I’m Grace Bryant, 26, and before this trip, “pura vida” was just a phrase I saw on T-shirts. After a week in Jaco Beach, it feels like an attitude I want to bring back home. I stayed in a simple but comfortable Central Jaco Airbnb Vacation Rental that made it easy to walk to the beach, restaurants, and shops.

Four experiences really captured that pura vida feeling for me: Took a Surfing Lesson at the Jaco Surf School, an eye-opening Isla Damas Mangrove Tour, a delicious meal at Green Room Restaurant, and a relaxed night bouncing between a couple of beach bars and a small casino. Surfing knocked me out of my head and into the moment, the mangrove tour reminded me how alive and diverse this region is, and the nightlife gave me that carefree vacation vibe without ever feeling unsafe.

Days were intentionally slow. I walked Jaco Beach in the mornings, watched surfers and families share the shoreline, and then followed whatever felt good: coffee at Jaco Walk, a taxi ride to Playa Hermosa, an Uber up to Herradura and Los Sueños to watch boats slide across the water, or a bus trip toward Esterillos and Bejuco just for a change of scenery. Taxis, Ubers, and buses all felt safe, easy, and surprisingly affordable.

The people I met brought “pura vida” to life. A woman at a café taught me the proper way to say it and laughed with me until I got it right. A mangrove tour guide from near Quepos talked about how much he loves sharing his home with visitors. A cashier at a grocery store recommended local snacks and insisted I try a certain brand of coffee so I’d remember Costa Rica when I got home.

At night, Jaco glowed with a different kind of energy: live music, beachfront bars, casinos, and clubs with people dancing under the warm sky. I never felt pressured to go harder than I wanted to, and I always felt safe walking back to my rental—even late, with music still spilling into the streets and the sound of waves in the background.

By the end of the week, I understood “pura vida” as more than a slogan. It’s the way people here greet you, help you, and invite you to slow down and actually enjoy where you are. Jaco’s mix of beach life, rainforest, friendly locals, and easy day trips to places like Herradura, Tarcoles, and Manuel Antonio made it the perfect place to learn that lesson.