If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re the type of traveler who wants to experience the real Costa Rica.
You don’t want to fall into tourist traps, you don’t want to visit over commercialized destinations and feel like you could’ve spent your money elsewhere.
Well, that’s me too. My name is Pia, and I’ve been involved in tourism since I was three years old.
Yep, you read that right!
My father founded a small local rent-a-car in 1990, when tourism wasn’t yet a big economy in Costa Rica. Don’t worry, I’m not going to sell you a rental, but if you are looking for one, you’ll find special discounts throughout my content!
(One of the cool aspects about working alongside my papa for the past 8 years is that we get to travel a lot together for conferences and meetings, and I’ve only grown into being more of a papa’s girl! Photos are one of us in a Vegas conference in 2022, and the other one of him while we were in line for Seattle’s best lobster roll and clam chowder at Pike Place in 2023.)
Growing up in the tourism industry and now working in it for the past eight years, I’ve noticed one thing about travelers coming to Costa Rica: they come to the exact same places and do the exact same activities, which have now turned into just tourist attractions and not particularly authentic experiences.
And, you see, this gets me frustrated because they don’t get to see the real Costa Rica: the Costa Rica that I do get to experience when I plan my getaways, the one that I rejoice in with my friends and family and the usual experiences that I love to support and rave about.
Costa Rica is more than 5-star hotels with fancy cocktails, more than the party vibe in Jacó and Tamarindo, more than an overcrowded day-trip in Manuel Antonio National Park or zip lining in a themed park that was built for mass tourism. Although those experiences can be fulfilling for some, I know that our country has so much more to offer.
For these reasons, and the fact that I absolutely love my country, I birthed a project that helps you find a Costa Rica that nurtures you inside-out: CoolRides. I want to be your guide to discover an off-the-beaten path journey in Costa Rica that helps you see what we, as locals and adventurers, rejoice in. The kind of experiences that we live and think to ourselves: “now this is pura vida”.
