Jaco, Costa Rica
0 bangs in 6 nightsBrief Overview of the City
Bottom Line: Expensive, touristy surfer town. Come for nature activities, not chicas.Jacó was actually started by some American tycoon who wanted a home for his family for vacations. It evolved into a surfer town, and is the closest beach town to San Jose (2 hour drive), the residents of which flock to Jacó on weekends to party.
So, it is probably not the BEST beach/destination in Costa Rica (as reflected in its prices and lack of activities at night) but it is simply very CONVENIENT to San José.
The Women
Bottom Line: I feel mehhh about CR chicas in general (not curvy at all), but at night it's only hookers out. Daygame locals/tourists or night game backpacker chicas.[/align]
What are the chances of hooking up?
I did not bang but pickings are slim. I went during end of low season I think, and did not find any non-pros other than a few tourism workers during the day.
[align=center]Nightlife Recommendations
[align=center]Nightlife Recommendations
I literally got so bored at night that I would just mess with hookers and act like they were supposed to pay me.
Me: "You'll pay ME $200 for both of you? Great let's go"
Pro from DR (body is 8 but face <5): "...what what nooo no no you pay us!"
Me: "what are you talking about you JUST said you'd pay me"
Pro from DR: "no you're crazy we're working right now you pay us"
Me: "OHHHHHhhhhh shit YOU'RE WORKING?!?" *start walking around in circles wringing hands through my hair. I face her again* "I'M WORKING TOO!!"
Pro from DR: (confused with mouth open)
Other pro from CR (a 7.5): *Laughs hysterically* "he's funny"
Pro from DR: *realizes I'm full of shit. takes other girl's arm and they leave*
All my interactions are in Spanish.
- Orange Pub After googling, I found out this place is supposed to be "good" on Mondays (most places are closed earlier in the week until Wednesday). I went, and there was a younger crowd of gringos (several girls but nothing special) dancing and several hookers lurking. There was a pool table too which I utilized. During low season, it'd be best to have a group of your own to create some energy and attract some chicas to dance. Rolling solo could be difficult. During high season, this might be a good place. I just chatted with the hookers about where else to go.
- Le Loft Hookers from Orange Pub told me this place is good on Tuesdays I think. I saw pro from DR posted up there a few nights later. She was NOT happy to see me.
- Cocal Casino I have never seen so many hookers in my life. Armies of them. You go in here and there are probably 100-200 walking around with American guys sprinkled between them.
- Croc's Casino Up-scale casino and bar but not that much traffic. During high season, maybe this could be a place to act like a baller and pick up some tourists. I ordered drinks for friends. Then a friend told me this girl at bar has X language tattooed on her wrist. She's not my type, but looks nice and done up for the night. I speak, read and write X-language, so I open, "Your tattoo says 'Strength of a Woman' bla bla". She's impressed. We start chatting and it turns out her family owns a house here in Jacó so she's here for the weekend from San Jose. We talk for a while, I get her and her friend laughing, then we eventually make out. Finally, she says, "So what do you want to do? We could do a few things, but you have to know that I'm working"...I think, working?? It's a Saturday night. Then she says, "Yes...working." She's a hooker, fuck. I then try to shore her for another hour. She says she comes to Jaco on weekends because she has to work extra bla bla it's not like nice life in USA. We keep talking and bar closes, I walk her to her car, still trying to shore. My friends had left, and I didn't have a ride back, she says I could stay at her place, but I feel that 1) She could rob me; 2) She would try to smash and then charge me/report me to cops for not paying. So I say no and take taxi to Herradura where I was staying. This chica wasn't even all that and I still couldn't shore.
General Things to Do
Bottom line: Fishing, surfing, four-wheeling, zip-lining, nature parks, etc. At night, not much.
My favorite was surfing for the first time which was fun. I would advise going to beginner beaches though. Few of the guys in our group had ever surfed before, but they were all good swimmers. We went to Playa Hermosa, an advanced surfer beach, and found NOBODY else there. That's because the waves are insane. Even collegiate swimmers had trouble getting past the break of these waves. If you rent the boards though, you need to have a van/truck to transport them FYI. We rented them for 4 hours but finished after less than 2 due to exhaustion.
Zip-lining was awesome. Manuel Antonio park (less than 2hrs away, I took buses) was somewhat disappointing to me because I thought I was going to be SURROUNDED by monkeys, toucans, frogs, etc. but you might only see one of each if you're lucky. Maybe my expectations were not realistic, but you should still check it out.
Transportation
We rented a car from the Airport in San Jose which was more convenient than taxis, and possibly would work out to the same price (possibly expensive, definitely not cheap). I don't think Uber worked for some reason. I also took some buses to Manuel Antonio. *Costa Rican drivers are insane* Several people in our group saw several accidents in less than a week, including a car that flipped into a ditch right as they left the airport (this happened before their eyes), and several ppl saw a dead body after getting hit by a truck near Auto Mercado in Herradura. Fuck.Accommodation
AirBnB in Herradura for first few nights (that's where friends were staying) and in Jaco next to Parque Johannes Dankers (solid location, I could walk everywhere on main strip) for other nights. This was cheaper than hotels.
Costs
They accept American dollars as readily as the Costa Rican Colón, so you know it's expensive. I asked some street sweeper where he eats some cheap chicken-rice meal, and he pointed me to some restaurant a block or two inwards on some street. I went there, got chicken, rice, salad, drink for $5. This was an ok price in retrospect. Most meals at touristy places cost $10 at the very least if not $15. Even simple groceries at Auto Mercado (supermarket) in Herradura were expensive as fuck. I was out with friends at this well-known simple seafood restaurant in Herradura. I got some seafood dish, several beers, oysters, maybe some other app, and it came out to $60-70 at the end! And the guy is taking our orders in like shorts and a T-shirt.
