. We also got to see the adorable little black, orange and purple crabs that take over Santa Teresa during the rainy season.
Day Five – Wednesday March 23, 2011:
On our 5th day we relaxed around the hotel. As with many of the days, we took advantage of the daily yoga classes included with our room at Pranmar. The Yoga classes were great and offered different levels of difficulty. Taking a class in an open room that looked out to the beach and ocean was fantastic and totally relaxing. It was one of the best things about Pranamar.
Day Six – Thursday March 24, 2011:
How could we go to Santa Teresa and not surf? We arranged for a private surf lesson from Delmar Surfcamp. Naturally Melissa was a natural and didn’t need any help at all. I was hit in the head by her surf board, nearly lost consciousnesses and had a black eye. It really wasn’t a big deal and the fun we had while surfing was totally worth the knock in the head. And let’s face it — it makes a better story!
Day Seven – Friday March 25, 2011:
There’s no denying the benefits of massage and what better activity for our last full day of our trip? No matter the words we use to describe it – pampering, stress relief, therapeutic, rejuvenating – massage therapy can without a doubt contribute to your overall health, peace of mind, and feeling “young” and full of vitality.
Melissa and I arranged for massages right on the beach at sunset. The message was great all with all of our oils and lotions are 100% organic and made in Costa Rica.
Day Eight – Saturday March 26, 2011:
Sadly today we head home. It took nearly 24 hours to get back from paradise to New York, but it was totally worth the travel time.