A Quiet Island Escape in Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya

A three-hour journey and a short boat ride from my home in Costa Rica took me somewhere that felt much farther away. Isla Jesusita sits in the Gulf of Nicoya near Paquera, surrounded by forested hills, calm water and small islands crowded with birds. I went there for two nights at Isla Chiquita Glamping Hotel, expecting a comfortable little escape. What I found was one of those places where the surroundings quickly became more important than the accommodation.My arrival was gray, misty and cooler than I expected. I had pictured bright tropical sunshine, but the hills were wrapped in clouds and the Gulf had an almost rainforest feel. I immediately wished I had packed a light jacket. A few hours later, the rain stopped and the sky produced one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in Costa Rica. By the next morning, the water was calm and the sun was shining. I liked the changeability of it. Nothing felt staged. The island seemed to shift with the weather. The setting reminded me of Tsowa Safari Island, a tented camp where I stayed on the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls. Obviously, the Gulf of Nicoya is very different from the Zambezi, but the feeling was remarkably similar. In both places, I felt as though I was staying inside the landscape rather than looking at it from a conventional hotel. My air-conditioned canvas tent was comfortable without separating me from what was happening outside. I could hear the sounds of the island, walk down to the water within minutes and spend much of the day outdoors. The property is small enough that it never felt crowded during my stay, which became one of the things I appreciated most. The beach itself is not the kind of broad white-sand beach people often picture when they think about Costa Rica. It is smaller and quieter, and I found myself paying attention to things I might normally have walked past. At low tide, for example, the wet sand was covered with elaborate flower- and fern-like patterns created by tiny crabs feeding beneath the surface. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. Once I realized what was making them, I kept stopping to examine the patterns. There is also a forest trail through the island. I had intended to explore it, but after the rain, I took one look at the mud, exposed roots and steeper sections and reconsidered. I had brought water shoes rather than proper walking shoes, so the beach won. It was a good reminder that glamping does not necessarily mean every part of the experience is manicured. One of my favorite parts of the stay was actually how little I felt I needed to do. I slept incredibly well. One morning, I woke around five to the sound of howler monkeys somewhere in the distance and stayed in bed listening to them for a while. Eventually, I wandered down for breakfast and spent much of the morning simply enjoying the water and the quiet. That pace worked particularly well for me as a solo traveler. There was enough privacy that I could disappear with a book or walk by myself, but I never felt isolated. The excursions provided natural opportunities to meet other people without requiring me to organize my trip around a group. I met a couple from Austin on a sunset cruise through the Gulf. As we traveled among the small islands and rocky shoreline, we watched frigatebirds circling overhead, large groups of birds filling the trees and bright red crabs clinging to the rocks. Then the sky began to change. Orange, pink and lavender spread across the water while the islands became dark silhouettes. Every few minutes, the colors shifted again. I have lived in Costa Rica long enough to know that the country does spectacular sunsets very well, but this one was exceptional. Later that evening, we went back onto the water for a bioluminescence excursion. We were given nets to move through the water, triggering flashes of light from the tiny organisms below the surface. The glowing water was fascinating, but what surprised me just as much was the sky. Away from the brighter lights, the stars were spectacular. For a few minutes, there was light above me and light below me. That was probably my favorite moment of the trip. The Gulf of Nicoya does not always get the attention given to Costa Rica’s more famous beach destinations. That may be part of its appeal. From the water, the landscape feels less like a beach resort corridor and more like a collection of islands, forest, fishing communities and stretches of undeveloped coastline. It also felt refreshingly uncrowded. There were no lines, no packed beaches and none of the sense that everyone was competing for the same photograph. The experience was quieter and more intimate than that. For travelers interested in making a similar trip, Isla Chiquita is located on Isla Jesusita near Paquera. Guests arriving from the Guanacaste side travel by road to a mainland meeting point at Punta Cuchillos, where a small hotel boat provides the final transfer to the island. The boat ride is short, but it creates a definite psychological break between the mainland and the stay. My two-night air-conditioned tent stay, including breakfast, cost $460. My share of the sunset cruise and bioluminescence excursion brought my accommodation-and-activity total to a little over $556 before additional meals, drinks and incidentals. Those were the prices during my November 2026 visit and should be checked directly before planning a trip. I would also pack differently next time. Comfortable walking shoes would make the forest trail much more practical, particularly during the rainy season, and I would bring a light sweater or jacket. Costa Rica may be tropical, but an evening on the water after rain can feel surprisingly cool. I would return, but not because Isla Jesusita offers a checklist of things to do. In fact, almost the opposite was true. What I enjoyed was waking to monkeys, watching the tide expose tiny signs of life on the beach, seeing islands filled with birds and sitting on the water as the sky changed color. It gave me the scenery and solitude I wanted, but enough interaction with other travelers that being there alone never felt lonely. Sometimes a short trip does not need to be packed with activities to feel like an adventure. Sometimes it is enough to go somewhere quiet and pay attention. About the Author Jennifer Pietrzak-Wahl is a retired technology executive and solo traveler living in Costa Rica. She writes about independent travel, immersive experiences and the practical realities of exploring the world later in life. Her travels have taken her from safari camps in Africa to the Scottish Highlands and islands throughout the Caribbean, with a particular interest in experiences that combine culture, nature and a strong sense of place.