ExcursionsSouth Africa

African penguins at Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town, Cape Town.

by Simon
written by Simon

If you Googled ‘things to do in Cape Town’, I’d put a sizeable bet that seeing the African penguins in Simon’s Town will be in the top 10.

It is. I checked…..before I wrote that. That’s weird.

It’s a bit of a strange list because you’ll also find Garden Route trips and Franschoek’s wine tram which aren’t really in the city of Cape Town, neither is Simon’s Town. However, it’s less than an hour’s drive along the cape peninsula so there’s no point being pedantic about it.

If walking amongst, and potentially swimming, with penguins sounds like something you might want to do (it should be) then I’ve included most of what you’ll need to know below.

How to get to Simon’s Town

I’ll assume that you’re travelling from Cape Town.

Train

As far as I know, it’s either by car or by train. The train (MetroRail) is pretty cheap, as in a few US dollars, I’ve also seen prices ranging from R20 to R100 which is little confusing, but by all accounts it’s not the best. The sand dunes often cover the tracks near Simon’s Town meaning that you’ll have to take a replacement bus. You’ll also be limited in the places you can stop along the way, as trains do. The MetroRail line stops at Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, Muizenberg, Wynberg and Claremont. We only ever went to Muizenberg so unfortunately I can’t comment on the other stops.

Car

We rented a car because by the time we had organised getting to the train station, bought tickets, the £20 per day ($26) for the car between 4 of us made a lot more sense. It was a bakkie (pick up truck) as well, which was ace.

I appreciate that hiring a car is likely to be more expensive and a real hassle if you’re under 25 years old but if you can, definitely get one. Car hire in South Africa is super cheap compared to a lot of other places so make the most of it.

The main reason for hiring a car is that there’s a lot to do on the cape peninsula and a car gives you that freedom. Unless you’re a complete penguin nut you’re not going to want to spend the whole day in Simon’s Town. As such, if you hire a car you can make a big day trip out of it and visit some other places as well.

If you’re going to drive directly to Simon’s Town from Cape Town the your best bet is just taking the M3 straight there. However, if you’re staying on the Camps Bay side of Table Mountain then I’d advise driving down the west coast of the peninsula down the M6. You can then hop over the peninsula to get to Simon’s Bay, but with the west coast route you get to drive along Chapman’s Peak drive which is an incredibly scenic route.

Places to see on your way to the penguins

Out of a group of four, there were three surfers. Naturally then, we wanted to get in the water.

If you take the aforementioned route down the west cost of the cape peninsula the I’d highly recommend the following four things:

Llandudno Bay

It’s 20 minutes south of Camps Bay and really really beautiful. It should be on your list regardless of whether you’re going to see the penguins.

Surf wise its colder than other places, can be crowded and tends to close out with bigger swells, but at head high it has to be one of the most picturesque places I’ve surfed. Crystal clear water, the hills of the bay around you. You can’t ask for more.

Noordhoek Beach

Much wilder than Llandudno, Noordhoek is a really big beach and exposed to the elements. It’s not the ‘safest’ beach in the world because its so large and therefore you are somewhat isolated, but just don’t take your fancy DSLR and go waving it around for everyone to see.

Surf wise it can be brutal. You have the Hoek on the right hand side past the rocks as you walk down from the car park. You also have The Dunes which is about a kilometer down the beach. We surfed The Dunes but the conditions were gruelling. Strong rip currents, a dead seal in the water and lots of close outs. Not great.

We went a few days later when the surf was smaller and it was much more enjoyable. Either way, it’s worth a visit.

Stop and relax on Chapman’s Peak drive.

It sounds a bit strange to tell you to stop on the side of the road, in a lay-by, and relax. It’s worth it though.

Chapman’s Peak drive is one of those roads that you’d expect Jeremy Clarkson to have a wet dream over. I can’t say that I’ve driven a lot of the world, but Chapman’s Peak drive has to be up there in terms of one of the most beautiful roads I’ve seen. It meanders along the coast, cut into the rocky hillside.

There are multiple places to stop and admire the views and its a popular spot for sunset as well.

Stop, take some pictures, relax.

Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope

This seems to be the most popular option to couple with Simon’s Town for a day trip from Cape Town. If you’re heading down the cape, it makes sense.

It’s a symbolic geographical point, especially in the nautical world and a spectacular viewpoint. I’ll write an article on this separately and link to it.

The viewing platform at Foxy beach

There’s two primary options for seeing the African penguins in Simon’s Town: The viewing platform at Foxy beach and the beach/water/rocks at Boulders Beach.

We didn’t go to the viewing platform at Foxy Beach even though most of the penguins tend to hang out there and it’s closer to the car park. With the chance to get up and close (and potentially swim with) the penguins, just looking at them from a viewing platform didn’t seem like it would compare.

Note though, you’re likely to see a larger quantity of penguins from the viewing platform.

Entry to Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach is just over a 5 minute walk from the car park and is probably the area that you’ll see most pictures from. It’s a beautiful beach with…..lots of boulders. You can walk on the beach, climb over the boulders whilst you hunt for penguins and if you’re lucky, swim in the water with the penguins.

HINT: you can see the beach from the path. If there’s no penguins there then you might be able to avoid the entry fee.

Entry was R175 Rand ($10.80 / £7.80 / €9.65) and I believe the entry also gets you entry to the viewing platform at Foxy Beach. If it’s the same vice versa then the previous hint is somewhat of a moot point.

The best time to visit the penguins at Boulders Beach

The best time of year to visit Simon’s Town is November to August.

As you will be able to see from the video, when we turned up at Boulders Beach we only saw around 5 penguins. Apparently the best time to visit is late afternoon, which is when we went, but I guess that’s the luck of the draw.

We actually ended up re-entering the beach because we spotted a mini stash of penguins in the boulders as we were walking back to the car along the path. The beach shut at 5pm but the gates weren’t closed so we just walked straight back in…..

Overall, it’s a really nice place and it’s really cool to see African penguins which are an endangered species. If you can couple if with the beaches and maybe Cape Point it makes for a great day trip from Cape Town.

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Costa RicaExcursions

A must see: Mistico Hanging Bridges in Arenal, La Fortuna.

by Simon
written by Simon

La Fortuna, Costa Rica is great. It’s super peaceful, there’s loads of wildlife, a range of activities and the people are incredibly friendly/helpful.

We spent four days in La Fortuna and the Mistico Hanging Bridges was one of the best things we did.

I know, a couple of suspension bridges through a rainforest. Doesn’t sound that great but trust me, you’ll miss out if you don’t visit them!

Getting to the hanging bridges & entry fee

It’s the boring stuff, but it’s important.

The hanging bridges are in the Mistico Park near Lake Arenal, about 15km outside of La Fortuna. The park opens at 6am and the entrance fee is $26 USD.

There is a main route around the park which is 2.5km – 3km (1.5 – 2 miles), although they’ve got a number of paths that link up various areas which allow you to shorten your route if desired.

The park also offers night walks with a tour guide, a natural history tour and a bird watching your. We simply paid for entry and walked around ourselves which was plenty good enough for us!

Rufus Hummingbird Garden

As you enter the park the first thing you come across is the Rufus Hummingbird Garden. It’s a small detour (about 150m) around a garden with lots of flowers and some seating area. Unfortunately I can’t tell you which flowers were there but I did notice a certain vine that looked remarkably similar to one they sell in Ikea! That’s not a bad thing, in fact it was surprisingly cool to see it in its natural environment!

The Hanging Bridges

After around 20 minutes walking through the rainforest you arrive at the first bridge (Arenal Bridge). It ended up being my favourite bridge and we were tipped off that it’s the one with the best views so if I were you I would spend some time soaking it in.

It’s 75m long and 55m high, or 246 feet long and 18 feet high in old money. You’re simultaneously above the rainforest canopy and surrounded by it all on sides (it’s in a gorge of sorts). If you’re lucky enough to have a clear day you apparently have a direct view of Arenal volcano from this bridge as well. Bear in mind though that La Fortuna is a pretty cloudy/rainy place so your chances of having a clear view of the top of the volcano are slim – we didn’t see it a single time in 4 days!

Volcano or no volcano it was great. The cloud was rolling over the canopy and whilst there was lots of bird song and a bit of wind, it was almost eerie. We had decided to get up early that day so we were the only ones in the park which added to the experience. As with most things, getting up early is always worth it!

There are 6 bridges in total, varying in length and height:

  1. Arenal Bridge (75m long and 55m high)
  2. Bully Tree Bridge (53m long and 21m high)
  3. Waterfall Bridge (92m long and 45m high)
  4. Anthill Bridge (87m long and 28m high)
  5. Fer-de-lance Bridge (48m long and 24m high)
  6. Tayra Bridge (97m long and 24m high)

The first and the third bridges were my favourite, mainly due to the height and the views. I was looking forward to the final bridge purely because it was nearly 100m long. However, it is below the canopy and surrounded by rainforest so didn’t quite live up to my expectations, especially considering the previous bridges!

The Walk

It’s 2.5km-3km around the trail with some undulating terrain, it’s not particularly taxing so unless you have difficulty walking you shouldn’t have a problem.

We did it easily in flip flops, although we took trainers just in case. The path is well paved the whole way around so you don’t need to worry about muddy patches.

If you have the budget to take a guide, I’m sure that they can point out various animals and plants. We saw a variety of birds (the bird song is amazing) and what looked like a small wild boar but was probably something else! There’s a few snakes in the area as well (a couple of bridges are named after snakes) so that could be interesting, just hope that you don’t get too close….

The walk was incredibly peaceful at 7am with the canopy gently swaying above us and some light splattering of rain. If you get cold you probably want to bring a light jumper, although within 10 minutes of walking you’ll be warmed up. That also depends on the time of the year that you visit the hanging bridges. It does rain often so an anorak wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The walk around Mistico Hanging Bridges takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. We did it in 1 hour and 20 minutes, in flip flops, although we did miss the turning for a slight detour for the waterfall viewpoint (it’s just before the 4th bridge). Considering that we were going to see the La Fortuna waterfall that afternoon it didn’t bother us too much.

The only thing that you really need to take into account is how you get back to your hotel/La Fortuna. There is no Uber availability at Mistico Park so definitely get a taxi’s number. We were short on time so had to pay for a minibus back to our hotel. It cost us $25 instead of the $8 in a normal taxi but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Obviously if you’re scared of heights this may not be the activity for you. The bridges do rock and sway quite a lot and have a mesh floor so take that into account.

Finally, there is a restaurant at the start/beginning of the trail that looks out across the valley at Arenal volcano. A lovely end to a lovely morning.

If you’re in Arenal or La Fortuna you absolutely must go to the Mistico Hanging Bridges.

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Costa Rica

Comparing paid vs free hot springs in Arenal, La Fortuna (Costa Rica)

by Simon
written by Simon

One of the biggest attractions of La Fortuna, Costa Rica is the hot springs that run off the Arenal volcano. You only need to drive out of La Fortuna to see the swathe of spas, resorts and other establishments offering you a relaxing dip in the mineral heavy volcanic water of a thermal spa.

Now over the years I’ve become a big fan of the humble bath. Hell, throw some bath salts in there, maybe some bubble bath if I’m feeling like it and if I’m really wanting to go full cosmo I’ll light some candles. Masculinity comes in many forms. Anyway, I like my baths hot. Hot enough so that I only spend 10 minutes in them and a further 30 minutes after a cold shower trying to cool down. So a morning at a thermal spa in 25-30°C didn’t really seem like something I’d be interested in.

We went anyway. They looked nice and ‘when in Rome’ as they say.

The only other catch is that I’m relatively cheap. Not a huge fan of paying premium for things. So it was a bit of a surprise when we were looking at anywhere between $20 and $85 for a morning.

Naturally enough, we went for the most expensive and best known hot springs in the Arenal/La Fortuna area, the Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa. Being the savvy spender that I am, I also researched some other options. It turns out there’s free hot springs as well, otherwise known. as Rio El Chollin.

Armed with such essential traveller knowledge, I decided that I was going to put it to the test. Was it worth paying for the thermal spa in La Fortuna or would the free hot springs be good enough?

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Let’s get the logistics out of the way first.

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa is roughly 12km North West of La Fortuna at the base of the Arenal Volcano (15-20 minute drive).

They have a range of options, including rooms for you to stay overnight. However, the half day option is probably the most popular and comes with lunch or dinner depending on whether you choose the morning or evening session. We paid $70USD for entry to Tabacón hot springs and a full day is $85 USD, although this can vary depending on the time of year. Finally, the half day sessions are either 10am till 2pm or 6pm till 10pm.

I actually looked at the price for a night which was about $130 – $150 to stay there. As such, it would have been substantially cheaper to stay there than to pay for a room elsewhere and also two entry tickets. That’s not taking into account the pain of moving hotels after one night…..although the spa opens at 8am so presumably the guests get it to themselves between 8am – 10am and 2pm – 6pm.

More information and booking here: https://www.tabacon.com/thermal-experience/

First impressions

Slight hiccup at the beginning. We thought it would be good to turn up at 9.40am to buy the tickets and be the first ones in. Turns out that reception doesn’t open till 10am on the dot so we had to wait around. No biggie.

They didn’t allow me to fly the drone even though there wasn’t really anybody there. Complete understandable though – drones are really annoying for everyone and people are in bikinis/swimming costumes so there’s a privacy issue there. Again, no biggie. I expected that.

As you walk in it is remarkably peaceful. That’s probably stating the obvious considering it’s been built specifically to be a spa!! Another unsurprising thing…the water is warm. It varies but mostly it sits around 38°C (100°F for the Americans).

There are loads of little pools, waterfalls and rivers, all surrounded by lush vegetation. I believe that they’ve diverted the water from Rio Arenal but I might be mistaken there. Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa actually sits on a 900 acre estate, although I would say that the spa itself is probably on 3-4 acres.

They’ve created little areas within the spa with their own little names, like the Shangri-La gardens. As such, it’s worth exploring more than just the initial mini waterfalls. If you go upstream to the left, in the Shangri-La gardens there is a larger waterfall (maybe 1.5 – 2m) where you can sit in the waterfall and get a nice little massage.

Everyone wants that Instagram spa picture

The main series of mini waterfalls and pools are directly opposite a bridge, allowing for people to perch on the edge and take their much wanted Instagram shot. I have Instagram and am no stranger to it, but I do find it kind of frustrating when you see a couple of people spend the entire few hours taking photos instead of relaxing in the warm water!

Having said that, I also spent a decent amount of time filming so the irony is thick here.

Hot/Cold Pools

We were warned by the receptionist at the place we were staying (Arenal Volcano Inn) that the best time to go was the evening. This was because it gets hot during the day so that combined with the warm water isn’t ideal.

Luckily it was overcast with some small rain showers so it wasn’t too hot outside. Regardless, after an hour or so of soaking in the natural hot tubs you kind of want to find a bit of cold water…..which we subsequently did.

Now 22°C (71.6°F) water isn’t exactly cold. However, after the main thermal pools it comes as a brisk wake up! This was probably my favourite part – going from the hot pools to the cold pools. It makes you appreciate the warmth of the spa!

Lunch at Tabacón

It was great that lunch was included within the half day entrance fee. A meal out in La Fortuna will run you $20 minimum anyway so it helps with the $70 hit.

It’s a buffet style lunch but with a variety of options across starters, mains and desserts. They also don’t have a problem with you going up for more so needless to say, this little piggy stuffed his face.

Overall impression of Tabacón

At first I thought that the $70 USD entrance fee for a 4 hour spa experience was a little steep. However, considering how relaxing it was and the fact that you get lunch thrown in as well, it isn’t too bad.

I was expecting it to be far more crowded but I think they do a good job of restricting access.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Sure, it’s not cheap but how often do you get to soak in natural thermal rivers running off a volcano? There’s lots of claims as to the health benefits of the minerals in the water but I’m not doctor so I really can’t comment on that!

The great thing was that there really wasn’t any smell of Sulphur – unlike just about everywhere (including the tap water) in Iceland.

But……what are the free hot springs like?

The free hot springs at Rio El Chillon, La Fortuna.

The interesting part about the free hot springs in La Fortuna is that they are 60 meters from Tabacón. Literally, across the road. They say that it’s called Rio El Chillon, but I couldn’t see this on Google Maps!

There’s lots of cars parked on the side of the road we which originally thought were for Tabacón. However, it turns out that the majority of these cars are for the free hot springs.

A short walk across the road from Tabacón and down a path for another 60m and you arrive at the free natural spa in Arenal.

One thing you’ll want to know immediately is that they have constructed a sort of culvert/tunnel under the road to let the water pass beneath. It’s concrete, it has graffiti and it isn’t necessarily the prettiest thing in the world (by that I mean that it’s pretty horrible). However, once you get over that, either side of said tunnel it is surprisingly nice.

I hadn’t expected for there to have been walls built to create little pools at the free hot springs. I just assumed that it would be a thermal river that people could relax/swim in. How wrong was I!

It didn’t have the picturesque waterfalls and the tunnel was a bit of a downer, but apart from that I was seriously impressed. I genuinely thought that it would be an easy decision – pay for the premium ones or have a half arsed attempt with the free ones. It’s the complete opposite.

The free hot springs are not as well groomed. The vegetation surrounding them isn’t as well manicured. There aren’t any instagrammable mini waterfalls.

But they’re free.

They aren’t hard to get to. You don’t feel like you have to stay for the whole 4 hours because you’ve paid for them.

Honestly, if you don’t want to drop $70 on a morning at the spa, the free ones are well worth a visit. I’d be happy with either. If you’re in La Fortuna or elsewhere in Arenal, you have to visit the hot springs.

It’s also not just Tabacón or the free ones. There’s Ecotermales that we heard was nice, Baldi which is more kid friendly and a load of others so you have a really wide choice. Whichever one you choose, visiting volcanic hot springs in Arenal/La Fortuna is a must.

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Costa RicaExcursions

Natural hot tubs (tide pools) in Santa Teresa/Malpaís

by Simon
written by Simon

Santa Teresa is a small beach town on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula on Costa Rica’s West Coast. It’s a great place with lots of surfers, travellers, good food and a relaxed atmosphere….although you probably already know that if you’re reading this!

Anyhow, there’s lots of people tend to stay on Santa Teresa beach, but it’s worth venturing out to Malpaís to visit the tide pools, otherwise known as the natural hot tubs. There are some tide pools midway down the main Santa Teresa beach but these aren’t as nice or secluded as the ones in Malpaís.

It’s only really a half day (or a couple of hours if you have an ATV or a car) so there’s really no excuse to check them out!

Where are the tide pools in Malpaís?

As always, logistics first.

Malpaís is Santa Teresa’s quieter, more secluded and lesser known cousin. It’s only a few kilometres to the South of Santa Teresa. They’re called a few different names including natural hot tubs, Malpaís tide pools and Mar Azul tide pools.

Whatever name you want to use, you’ll want to head South on the single road from Playa Carmen (runnig perpendicular to the beach) for about 2.5km until you see the Indigo Yoga Resort on your left. Around 50m after the Indigo Yoga Resort there is a right hand turn down a dirt road which has a sign for ‘Mar Azul’.

Follow the dirt road down to the water. There are tide pools there but you’ll want to follow the coast line to the left for 200m where there is a more exposed area of rock – and much better natural hot tubs! There’s also a secret beach a bit further South so if you hit that then you know you’ve gone too far.

Transport

We walked the whole way, but I wouldn’t advise this. It took us about 1.5 hours from Santa Teresa and produced some sense of humour failures! It’s only a few minutes in a taxi/ATV or car so just do that….

Bear in mind though that Malpaís is much quieter so you won’t be able to flag a taxi down on your way back to Santa Teresa. You could pop in to one of the hotels/guest houses/restaurants and ask them to order you a taxi, either way it shouldn’t be that hard.

When should you visit the Malpaís tide pools?

This is important so I’m going to put it in bold:

The best time to visit the tide pools is low tide. You cannot visit them at high tide.

The whole point of tide pools is that depressions in the rock trap outgoing sea water as the tide goes out, so make sure you time it right.

Generally speaking tides change roughly every 6 hours, but they’re not the same every day! Check on surfline, magicseaweed or just Google it to find out when low tide is when you are there.

The natural hot tubs

In the video I commented that it almost looks like a volcanic landscape – I haven’t been able to confirm this but there are a couple of article saying that it is volcanic rock. I’m no geologist so can’t comment but it doesn’t really matter….it still looks like a volcanic landscape!

There are multiple tide pools ranging from small ones that can fit a single person to others that can fit multiple people. Be warned though that they often have a lot of sea urchins hiding in the crevasses one the walls so be careful when you’re getting in and out of them. There wasn’t much other wildlife in the tide pools but I can imagine that small fish, crabs and octopus can be found if you go looking.

As with most attractions, they’re a great photo spot and we were the only ones there. Relax in your own natural hot tub as the waves crash against the rocks only a few meters away.

Bring and wear suncream! There is absolutely on shade so you’re exposed to the elements. Take a hat and some shade/t-shirt. A couple of people in our group didn’t wear enough suncream and got very burnt. If you’re in Santa Teresa/Malpaís for a while I would try to time your visit when it’s low tide in the morning. We were there during midday and it was scorching hot. In fact, it was so hot that we probably only spent an hour there before heading back. I would imagine that it would be great sunset spot as well.

So there you have it, the Mar Azul tide pools. As I said, it’s only a few hour trip and they’re super close to Santa Teresa so check the tides, pack some water and suncream and head out!

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Costa RicaTravel Tips

How to get to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica – Travel options and costs

by Simon
written by Simon

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. A haven for surfers, remote workers and holiday makers alike. Situated on the West Coast of Costa Rica on the Nicoya Peninsula, this beach town has seen a dramatic growth in popularity over the last few years not unlike Canggu in Bali.

Having travelled there recently, I thought it would be useful to breakdown the various travel options available and the costs associated with them.

So let’s jump into it. How do you get to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica?

Your options

Clearly it depends on where you’re coming from. I’m going to assume (probably wrongly) that you have flown into the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. You can probably adapt elements of this itinerary if you’re coming from a different place such as Tamarindo in the North, La Fortuna or Liberia.

The primary options are:

  • Bus or Taxi to Puntarenas, ferry to Paquera and then bus/taxi to Santa Teresa (you can also hire a car and do the same route)
  • Flight from San Jose to Tambor and transport to Santa Teresa
  • Bus/Taxi to Jaco and then taxi boat to Santa Teresa

There are pros and cons to all of them, including time taken and cost so let’s look at the route that I took recently:

Transport to Puntarenas and Paquera Ferry

This seems to be by far the most popular route and whilst the transit time might be longer than a flight or the taxi boat, the total time is about the same (if not shorter). PLUS, it’s the cheapest way to do it.

As per above, the overview of the route is transport from San Jose to Puntarenas. From there you can get a ferry to the Nicoya Peninsula, specifically Paquera, and then transport to Santa Teresa from there.

Taking the bus

This was our original plan. We would land in at San Jose International airport, get a taxi to the bus station and then buy our ticket to Santa Teresa. It was going to cost us $12 and aside from getting to the bus station, the rest of the logistics would be covered for us including the ferry ticket.

But there was a hitch.

The bus only leaves twice a day, at 6am and 2pm. In addition, it took about 6 hours.

We were outside San Jose Internal airport before midday so we faced a 2+ hour wait for the bus and then the 6 hour journey. IF we had arrived to the airport a little later and only had to wait 30 minutes for the bus this would definitely have been the option we would have taken. Instead, a slightly more expensive option arose that was going to reduce our total transit time by around 3 hours.

Taxi

Whilst we were standing the departure area we bumped into someone who was also trying to get to the bus station in order to go to Santa Teresa. A short conversation later we agreed to split the taxi and loaded up the car. However, as we got in the car the taxi driver offered to drive us directly to Puntarenas to get the ferry. $80 was more than we were expecting, even though it is a 1.5 hour drive but he was charging us $25 to get to the bus station anyway.

A but of quick maths later we were on our way.

This did mean that we had to buy ferry tickets but this is ludicrously cheap at just over $1 USD. The only issue was organising transport on the other side, but considering the popularity of Santa Teresa this was unlikely to be an issue.

A 45 minute wait for the Paquera Ferry and a 70 minute journey later and we were on the Nicoya Peninsula.

Having come from the Dominican Republic and having travelled for a couple of days, the home stretch was upon us. Hot, sweaty and fed up, honestly I no longer cared about the price for the final leg.

Regardless, we managed to find two more people to split the final taxi with which ended up costing about $12 USD and we arrived in Santa Teresa 3 hours before we would have on the bus…..having paid an additional $22 for the privilege.

Well worth it.

Hiring a car from San Jose and driving to Santa Teresa

On the face of it, this is the easiest and it often looks like the cheapest option. I’ve hired a car from San Jose before and the process is relatively quick so no hiccups there. The traffic coming out of San Jose can be heinous but if you were going by bus/taxi you’ll be stuck in the same traffic anyway. At least you’re in your own car.

Here’s the two main issues:

  • The price that they list on the website is only for the car rental. It doesn’t cover insurance and often doesn’t even cover a sat nav. From memory, we were expecting to pay something like $25 a day for the car but with insurance, sat nav and breakdown cover it ended up being 2 or 3 times more expensive. So word of warning, figure out the total cost before hiring (that’s true anywhere).
  • I’m not aware of places where you can drop your car off in Santa Teresa. You’ll also pay a hefty premium for that. As such, if you only need the car for a couple of days but are intending on staying in Santa Teresa for a little longer you’ll need to factor that in. Either you’ll want to factor in renting the car for your entire stay, or the premium for dropping it off somewhere and the time/cost associated with getting from said ‘somewhere’ back to Santa Teresa.

Either way, it’s going to take longer than just jumping in a taxi and will probably cost more in the long run. That’s assuming that you’re not taking a taxi alone….

Flying from San Jose to Santa Teresa

This could well be your best option. I hadn’t considered it but may well be using this service when I leave Santa Teresa for San Jose.

Flights are operated by Sansa Regional and appear to be pretty regular (2-3 times a day). They leave from the international airport (Juan Santamaria) in San Jose and you land 30 minutes later in Tambor – which is closer to Santa Teresa than the drop off point for the ferry in Paquera.

A quick Sky Scanner search and if you book it a few weeks in advance it’ll cost you $100 each way. A friend just used it an apparently it’s only $20 extra for a surfboard. Bear in mind though that they are small planes so they may only be able to fit a couple of surfboards.

There’s a little bit of trepidation about the grass/dirt runway in Tambor and the potential for some turbulence along the way, considering it’s only a 12 person plane, but if that doesn’t put you off it seems like a pretty good deal to me! It just depends on the check-in/wait time but you are already at the airport if you fly into San Jose.

It’s more expensive than the other options but could save you a lot of time.

Taxi boat from Jaco

I had never considered this – mainly because I didn’t know it existed.

San Jose international to Jaco is around 1-2 hours depending on which route you take and the traffic. From there you can get a taxi boat to Montezuma (1.5 hours) and a taxi from there to Santa Teresa (30 minutes).

Prices range from $50 – $70.

Honestly, at first glance this looked like it might be a good option but then you realise that the boats only really leave at either 7am with Tropical Tours or 10am with Zuma Tours. That means you’re likely going to have to stay the night in Jaco.

On the off chance that you get to the boat on time, it’s still a 4 hour round trip (accounting for a 30 minute wait for the boat) and will cost you in excess of $110. Might as well get the flight…..

To state the obvious, if you get motion sickness then getting a speedboat for 1.5 hours probably isn’t the best choice either.

If you’re staying in Jaco for a bit then it makes perfect sense, but if you’re going straight from San Jose to Santa Teresa it seems like the slowest and possibly most expensive option.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

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Dominican RepublicExcursionsTravel Tips

El Limón Waterfall, Las Terrenas – Everyone misses this trick!

by Simon
written by Simon

El Limón waterfall in Las Terrenas is a popular tourist destination featuring a ~50m (~160 foot) waterfall surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and plunge pools for you to swim in. It’s also fairly accessible from Last Terrenas as it’s only a 30 minute drive.

There’s some comments that it’s not well sign posted, but if you’ve downloaded Google Maps you shouldn’t have any problems finding the town of El Limón from which you set off to the waterfalls. You’d also do pretty well to miss it considering that as we were getting closer there were guys on motorbikes driving alongside our car with laminated tour adverts for El Limón!

Anyhow, here’s a summary of our half day trip and a major tip that everyone seems to miss…..

El Limón waterfall at 7:25. I can’t seem to embed the video with time stamps!

To walk or ride?

The route to the waterfalls is around 1.5-2km along a dirt track. It seems like most people pay for a horseback ride but we decided to just walk it.

Water in the backpacks, flip flops on, we just started walking.

I’ve read a few reviews that talk of it being a steep trail but I have to disagree. Sure, it might be taxing if you’re over 60 years old but realistically most people are capable of walking 1.5km even if it has a few small hills thrown in. The walk took us about 35 minutes, but even if you’re slower it won’t take longer than an hour.

At first it was hard packed dirt/rock road but as you get closer to the waterfall and into the areas with more tree cover, there is quite a bit of mud. All 5 of us did it in flip flops (with varying success) but a pair of trainers might have been a better choice especially since the muddy parts tend to invariably have a bit of horse shit mixed in!

Excrement aside we were glad that we walked it. It’s not hugely taxing and makes the dip in the waterfall that much nicer.

We saw countless groups on horseback. It’s a typical horseback tour kind of thing. The horses know where they’re going, they’re not particularly happy and you’ve got your guide just walking alongside leading the horse. Hardly a thrill seeking excursion. I don’t know, maybe that is for some people. Each to their own I guess. It just seemed a little mundane.

Even if you take a horse you have to walk down the steps from the top of the waterfall to get to the bottom. The walk up back up the steps is definitely harder than the rest of the 1.5-2km walk.

*There are a couple of different routes that you can take. I believe we took the ‘harder’ one. Also, other reviews have talked about how the horseback guides can show you local cacao and other vegetation so that’s a benefit that we didn’t have visibility of.

El Limón Waterfall

At the top of the waterfalls you pay a 100 Dominican pesos entry fee and start the walk down to the bottom via a winding pseudo staircase sort of thing.

The waterfall itself is pretty impressive. It’s not your Victoria Falls free fall of water, instead it’s more of a cascade down a green (moss covered?) cliff. There’s also a plunge pool that you can swim in and take that all important picture for the ‘gram – if that’s what you’re in to.

Beautiful waterfall and plunge pool aside. I hated it.

Did you see that coming?

It was possibly the most touristy place I’ve been in 3 months of travelling (Cayo Arena was a close second). It was way too busy, with everyone trying to take a picture for Instagram. There wasn’t any point going for a swim in the plunge pool because you’d be elbow to elbow with everyone else. To top it off there were a couple of guys with Toucans charging people to take a picture in front of the waterfall with them.

A quick look at the mini waterfall below and it was time to climb back up the stairs and get out of there. We genuinely only spent 10 minutes there!

Everyone missed a trick

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. On our way to the main waterfall we stopped off at a smaller one. In fact, at the time we thought it was the actual waterfall (or at least I did). I clearly remember saying, “it looks a lot larger in the pictures”. In time it would become apparent why that was the case…..it wasn’t the waterfall in the pictures!

Regardless, we stripped off and jumped in. You can swim under the ‘falls’ and find your own little secluded ledge behind the curtain of water. Yes, it’s not as spectacular or as large as the main waterfall, but the tours don’t stop at it so there’s nobody there. We had it all to ourselves and didn’t see anyone in it on the way back either.

It’s my personal opinion that unless you go early and make sure you’re the first ones at the main waterfall, which is a very viable option, the smaller one is a far nicer experience. I’m just not a fan of destinations with loads of tourists. It’s made worse when there’s obvious tourist trap things like people with parrots offering you pictures with it. I’m by no means a stylish or snobby guy, but it feels a little tacky.

Check it out for yourself. I’ll wager that if the main waterfall is as busy as it was when we were there, you’ll enjoy the smaller one far more.

I’m not talking about the smaller waterfall about 50 metres from the main one. The smaller one we found was en route and about 500m from the entrance to the main waterfall.

How much does it cost to visit El Limón Waterfall?

We had a car so it cost us next to nothing. A couple of hundred Dominican Pesos to park and 100 each to see the main waterfall. A grand total of $5 USD.

I appreciate that not everyone will have rented a car so the cost depends on whether you’re going to be picked up from Las Terrenas or make your way to El Limón via GuaGua or taxi.

By all accounts a door to door tour from Las Terrenas, with the aforementioned horseback ride will run you anywhere from $50 to $65 USD including lunch.

You can make your way to El Limón yourself via GuaGua which is typically 50 pesos ($1), but a taxi will likely cost you in excess of $35 so there’s quite a large price difference there. I believe that once you’re there you’ll pay anywhere between $12 and $20 for the horseback section.

Is it worth $65? That depends on the value you place on your money. For me, that’s pricey and the lunch is highly unlikely to be anything special. If you’re on a budget just grab a GuaGua and walk to the falls, that’ll run you less than $5 and again in my opinion will be a far more entertaining journey than joining a procession of horses and other tourists.

Whatever option you choose, I beg you to get up as early as will allow and be the first ones to the main waterfall. You won’t regret it and can stop off at the smaller one on the way back.

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Remote Work

Lessons from my first 3 months as a ‘digital nomad’

by Simon
written by Simon

God I hate that word. Calling yourself a digital nomad makes you sound like an intrepid explorer, a digital first counter-culture entrepreneur. The reality is that you just work remotely. Giving yourself the digital nomad stamp feels a bit self congratulatory to me. Everyone loves to travel, you’re not special.

Whichever nomenclature is chosen, in December 2020 I decided to leave London to work remotely for the foreseeable future. My first stop was the Dominican Republic – a destination that had not previously been on my radar but due to the current restrictions it seemed like an adequate choice.

I got to surf in the morning. It was a Caribbean island. I was staying in Playa Encuentro which is a very small surf town (*town is being used in the loosest of terms) so distractions should be at a minimum.

It was time to start this chapter of my career.

This is what I learnt from my first three months of being a digital nomad, remote worker, location independent, [insert any other name you can think of].

Give yourself a few weeks

I started working remotely from the Dominican Republic with a 2 day a week contract. I figured that would pay the bills and would leave me with 5 days a week to explore the area.

Similar to millions, if not billions of people worldwide, I had been working remotely since March 2020 so the only change was the time difference and location. That turned out to be a little naive.

The problem was that settling down to a full days’ work was difficult. My distractions were fairly limited – was the surf good? Where would I eat lunch? Should I go for a run? Fairly normal stuff (except the surf). It was just the novelty of the location that was distracting. I wanted to get settled and meet people, which takes time.

The result was that I ended up working half days but I still had to fulfil my time obligation of 2 days a week. As such, in the first month I ended up working 4 days a week at a relatively slow pace. Not the end of the world, but I’m a big believer of not doing face time. When you’re working or at your desk you should make the most of that time. That was certainly not the case here.

What’s the remedy? Well, if you’re just starting out like I was (and still am), I would highly recommend that you take a few weeks off work the moment you land. It allows you to get used to the novelty of living near a beach or in a topical environment. To use a phrase, you can “get it out of your system”. In fact, I’d allow a portion of time wherever you are travelling to. I allowed myself a week after the Dominican Republic when I travelled to Costa Rica, just to get used to the new surroundings. After which, it’s time to start working.

Get Over Yourself

In much the same fashion as giving yourself a few weeks, you also need to get over yourself and your surroundings.

My intention when I left London was to carry on living a fairly normal life. I wanted to work. I wanted to have a fairly similar working week, it was just that on the weekend I would immediately be in a holiday destination. That was harder than I thought it would be.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was surrounded by people that were there on holiday. Maybe it was a bit of smugness that I was where I was, when London experienced its 3rd lockdown.

Whatever the reasons, I started to resent work a little. Scheduled calls were cutting surf sessions early. Why was I working when everyone I was surrounded by were on extended holidays? What’s the point, I’ve saved a decent amount working in London for 10 years, I don’t need the cash in the short term.

It is my view that such thoughts can be dangerous.

It’s all too easy to fall into a lethargic state. All too simple to burn through savings and let your industry knowledge stagnate.

Remote workers are typically going to find it harder to land jobs than those that can be in the office permanently. As such, your profile and knowledge needs to be that much better. I didn’t want a short few weeks break to turn into a short few months break, which quickly turns into a few years break. Suddenly I’d be out of touch with my industry, my connections would have decayed for referral projects. I might be better at surfing but that’s not going to contribute to a pension.

An overriding thought during my first 3 months was that I needed to get over myself and settle down to a more normal working life. You’ve worked hard to facilitate this type of lifestyle, well done. Now don’t fuck it up by being lazy.

Routine & focus are everything

Working remotely from a tropical location is not the same as working remotely from your kitchen table in London. It’s the same in principal but it’s not the same in reality.

There’s stuff going on during working hours. There are the aforementioned distractions. If you’re working outside, midday is too hot to concentrate.

It’s just different.

This is highly linked to getting over yourself. You don’t want a routine, you’re on a Caribbean island. You want to live free with salty hair and a tan. You want to work when you feel like it. You don’t want to be beholden to the capitalist nine to five office hours.

Fucking get over yourself. Have a listen to what you’re saying. Of course you don’t want that, very few people want to work 8 hours a day. That’s why they call it work and why someone has to pay you to do it.

I briefly mentioned before that I’m not a fan of face time. I ended up doing my own style of face time, for my own gratification. I’d open my laptop and work incredibly inefficiently for 8 hours. I guess my validation was that I had been in front of my laptop for 8 hours, good work Simon. That’s a healthy mindset.

The quicker you get into the routine of waking up and actually working normal hours, the better it will be (at least in my experience). Don’t think that you can get stuff done in the evenings. Guess what? Shit happens in the evenings, you’re tired, you need to eat, people come back from the beach and want to talk.

A routine isn’t enough.

A routine can carve out blocks of time, but if you’re still doing Simon’s stupid version of face time then it’s really not helping you at all. I’ve had to build out ‘remote working rules’ for myself. A major one of which is that when I’m in a working space with my laptop open….I’m working. I’m not messing about. If I can be super focussed for 3 hours and get work done that might take me 8 hours of unfocussed time, it means I have 5 more hours in the day to do the other stuff I want to do.

Routine & focus are everything.

Pay for a work space

Everyone wants to be the exception to the rule.

They want to be able to ignore distractions whilst working in a coffee shop. They want to be able to work from a hammock. They believe they have the self control to not engage in conversations that your friends are having at the hostel whilst you work.

Accept that you’re not the exception to the rule.

I didn’t have much choice in the Dominican Republic. The closest coworking space was a 10 minute drive away. I didn’t have a car and public transport felt like too much hassle. So…..I struggled along for 3 months.

I’m in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica now and have paid to use a coworking space for a week (at Selina North). Coworking spaces are fairly common in London and I’ve spent my fair share of time in them.

HAVING A PROPER WORK SPACE IS A GAME CHANGER.

I thought I was the exception to the rule. I didn’t want to pay the $60 a week. I could sit in my room or in the communal area and be productive.

Get over yourself.

The great thing about coworking spaces in beach towns is that everyone is in the same position. They’d rather be at the beach but they’ve got shit to do. They’ve got calls scheduled or projects to deliver. They want to get their stuff done quickly so that they can go enjoy themselves. So the general vibe is “shut the fuck up, I’ve got to get my work done quickly”.

I would conservatively say that having a dedicated space where everyone is working makes you at least twice as productive….conservatively. I’m writing this on a Saturday, in the coworking space with the curtains closed and one other guy who is also doing his thing. Lovely.

Pay for the privilege. You won’t regret it.

It’s not just the lack of distractions. The Dominican Republic was hot between noon and 4pm but just about manageable. If you’re outside in Santa Teresa during the early afternoon you can barely think, let alone work. It is critical that you have a space that has adequate environmental control*.

*read ‘fan’ or ‘A/C’.

Work makes everything better

Okay so I’ve spent a decent amount of time in this article shitting on work in general.

The really interesting revelation is that I don’t now what I’d do without it. Seriously.

There’s a caveat to that. I’m working 2 days a week and have a few marketing projects to do. Let’s call it 4 days a week. However, I’m also trying to build out the amount of content on the With the Sparrows Youtube Channel. I’ve got videos to plan, film and edit which on average takes about 8 hours work per 10 minutes of video time. I want to do 4 videos a month so I’m actually quite short on time.

I don’t say that to sound like a Gary Vaynerchuck fanboy, telling you how hard I’m ‘grinding’. I hate that.

I bring it up because in my relatively short 33 years it’s taken me too long to realise that contrast has a dramatic effect on perception. That’s why the Summer in London is so good. All too often London has sub par weather, so when it is hot and sunny we tend to enjoy it that much more.

It’s the same with working as a digital nomad. Beaches are cool. I like surfing. Girls in bikinis are a nice sight. Having a beer watching the sunset is relaxing. The problem is that it all gets normalised way too quickly and the suddenly you don’t have any contrast. It’s all just too much fun.

I’ve put a good shift in this week. I’ve got my coworking space now and I feel like I’ve completed a lot.

I cannot understate how important that feeling is.

I left the coworking space yesterday at 5pm. When I walked out into the tropical humidity with the sun setting, it was genuinely the first time in 3 months when I had that Friday feeling. I forgot how good that feeling is.

If you don’t work hard, everyday is a Friday, just without the feeling. It’s normalised.

Get your routine down. Focus. Accept that work sucks but it’s a necessary evil to provide the contrast. It makes you enjoy the good stuff that much more. Chase that Friday feeling.

I can guarantee that there will be other lessons to learn but those are the highlights from the last few months. Hopefully they are helpful for anyone looking to start working remotely as a digital nomad.

I’m going to go and wash my mouth out now. I’ve said digital nomad too many times.

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Dominican Republic

Guide to surfing in Cabarete (Play Encuentro), North Coast – Dominican Republic

by Simon
written by Simon

As previously mentioned, the Dominican Republic wasn’t on my immediate list of destinations. However due to the travel restrictions felt across the world at the moment, options were limited.

After a bit of research on countries that were open and then filtering down of countries with surf, the Dominican Republic had somehow bubbled its way to the top of the list. General surf research later (and a decent amount of time watching drone footage on Youtube) and my flights were booked. Crystal clear Caribbean water awaited me.

I ended up staying at Playa Encuentro for 3 months, at a family run hostel called Surfbreak a mere 5 minutes walk to the beach and 10 min walk from the main surf breaks. With 3 months’ experience under my belt – here’s a guide to the various surf spots in Playa Encuentro and the North Coast of the Dominican Republic in general. Hopefully these surf tips are useful for anyone looking at surfing in Playa Encuentro.

Where to stay

Playa Encuentro is a small surf beach flanked by the larger towns of Cabarete and Sosua, roughly 5-10 minutes drive in either direction. It’s in the district of Puerto Plata and only 35 minutes from the international airport in Puerto Plata (although it can be over and hour depending on traffic).

When I was researching the area I was initially looking at staying in Cabarete. Thank god I didn’t do that! The logistics of staying in Cabarete without a car and wanting to surf Playa Encuentro would have been a real killer.

If you’re coming to Playa Encuentro to surf, I would highly highly recommend that you stay somewhere in Playa Encuentro. The surfing window is short and if you have to get up, pack the car, drive 10 minutes to the beach to check the surf you may end up wasting more time than you would originally anticipate. Clearly if you don’t have a car it means having to somehow get in a GuaGua (the local minibuses) with a surfboard – which I saw nobody doing for 3 months, or paying for a motoconcho (a motorbike) to take you there each way. It’s way too much hassle and could become quite pricy.

I stayed at Surfbreak but there are lots of options available. El Encuentro surf lodge is a little more up market but still popular. There are local landlords and AirBnB options around Playa Encuentro as well so you shouldn’t have a problem finding accommodation. Depending on your taste, I’d budget around $700 – $1000 a month for a room. Not the cheapest, but by no means the most expensive.

Fickle Forecasts

This is one of the main reasons I recommend staying in Playa Encuentro. Forecasts can be fickle and inaccurate across the planet but I don’t think I’ve ever surfed a place where the forecasts offer such little value. They’re not completely useless….you can tell when a swell is arriving and get a general view of what the surf is going to be like.

But…

The amount of times that I walked down to the beach and the surf was completely different, for better or worse, than the forecast truly amazed me. The only way to to check the waves was to see them for yourself.

There is a webcam that you can view on Surfline, but this only shows a small portion of the breaks so if the swell is a certain direction you may not be able to see another break coming to life!

Magicseaweed is my go to forecast platform in the UK and Europe but it is generally considered to be the least accurate in the DR (and the Caribbean/Central America). Instead, most people used Surfline or Surf Forecast.

DON’T be put off by forecasts of 20mph winds every morning. The wind will come, but generally speaking the mornings had very little wind.

When to surf in Playa Encuentro (Surf season & time of day)

The surf season in Cabarete and Playa Encuentro is during the Winter months and stretches from October to April although the best swells usually arrive from December to March. I was there from December to early March and we had periodic swells arrive throughout this period.

Almost without fail, the only real time to surf in Playa Encuentro (and in the North Coast of the Dominican Republic in general) is the morning. During the swell season it generally gets light just before 7am (first light is about 6.50am) which is what I aimed for. If you manage to haul yourself out of bed to get down to the beach for 6.45am not only will you get the first 45 minutes to yourself, you’ll also likely see some very spectacular sunrises. Here’s a few examples:

amazing sunrise Cabarete
Surfers at sunrise
Surf drone shot
Dawn surf playa encuentro, Cabarete

You don’t have to surf in the morning just to get some sweet pictures of sunrises.

You have to surf in the morning because of the wind.

Oh the wind. It’s one of the most limiting factors about surfing in the Dominican Republic. It’s a pretty windy place. That’s why it’s so popular with kite surfers and windsurfers alike. Not so great for surfers.

The wind is relentless. Come 9.30am/10am the waves start to get blown out – often earlier, so if you want to surf the best conditions I suggest that you set your alarm and get your arse out of bed.

In 3 months I managed to snag myself 3 sunset sessions and probably the same amount of afternoon sessions. The rest of the time the wind was simply too strong (side onshore). It was fine at the beginning but after a month or so it started to wear on me. I don’t have a problem with surfing in the morning but it did get quite frustrating being cubby-holed into a 2 hour period everyday.

Sometimes the wind is persistent throughout the day and night. When this happens, even if there’s only light a light breeze in the morning the surf can still be quite messy.

Oh how I grew to hate the wind. Maybe I should have picked up kiteboarding because the people I knew that did both were frothing all day long!

Playa Encuentro Surf Spots

The main beach at Playa Encuentro has multiple surf breaks, all within a few hundred metres.

As you stand on the beach in front of Buena Onda surf school, looking from left to right, you have:

The Left & Destroyers

As the name would suggest, the left is a left hander wave breaking across a piece of reef jutting out into the sea. It needs a North swell to really work and there are two main peaks, the inside peak barrels from a steep A-frame take off whereas the second peak is the more user friendly take off, although watch for the rippers coming round the section from the inside!

Mid-tide is usually best, as is the case for most of the breaks at Playa Encuentro.

I hated surfing lefts even though I’ve spent my fair share of time in Bali. This left is different, aside from the inside barreling section, the rest of the waves is reasonably mellow and great for learning cutbacks and turns.

Destroyers is on the other side of The Left and breaks in front of a rock that can jut out at low tide. Apparently it’s a really good wave but I never plucked up the courage to surf it!

Main Peaks & The Right

Directly in front of the surf schools are the main peaks. This is where the majority of people tend to surf so it can get pretty crowded after 8am.

The peak closest to The Left is a right hander that takes off from two defined peaks. The outside peak has a small take off area and wedges up, although if you pick the right waves you can ride a right hander almost all the way to the beach. There is a another peak to take off from but the section is often very fast to make, although again if you pick the right one you can get a much faster, walled up ride. We referred to this as ‘The Right’ but I think it’s usually just called the Main Peak.

As you move East (only about 100m) there is another main peak that breaks left and right. I found this one to be either too crowded or too fickle compared with the other waves. Having said that, this seems to be the most popular wave for local rippers doing 360 airs. Maybe in a few years…

Bobo’s Point

Moving further East (right as you look out to see) you come across Bobo’s Point. I was under the impression that it mainly goes right, but apparently it can also go left.

This really comes to life when the swell is larger and turns more North. It was my go to when Coco Pipe was either closing out or was too intimidating!

You can get some really fast walled up rides before it inevitably closes out or dies out on the inside section.

Coco Pipe

This is the most famous break at Playa Encuentro and where I tended to surf most days. If it’s breaking it’s usually the best wave in the area (at least it was for me).

Best at mid-tide you want to look out for a palm tree without its top (i.e just the trunk) on the beach. If you sit directly opposite that, you know you’re at Coco Pipe.

Coco Pipe tends to have more power and steeper waves than the other breaks at Playa Encuentro so you need to know what you’re doing. Getting caught inside can be pretty gruelling and often involves a sideways paddle to the channel between Coco Pipe and Bobo’s Point. Not ideal considering that clean up sets are pretty regular there!

Despite it’s attractive name, I didn’t see many people make it out of barrels at Coco Pipe. Regardless, when the swell is right it offers both lefts and rights, although the right is probably the better wave.

I spent a number of weeks starting off at the Right and then ultimately paddling all the way to Coco Pipe as I searched for more powerful waves. By my final month I would just get in at Coco Pipe and save myself the paddle. Even at 3ft faces, you can still get some decent turns in and it holds double overhead.

Crowd Factor

Everyone wants empty line ups. The reality is that if you can Google it, it isn’t going to be empty.

I briefly mentioned above that past 8am and the Main Peaks tend to get too crowded. That tends to be the case for all of the break in Playa Encuentro. Early birds catch the waves.

There was an American guy that often paddled out in the dark at 6.30am so that he could get the first 40 minutes or so all to himself. Hats off to him – I tended to go at about 6.50am and still got the first hour or so uncrowded.

On the smaller days there are some defined channels which allows learners to get out to the breaks. I don’t have a problem with learners surfing, after all nobody was good at surfing from day one. We all have to start somewhere. However, this is one of the reasons I avoided the main peaks. Coco Pipe is generally off limits for beginners so if you’re looking to escape the crowds then head over there.

I don’t know what else to say. Surf spots are crowded. People like to surf. The earlier you go, the more empty waves you’ll get.

The crowds are also condensed because of the wind. Everyone knows that the really the only time to surf is pre-9.30am so that doesn’t help. Having said that, it was never crazy crazy busy probably because the DR isn’t known as a world-class surf destination. It’s way worse in Costa Rica.

Learning to surf at Playa Encuentro

The waves at Playa Encuentro break onto a reef, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to surf there. The reef stretches about 100m from the beach, so there’s a lot of space on ‘the inside’ to learn to surf in the white water.

There’s also multiple surf schools offering lessons. I would recommend Buena Onda surf school, run by Antonio and Fabio. They’ll supply you with boards, boots to protect your feet from the reef and sunscreen if necessary!

The period (time between each wave) is relatively short in the DR so people were getting quite tired in the white water. I’d advise getting out to the main peaks as quickly as possible so that you’re not constantly fighting against the current and white water.

Have fun!

The Area

Playa Encuentro itself is particularly small. There’s a few shacks on the beach offering food and coffees, alongside some chill out spots, a volleyball court and slackline for those that are that way inclined.

If you don’t fancy carrying your board down every morning, you can also leave your board at Buena Onda surf school – they charge around $35 a month for this service and open in time for first light.

Playa Encuentro is a sleepy area though. Restaurant options are limited – the best being the food trucks on the main road. That’s not the end of the world though because you can hop in a GuaGua and be in Cabarete in less than 10 minutes where there are lots of food options.

Watch out for the sea urchins!

Where the reef meets the beach there’s a ledge around 5 m wide. Beware, this ledge can be full of sea urchins!

Most of the time the water is clear enough to pick your way along the reef before jumping in. However, when there’s a big swell or tide with more water moving around it can be a little trickier.

I had the unfortunate experience of standing with all my weight on a sea urchin.

It took a couple of hours of digging around in my toes with a needle to get all of them out – they aren’t massive spines but they do get themselves pretty deep in there. If you can I would strongly advise that you bring a good pair of tweezers and needles. If you’re surfing in Playa Encuentro for long enough you’re going to step on one. Just be prepared.

Other surf spots on the North Coast

The whole of the Amber Coast of the Dominican Republic is littered with surf spots. A well-known but fickle break is La Preciosa, about 30 minutes East of Rio San Juan and just over an hour and a half from Cabarete. Apparently it needs a big North Swell to work – we drove there twice to check it out and it wasn’t working. It’s an incredibly beautiful beach so worth a visit if you are in the area!

Closer to Playa Encuentro there are two spots to the West – El Canal and The Spot. These are accessed via Perla Marina and involve a 10-15 minute walk along the beach. I only managed to surf El Canal which is a long left (it does go right) from a very clear peak. It’s deceptively powerful….there were maybe 15 people surfing it when I was there and 4 people snapped there leashes!

On the other side of Cabarete, near the river mouth is a spot called Mañanero. It’s a bit of a pain to get to unless you have a car so I didn’t manage to check it out. It’s super exposed to the wind so you have to go early morning (like everywhere) but I know a few people that checked it out and they said it was a heavy and often barreling beach break. It’s often bigger than Playa Enceuntro as well.

As I said, there’s loads of spots. La Boca is another one that I didn’t get to see and when we went all the way East to Las Terrenas there’s a right hand point break ay Playa El Coson that looked like it would be amazing on a good swell.

It’s well worth exploring the area, especially if you have a local to show all the spots.

An honest review

As per the video, the big question is whether I would go back and surf Playa Encuentro.

The water is spectacularly clear. There isn’t any real localism and on the whole the people are incredibly nice.

But I don’t think I’ll be hurrying back.

The wind is just too relentless. You could surf most of the time and glassy mornings were regular. It’s just that the amount of days with good swells and low winds were very intermittent.

When it’s good, it’s incredible. Plus I had lots of fun mornings and my surfing improved dramatically over the 3 months. Furthermore, if you kite or wind surf as well then it’s going to be a paradise for you.

I don’t.

The biggest problem that Playa Encuentro has as a surf destination is the consistency. I’ve been in Costa Rica now for 3 weeks and we’ve had more solid days of surf than I had in 3 months in the DR. So as purely as a surf destination…there are better places. If you want a second opinion, check out this article from The Free Surfer.

It’s not all about surfing though. The Dominican Republic as a whole has an incredibly diverse array of things to see and do. A weekend trip to Las Terrenas was a real highlight for me and I didn’t even touch the South of the island. I certainly don’t regret my time in the DR and looking back on it I’m sure I’ll have fond memories of my first 3 months as a digital nomad.

If you’re looking to surf a little whilst also exploring a Caribbean island then the Dominican Republic is a pretty darn good choice. But if you’re there just to surf, I’d look at the Pacific coast of Central America first.

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Dominican RepublicExcursions

Tips for visiting Paradise Island, a.k.a Cayo Arena, Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic)

by Simon
written by Simon

The North Coast of the Dominican Republic has loads to offer. It’s not quite the same as Punta Cana in the South West where you almost exclusively find all inclusive hotels and sunburnt tourists. Whilst the North Coast has an international airport in Puerto Plata, it’s more local, less crowded and depending on whether you go East or West, incredibly beautiful.

We were staying in Playa Encuentro near Cabarete/Sosua and were in the market for a day trip.

Naturally we turned to Google to explore our options – we had already done Dudu Lagoon & La Preciosa whilst half of the group had also already hiked the Isabel Del Torres trail to the view point above Puerto Plata.

Cayo Arena was a popular option and the one we settled on. There was some slight trepidation considering the reviews. They range from an amazing experience with crystal clear water (it is called Paradise Island) with great snorkelling…..to an over priced, crowded and overrated attraction.

We decided to risk it.

Getting to Cayo Arena

As per usual, let’s start with the logistics.

Cayo Arena is a small sandbar about a 20 minute boat ride off the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, near the border with Haiti. The area is called Punta Rucia and we left from Playa Ensenada which appeared to be the most popular take off/drop off point.

If you’re coming from Puerto Plata, Sosua or Cabarete there are a number of your operators offering a full day tour to Cayo Arena. Prices tend to be around the $80-$90 USD range and include pick up from your hotel, the boat ride and often a Dominican Lunch (chicken, rice and beans).

We reckoned it would be better to make our own way there. OK Motors just outside Sosua rented us a car ($40 for the day and including insurance) which was incredibly reasonable, especially since there was 4 of us!

The drive from Sosua/Cabarete is about 2.5 hours to Cayo Arena although you really want to make sure you are past Puerto Plata before 7am/7.30am to avoid the rush hour. Get caught in that and it will be over 3 hours.

The roads are, well, Dominican. They’re okay but the closer you get to Cayo Arena, the more windy they get. The last few kilometres are dirt roads and at some points were wished we had paid the extra $15 to get an SUV.

We weren’t on the tour so we had to organise a boat ourselves. The instant we parked there was someone offering us a trip, so don’t worry about capacity! We paid $25 USD each for the boat which again seemed pretty reasonable.

Boat Ride from Playa Ensenada to Cayo Arena

As I said, it’s a 20 minute speedboat ride from Playa Ensenada to Cayo Arena.

Having been a nerd and read far too many reviews of the trip, this was one of the things that seemed to have rubbed people the wrong way. We were there early so the boat ride out to Cayo Arena was relatively calm, although if you arrive any later than 8.30am you can expect there to be some wind chop / waves. I get why people may have thought it was uncomfortable, especially if you’re a little more ‘mature’ let’s say! It’s not crazy, but the sea isn’t glassy.

We had to wait about 20 minutes whilst someone went and fetched fuel for the boat. Furthermore, the engine cut out twice within about 500m of the beach which was a little concerning but they managed to fix it!

The itinerary for the trip was La Piscina Natural, Cayo Arena and then the mangroves.

First up was La Piscina Natural.

La Piscina Natural is a sandy area within a larger outer reef (all submerged but maybe only a 4-6 feet deep). As such, it offers and area for people to swim and snorkel and is just over half way to Cayo Arena.

We wanted to be the first ones on Paradise Island so whilst they took us to La Piscina Natural, we actually decided not to jump in the water and go straight to Cayo Arena.

That ended up being a good choice.

Cayo Arena (Paradise Island)

A few minutes on our 10 man boat later and we were fast approaching Cayo Arena.

The deeper blue water suddenly gives way to crystal clear, turquoise Caribbean water and a sandy bottom. The island itself is only a sandbar so the size will depend on the tide. However, don’t expect a large area. When we were there it was probably half a football pitch. There’s also a few shacks, but by shacks I mean crudely constructed sunshades.

We dropped our bags off under when one of the sunshades, stripped off into boardies/bikinis and straight into the water. It was around 8am and there were only a few other people on the island (including a few guys selling drinks out of a cooler).

The reef creates a natural sand bottom lagoon around the sandbar which is less than shoulder deep so you can wade out into the crystal clear, picturesque water. If you’re looking to snorkel and see fish then you need to either swim at the edge of the reef or depending on the depth, swim over the reef. Be careful of currents though if you’re intending on swimming over the reef.

Generally speaking, it’s a picture postcard destination. Sun, white sand, turquoise Caribbean water. It makes for great pictures and it is a decent place to visit.

There are few things to take into account though if you’re thinking about visiting Cayo Arena:

Get there early

We arrived at Cayo Arena just after 8am and had the place almost to ourselves for about 30 minutes. If we had our time again we would get there an hour earlier, even though that means a very very early wake up and leave from Playa Encuentro!

There are two major reasons as to why I would say it’s worth getting up super early to be the first ones on Paradise Island:

The Wind

The North Coast of the Dominican Republic does have a lot of wind and Cayo Arena is no exception. The sandbar is 20 minutes out to sea so there isn’t really and land to block the wind.

There was already a decent amount of wind by the time we got there, and it got progressively worse. Having spent 3 months in the DR, this happens almost everyday. If you get there at 10am you will be in for a super windy visit – windy to the point where it just won’t be as enjoyable.

The People

Cayo Arena is a tiny little sandbar. There isn’t a whole lot of real estate to accommodate large crowds. A few small boats is fine because they often only carry a single group (like us) and you can spread out across the lagoon.

BUT.

Around 30/45 minutes after we arrived, a big tour catamaran landed at Cayo Area…..and unloaded at least 50-75 people. We left 5 minutes later.

There simply is not enough space on Cayo Arena to dump that many people on. They may have spread out, gone swimming or snorkelling but people started playing music loudly, drinking, shouting (to fid each other) and generally spoiling the picturesque surroundings.

Seriously, get there as early as humanly possible. I think the first boats leave at 7am, aim to be on the first boats. As soon as the big tours arrive you are screwed.

That’s also another reason not to get one of the larger organised tours. If you get picked up in a coach, you know that you’re probably also going to be ushered onto that big catamaran. So you have no choice! You’ll be stuck with a load of other people that will be one Cayo Arena at the same time as you….

The Mangroves

The great thing about hiring your own boat is that you get to leave whenever you want. No waiting around for people, not strict schedule.

The large tour arrived on Cayo Area. We all looked at each other ad unanimously decided that now was the time to leave.

10 minutes later and we were entering the mangroves.

Our boat driver (*pilot? skipper? captain?) was incredibly adept at speeding through the twists and turns of the mangroves, adding to the experience. I had never actually been in mangroves so really enjoyed this part of the trip.

We stopped in a little lagoon, had a little snack and were on our way. The trip through the mangroves was a nice little addition to the trip!

Is Cayo Arena worth it?

Honestly, I got off the boat thinking that the 2.5 hour drive for a 2 hour round trip probably wasn’t worth it. The rest of the guys thought it was and now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I’m glad we went.

If we had arrived only 30 minutes later than we had, it definitely would not have been worth it.

It cost us less than $40 all in to hire a car and a boat, between 4 of us. I can’t express enough how much I would recommend doing the same. DON’T use the tours, you will regret it.

The drive is a little longer than I would have liked, but all things considered, Cayo Arena (or Paradise Island) is worth the visit if you staying in the North West of the Dominican Republic.

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Dudu Lagoon – Crystal clear water and zip line

by Simon
written by Simon

Need a break from the beach, the waves and the sand? Dudu Lagoon is a beautiful little getaway in between Rio San Juan and Nagua, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic.

For you surfers out there, it’s a quick drive from La Preciosa.

It’s an ecological reserve with two lagoons which you can swim in. It’s not particularly well-known (or sign posted) so we managed to have the lagoon to ourselves for an hour, which was a little surprising considering it was the middle of the day.

It costs 300 Dominican Pesos to enter (about $5) which is well worth it!

The main entrance opens up into a peaceful garden of sorts with a couple of seating areas, a restaurant and a nice sculpture of a motorbike made out of odds and sorts.

Starts at 1:17

How to get to Dudu Lagoon

We were staying in Playa Encuentro so we stopped off at Dudu Lagoon on our way to Las Terrenas in the North East. It’s about an hour and 45 minute drive from the Cabarete/Sosua area and less than 15 minutes from La Preciosa beach.

The closest beaches to Dudu Lagoon are Playa Diamante or Playa Los Cocos. It’s not all that well sign posted, i.e there’s only one sign when you get there. We actually went past it because it says “Dudu Lagoon 200m” but that just meant it was 200m down a dirt road.

It’s pretty easy if you just download Google Maps and save the location and is just off the main road going along the coast (route 5).

The main lagoon

When you see pictures of Laguna Dudu you usually see the main lagoon. It’s an oval shaped lagoon with turquoise water and surrounded on all sides by a 10m+ cliff. On top of the cliff there’s trees and vines that hang down, making it a nice secluded (and quiet) spot.

The lagoon itself is about 50m wide and maybe 75m long – which was bigger than I thought it would be. Apparently it’s 32m deep which makes sense because you can’t see the bottom even though the water is really clear. That might be a bit intimidating for people that don’t like swimming in deep water but there’s lot of ropes to hang on to so just jump in!

Honestly, I was a little apprehensive due to the risk of Bilharzia in fresh water found in the Dominican Republic but there aren’t any muddy edges to the lagoon so with absolutely no medical or expert knowledge, I deemed it safe ;).

The water is colder than the sea but it’s hardly ‘take your breath away’ cold. At midday in the DR it was perfectly refreshing! There’s a few leaves and vegetation floating on the the service at points due to the trees on top of the cliff, but not enough to ruin the clarity of the water. Swim out into the middle of the lagoon and enjoy the tranquility.

Definitely bring swimming/scuba diving goggles! I’ve always had an irrational dislike of trees or ropes in water, which wasn’t ideal because there’s a lot of trees that have seemingly fallen from the cliff and settled in the lagoon underneath you. I got used to it pretty quickly though and it was interesting to see.

Dudu Lagoon Zip Line

There’s a zip line from the top of the cliff across the lagoon – although you can’t make it all the way to the end. Instead, after hearing the horn from the guy operating it, you let go of the zip line half way across and free fall into the lagoon. I’ve read that it’s 10m, although by the time you’ve gone down the zip line it’s probably more like 8m (plenty high enough). I’ve also read that it’s a 5-6 second free fall – that’s not true. You’re in the air for maybe 1-1.5 seconds….the nerd in me looked that up and a 6 second free fall would be well over 120m!

At 50 Dominican Pesos per jump (just under $1), it’s hardly expensive so a couple of jumps is a must-do. You don’t even need to sign lots of paper work and go through a boring tutorial. Just quickly sign a waiver, pay your 50 pesos and your jumping/zip lining/falling within minutes.

We were a group of 5 and everyone had a jump – I swam out with my GoPro to get some footage of people’s free fall and entry into the water, you can see it in the video at the top.

The Cave at Dudu Lagoon

After we’d had our fill in the main lagoon, we dried off, climbed the stairs and crossed the garden to the other side. Down another flight of stairs and we’re greeted by two different lagoons….and some very loud music, Dominican style. I never really understood why everyone plays music at full blast in the Dominican Republic but hey, when in Rome. Considering how peaceful the lagoons were it seemed a bit strange to be blasting out Reggaeton.

You can only swim in one of the lagoons which is in a cave that’s about 20 metres deep. The water is even clearer here because there’s less vegetation that falls into it and there’s small schools of fish swimming around. It was a little busier than the main lagoon, probably because you could get drinks there and relax in the cave.

The other lagoon is a no-swim area, although I think you might be able to hire kayaks and paddle out. It looks more like a lake/large pond than a lagoon and it’s connected to the cave (underneath the bar playing the music). There’s a little wooden platform from which you can see all of the fish and a lot of turtles as well. Again, check out the video to see those little dudes.

A nice half day trip

We didn’t eat at the restaurant so our trip lasted just over an hour. A couple of friends did eat at the restaurant and then got ill, but that’s anecdotal and it could have been anything so don’t want to put you off eating there!

I don’t think it’s a full day trip. You’ll swim in the lagoons for an hour, maybe have a drink and then leave. It’s really peaceful there (except for the music at the cave) so if you’re in the area you have to make a stop.

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