Bodyboarding at Uvita

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
0
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
1
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
4
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
60 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
291st/457
Top 70%
continent
North America
country
Costa Rica
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$30 (typically $10 - $40)
Time of year visited
April
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐

Summary

Uvita is a cracking spot for beginners to do some bodyboarding or surfing along the long and wide Uvita beach.  It also has the benefit of being in the Marino Ballena National Park, so you will likely see all sorts of wildlife while here

Whilst not on the normal list of places to visit in Costa Rica, its a good location to relax between Camping in Corcovado National Park and Visiting Manuel Antonio National Park.

The Flutterby House backpackers just off the beach is a great place to grab food, drinks and the boards, but my number one tip is to splurge and stay at the Hotel el Castillo that is around a 15min drive further down the coast.  We travelled for 6months around Latin America and this was our favourite place to stay – the views are incredible, the layout gorgeous and the staff couldn’t have been nicer.  The right way to relax after after sleeping in a jungle tent!

Highlights

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#1 The long wide Uvita Beach that allows you to enjoy some easy bodyboarding

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#2 Sipping wine enjoying the sunset from the not-to-be-missed El Castillo Hotel

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#3 Seeing the wildlife jumping above you in the canopy from the Marino Ballena National Park

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#4 The local wildlife popping into your hotel to say hi

Experiences nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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