Welcome to Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel!
Thanks for checking out our Costa Rica Travel Blog and we’re happy you want to know more about us!
Who is Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel?
Hello!
We are Yeison and Samantha, the couple behind Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel. We are a married couple living in Costa Rica full time.
Yeison (pronounced like Jason) is Costa Rican, born and raised.
Samantha moved to Costa Rica in 2012 from the United States.
We have been traveling together in Costa Rica since 2010 and love sharing our stories, tips and experiences on Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel.
It’s a lot of fun and we’re very lucky to have been doing this for many years!
About Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel Blog
Mytanfeet is a travel blog and resource where you will find all sorts of information on traveling in Costa Rica.
We also share some stories of our life in Costa Rica.
Why we started Mytanfeet Costa Rica Travel Blog
When Samantha first moved to Costa Rica, she started this Costa Rica travel blog as a way to document her new life abroad but it grew into much more than just a journal.
Back in 2012, there weren’t many travel blogs about Costa Rica. There weren’t even Instagrammers. So the more we wrote blog posts, made videos and posted photos the more our blog grew.
We love Costa Rica and our goal is to help everyone fall in love with it, especially Yeison. He wants everyone to have a wonderful time in his country and discover pura vida!
Furthermore, we wanted to share our stories and tips from not just a foreigner, but also a local point of view. Together, we have traveled throughout the entire country and we are always re-visiting places to update our content with the latest information, as much as possible.
We think sets us a bit apart from other blogs and websites, especially nowadays when you find content from influencers who have only visited Costa Rica once for short periods of times.
Yeison has worked in the tourism industry for over 20 years and has traveled extensively in Costa Rica. He loves sharing his insider local knowledge so people can experience his country a little bit like a local.
We both know what to look for since we travel internationally quite a bit as well.
Ever since the blog started, we haven’t stopped blogging or traveling.
We love traveling, we love Costa Rica and we love blogging so we want to share that love with all our readers and inspire them to take a life-changing trip to Costa Rica one day.
What you can find on our Mytanfeet Costa Rica travel website
If you’re looking for a Costa Rica travel blog that’s chock full of information but not written like a dry guide book, this is the site for you.
You’ll find our personal stories and experiences traveling around Costa Rica. We produce our own videos, take our own photos and write our own observations and recommendations.
We’re constantly traveling around Costa Rica to update our content to bring you the latest information, as much as possible.
We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy writing them!
- Costa Rica COVID-19: Information about coronavirus in Costa Rica.
- Costa Rica destinations map: We put together a map with all our guides and articles.
- Costa Rica restaurant map: We know finding a place to eat is one of the toughest things when traveling internationally. Use our map for our personal recommendations!
- Guides. Find our guides to popular destinations like Tamarindo, Monteverde, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio and Jaco.
- Costa Rica travel tips. Everything from what to pack, traveling safely, traveling on a budget, renting a car and more.
- Adventure. You can read all about our favorite adventures in Costa Rica like white water rafting, canyoning, and ziplining.
- Itineraries. We plan a lot of trips for our families and friends and this is what Yeison did for many years when he used to work for a travel agency.
- Discounts. We have partnerships with companies in Costa Rica to give discounts for hotels, tours and transportation. Click here to get our Costa Rica travel discounts. We want to help you not just have a great time in Costa Rica, but save some money doing so!
Our main goal for the blog is to help visitors experience Costa Rica with confidence so that everyone has a fun, safe and worry free time in Costa Rica.
We write every single one of our posts with that in mind.
What sets up apart from other Costa Rica travel blogs
There are a lot of influencers and blogs about Costa Rica and some of them have good information, some don’t.
But something most don’t have is the local perspective since they are all mostly written by foreigners who visited Costa Rica only once, or some are here temporarily.
Nothing wrong with that of course!
BUT since Costa Rica is such a touristic country, it can be hard to find that local flavor with continuously updated information that doesn’t sound like regurgitated or copied information.
Since we live here and travel throughout Costa Rica all the time, we’re always updating our blog posts with the sole purpose of helping our readers in mind.
Additionally, we love seeking out the lesser known places and sharing that with those who enjoy off the beaten path adventures.
We are also always updating our blog posts and guides to bring you the most updated and relevant information possible.
You will find a lot of local tips and perspectives on our site that you won’t really find on other blogs.
We decided to focus heavily on bringing that Costa Rican flavor to our blog since we want to make sure every visitor leaves with amazing memories and experiences of Costa Rica.
We constantly update Mytanfeet to bring you the latest information as we personally visit the places ourselves and add more personal tips, more recommendations and more stories every single day.
All photos, videos and blog posts were created and produced by us.
This project is a dream come true for us and because Costa Rica is our home, Mytanfeet will be around for a long time.
Mytanfeet is a registered Costa Rican travel consulting company based in Guanacaste. Mytanfeet LLC is registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel, Registration NO. ST44660.
Join Our Mytanfeet Family!
Feel free to connect with us via our social media channels. You can join our Facebook and Instagram. You can also sign up to the Mytanfeet mailing list to get our monthly and weekly newsletters.
For advertisers or businesses, you can check our Work with us page to learn more.
We also rescued two dogs and you can read about our first dog, Patacon here!
We travel internationally a lot and started a second website dedicated to our travels outside Costa Rica. Check it out on Mytanfeet-travels!
Noreen says
Hello Sammi!
Amazing blog site I stumbled upon! You wouldn’t believe how many hours I have into researching Costa Rica. My husband and 2 daughters will be arriving in early June for a 2 week stay and reading your blog has been so helpful. We are flying into San Jose but want to stay in the Guanacaste area and don’t arrive until 7pm. We are trying to figure out if we want to rent a car or use a shuttle. If we choose a car rental do you think we need 4wd? Any recommendations would be great! We are also contemplating staying 1 night in San Jose just so that we aren’t driving in the dark for 5 hours after traveling from Washington to San Jose (12 hours)! We are so looking forward to this much needed family vacation before our oldest starts College.
-Noreen
Sammi says
Hi Noreen, I’m glad the blog has been helpful. You don’t really need a 4wd for Guanacaste, unless you plan to go down to the Nosara/Ostional area but if you’re staying in like Tamarindo/Gulf of Papagayo/Samara areas, you don’t need a 4wd. I agree, you should definitely stay a night in San Jose because the drive from San Jose to Guanacaste is around 4-5 hours so it’s super long after an already long travel day. You can read more about renting a car here: Costa Rica car rental tips and get our car rental discount here: Costa Rica car rental discount
As for renting a car, I highly recommend it in Guanacaste, especially if you want to explore, be more comfortable and have more flexibility with your family. It’s the best way to get around Guanacaste and see more of the area because without a car, you’ll be stuck relying on taxis and shuttles which only go to the touristic areas.
Peter says
My wife and I will be visiting Costa Rica next February and I came across your website today. What a wealth of information you are providing here! Thank you both very much for all the info. I found many useful tips and even practised some Spanish survival phrases….:) Muchas gracias!
Sammi says
Hi Peter, we’re so glad to hear that 🙂 Our goal of the blog is to help everyone have a safe and stress free trip to Costa Rica so we are glad that the blog has been helpful! Gracias por leer nuestro blog!
Julie Picardi says
Hello Sammi,
Love your blog as we are planning a trip for bird/animal photography in December 2018. We have limited time…wondering if there is a location where we can see Keel Billed or Black Mandibled Toucan AND Scarlet Macaw. Any suggestions? Thanks! Julie Picardi, Franktown, CO
Sammi says
Hi Julie! There really isn’t anywhere where you can see all three. You can see Great Green macaws and both toucans on the Caribbean side though but for Scarlet Macaws, they are most common in the Osa Peninsula and South Pacific where the Keel billed toucans are not. You can see the Scarlet Macaws, black mandibled toucan and the fiery aracari in the South Pacific.
Ashlea says
Just stumbled upon this and had to chime in – check out Carrara National Park, it’s rarely crowded… close to Tarcoles (Jose’s Croc Tour is also great for animals and photography)… but this park is one of the greatest hubs for birds in all of CR and all you are looking for can be found there. 🙂
Tina says
Hi Sammi! My family is traveling to Dominical in July! Thank you for all of your articles they have been very helpful. What can you tell me about Dominical and the beaches near by! Are they safe? Have you stayed in Dominical? Any reccommendations?
Sammi says
Hi Tina, we have written a couple posts that will help a lot: Things to do in Uvita and Dominical and Dominical Costa Rica guide. Glad you enjoy the blog and thanks for reading!
Sammi says
Hi Wendy! For a family friendly place in Manuel Antonio, we personally love Tulemar. They have houses and bungalows so you have all the comforts of home, you can cook since you have a kitchen and they have a 24 hour concierge which is really nice. The property has a couple pools, their own beach and SO much wildlife (plus the exclusive Sloth walk with the sloth institute). It really has everything!
We stayed there a couple months ago and you can read our post on it here: Tulemar
Wendy says
Hola Sammi and Yeison!
I stumbled upon your blog last year and it’s encouraged us to take an extended family vacation in CR. We’re from Toronto/San Francisco and now we are here for 2 months! 🙂 We have most of our itinerary planned except for our final week… are you able to recommend a nice family-friendly place to stay in and around Manuel Antonio? We will already be visiting Jaco and flying out from SJO airport.
Thank you for all the amazing content and suggestions! Pura vida!
John phine says
Both of you are so darn charming. I am making a trip to Costa Rica in a month surprisingly with my children and mother. Remaining in Playa Hermosa, however, plan to visit Playas del Coco a couple of times while there. Anticipating utilizing your blog as an asset!
Sammi says
Thanks John! Have a great time in Costa Rica!
Hari says
What place did you take the last picture? The one where you both are in water?
Any recommendations for clear water beaches in Guanacaste region?
Sammi says
THat was taken at the San Blas Islands in Panama. For clear water beaches, Conchal is a great option but most of the clearest water beaches or the prettiest beaches are in the Gulf of Papagayo and are boat access only.
Helen (from NYC) says
I love your blog. I am a 73 yr. old traveler. Love seeing animal,birds,new people and places. Wish I would have had your spirit of adventure years ago. Found your site looking for places I can see sloths. Love your story and how you are thoroughly living life. I also bird watch and wow what gorgeous birds in Costa Rico. I travel alone(can’t find others to come with me) and want to find a good tour for people in my age group but I don’t want to spend a fortune, any suggestions?
Look forward to following your adventurous journeys.
Sammi says
Hi Helen, thanks for reading our blog and glad it’s helpful : ) For tours, we have gone with Costa Rica Monkey Tours before and they have several pre-set tours and they have some good deals, they have a couple on Groupon that’s good value.
Tammy says
Helen-
You inspire me!! I love travel and adventure and I sure hope I am healthy enough to enjoy it at 73, too!! I am so happy you enjoy it alone!! I love to travel with my husband, but also can enjoy solo, too. I hope you keep living life to the fullest.
Sammi- just starting your blog, enjoying every minute so far. Cannot wait to dive deeper!! Thanks for your time and sharing your life!!
Sammi says
Hi Tammy! I’m so glad you like the blog! Thank you for reading and glad that you find it useful! 🙂
Danielle says
Hi Sammi,
Thank you for your blog . I’ve been visiting some ex-pat websites for CR and they’re ummm not good . They don’t reveal what I’m seeking. We are still youngish and want to retire in CR. We visited Guanacaste and stayed at Casa Conde. We traveled with Tico’s and we want to escape a life of materialism , war, politics here in New York. I couldn’t find cost of rentals and couldn’t find real ex- pat life. I’m told Pura Vida life can be lived at 1,500 US dollars per month realistically ( commensurate to living on Long Island) is this true ? I grew up in NYC so I don’t want to live in a city – or on the beach. It’s nature and all things natural that I love. I don’t want to live to isolated as a gringa, as one quote said, ” this ex pat website makes you want to live under the bed with a gun.” Guanacaste didn’t strike me like that and I wasn’t sure what ex Pat community they spoke of. We would like to feel security as we live in a village now and it is one of the safest places to live . Can you guide us in our dream to live in beauty and peace in CR. I love the U.S. but I relate better with the CR mindfulness and nature. Any pointers? You are probably half my age but I relate completely . My dream is to practice healing arts through botany and the Solar Body Method. Maybe I will begin helping others heal naturally. That’s the dream.
Sofia says
Hi Danielle! I came accross this blog by coincidence. I’m Costa Rican living abroad. I recommend to research a few places in Guanacaste (Bagaces, Fortuna, Guayabo) those are little villages that are not so touristy, with basic services around and close to nature. You can also try the vecinity to Rio Celeste and Volcan Tenorio (Bijagua, Rio Naranjo). I have extended family in their 50s that moved there from abroad and seem happy. Also Ive seen Nuevo Arenal looks nice. Other bigger towns you might like are Atenas, San Rafael de Heredia, Coronado.
Hope it is useful 🙂