April 1, 2019
Time away with nature as a backdrop is every traveler’s dream. And with an average temperature of 74 degrees year round, Las Catalinas is the perfect place to flow through any exercise or relaxation routine and engage with the outdoors.
There are plenty of options for you to choose from in town, whether you’re looking to continue a familiar activity or embrace something completely new.
So whether you’re working on physical fitness, finding some personal balance, learning a new skill, setting out for adventure, or gaining some knowledge, you can do it all here, surrounded by breathtaking vistas of the ocean and tropical forests. Here are just a few ideas to start with.
When You Wake Up:
Let your prana flow with yoga classes at:
- Casa Chameleon hotel, which is perched high on the hill-top above Town. The yoga pavilion is open wall-to-wall, letting you breathe in the fresh air and feel the wind as you flow through your vinyasas. Forgot your mat at home? No worries, they provide all the necessities, you just bring the stretching.
- Yoga Workshops on Playa Danta beach. These are weekly lessons that include guided meditation, accessible poses, and gently guided relaxation led by local yoga teachers. There are also options to organize additional training outside of normal schedules, just ask the concierge teamfor providers in and around town.
- Everywhere around town. However, nothing beats doing asanas on the beach. Up on the mountaintop trails or down on Playa Danta and Playa Dantita are some prime spots for beach yoga in Costa Rica.
- Standing up on a paddle board. Good balance and coordination gain new meaning while practicing stand up paddle yoga. The team at Pura Vida Ride could not have said it better: yoga blends nicely with the skills needed to master stand up paddle boarding. You get to experience the relaxation of yoga on the warm, calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. And if you lose balance (as everyone does on occasion), you’ll go down with a splash!
Or get your energy pumping to start the day:
- Every Monday and Wednesday morning you can start the day with High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in the Yoga Pavilion, a full-body workout that features strength, endurance, and flexibility training all just a few steps away from the beach.
There’s nothing quite like waking up to bask in gentle sunlight, surrounded by the calm sound of the waves and the chirping of tropical birds all while digging deep to get stronger, faster, and more fit. These HIIT routines are an excellent way for you to get the blood flowing, keep your energy up, and start the day off right. - There’s also the fully equipped CrossFit box on Playa Potrero, which is open 6 days a week for both members and visitors. The highly qualified and enthusiastic coaches are fun and welcoming, and ensure that whatever your skill level, you’re able to work out and improve. Don’t be deceived by their smiles and relaxed natures though -- easy isn’t in these athlete’s vocabularies!
They make sure you have a great workout, and the location offers a unique experience, whether you're diving into the sea right after the end of class or laughing as curious howler monkeys, cows, and iguanas poke their heads in to see what’s up. Not to mention post workout coffee, smoothies, and juices at their onsite mini-cafe.
If you’re looking for outdoor adventure:
Mountain Biking
The people in town are pretty darn proud of the world-class trails at Las Catalinas. Every year, MTB enthusiasts come to enjoy nearly 50km of coastal and mountain-side terrain, which offers expansive tropical ocean views, dramatic landscapes, and vibrant wildlife, making town one of the most prominent mountain biking destinations in the American tropics.
And it doesn’t matter if you're a rookie or a veteran -- thanks to a wide variety of trails, everybody has a chance to get into the zone riding the downhill curves, tackling challenging uphills, and cruising along flat single tracks.
There’s a reason that international training camps like RaceQuest come to town to train. Even world-class athletes know that there’s a lot to learn from riding here, so no matter what your skill level you can be sure you’re set to improve during your time in town. One great goal to work towards is the Las Catalinas TRI that takes place every February, which offers solo or relay race options and a field of friendly racers with a true love of the sport.
And no worries if you can’t bring your beloved bike with you -- the experts at local partner Pura Vida Ride are ready to gear you up with bikes, knowledgeable guidance, and personal tours. Don’t forget to dive into the ocean once the ride is over!
Trail Running
It's easy to fall in love with the land at Las Catalinas on foot, enjoying a run around the trails and among the tropical dry forest, enjoying the beautiful weather and a connection with nature.
During the dry season, the trail is full of colors. Some flowering trees dot the landscape in whites, yellows, purples, and reds, with clear skies, pleasant dry breezes, and warm temperatures completing the scene.
In the wet season, a field of greens dominate. Locals love this time of year, and set out to enjoy the rains, which bring cool temperatures and misty air. Mornings are mostly sunny while evenings boast a fresh onshore breeze.
While hiking and running, you will share most of the same trails as town’s famed mountain biking community, with the addition of a few trails reserved specifically for those on foot. These footpaths are too steep for bikes to travel, and provide access to some of the most breathtaking views in Las Catalinas.
It’s a constantly changing environment to run through, one that has something to offer to the beginning runner just making the transition from hiking as well as to the world-seasoned expert, and with diverse Costa Rican wildlife making their home all across the trails your morning exercise has the chance to turn into an impromptu nature excursion.
And when it's time to cool off:
At Playa Danta, you can enjoy a good swim to take the day’s heat off in gentle waves and warm waters. Open water swim is a favorite pastime at Las Catalinas, and with a number of different competitions in the area there’s always a moderate distance swim to work towards.
For the more casual swimmer the cove has a lot to offer as well, with a swim platflorm for resting and basking in the sun, and sandy shores to relax on. If you’re up for some exercise and looking to get away from the action, you can always aquajog or swim up to Dantita beach up north too. If you’re lucky on these trips, you can catch a glimpse of sea turtles or other aquatic creatures, as our finned friends love this secluded and sheltered cove.
And if you’re looking to do more than just swim, there’s plenty of other water activities to dive into -- like body surfing, boogie boarding, open water scuba diving and snorkeling, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and surfing, to name a few -- and all are serious hobby material.
One particular favorite around the country is surfing. Simple to learn and yet taking a lifetime to master, there's no better place to work at this personal hobby than in Costa Rica. As a matter of fact, the beaches of Guanacaste boast some of the best spots to break the waves, like Ollie’s Point and Witch’s Rock, which -- as Lonely Planet puts it -- are a surfer’s dream. Make sure to hone your skills just outside of town at Playa Grande first, as these breaks mean business!
And if the action above the waves wasn’t enough, Costa Rica’s North Pacific Coast also plays home to one of the world’s most vibrant aquatic ecosystems, found just a few meters into the water. The best way to enjoy it is to dive in with a certified instructor from local partner Connect Ocean Aquatic Academy and PADI Center, which provides snorkeling and diving excursions that sprinkle in Citizen Science and Marine Ecology Education. Whether you’re starting out as a diver, or coming to town looking to get your Advanced Open Water, Master Diver and beyond, the dive school here has something for you.
To feed curiosity (and appetite!):
Embracing the natural world of Las Catalinas isn’t just about outdoor activities, breathtaking views, and sipping through a cocktail while watching the sunset from your balcony. It’s also about delicious and healthy food, taken straight from the land.
Guanacaste is growing more and more important in Costa Rica’s culinary scene, and Las Catalinas is emerging as a leader in the region. Whether it’s Ponciana, one of Las Catalina’s premier culinary achievements at Santarena Hotel; breakfast time and all day eats at Limonada and the Beach Club restaurants, the Copper & Stone Gourmet Market with its artisan sandwiches, sunset cocktails at Sentido Norte, or the smell of fresh-baked bread from Cuatro Calle La Ronda Bakery, there's a lot to love here.
The foodie in you will rejoice. If you’re interested in making food a hobby, there are options for you too. Want to cook like a local? Maybe you just want a chance to practice some local recipes, or learn how cooking with fresh ingredients can improve your cooking, with fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, fish, and poultry sourced from the area.
And if you want to take it to the next level, you can book a two part cooking class with one of town’s expert chefs, learning from these international culinary champs in the afternoon, building to a private dinner as the evening winds down. The chefs in the area are a friendly and charismatic bunch, and they’re always willing to offer guidance, tips, and a kind word to the people they meet.
Finally, if you’re more interested in eating their food rather than preparing it, make sure to come for Guanacaste Nights, a food festival that draws chefs from all over the world (and some from in town) together for a festival celebrating the Costa Rican culinary tradition.
What Will You Choose?
There’s no question -- taking up a hobby is a great way to spice up your time in a new place, and can be a healthy, active, and interesting new change to the rhythm. Even better, it gives us something to work on, to strive for, and can add some direction and purpose to your trip to paradise. Which do you think you’ll take up while you’re in town?
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