Costa Rica 2023: Cooking vs Eating Out

Why did we decide to do so much cooking on a holiday?

Here are a few reasons why we ate in far fewer restaurants and did far more cooking this time in Costa Rica.

I know not everyone feels this way, but I've found most of the restaurant food in Costa Rica mediocre and I dislike spending time waiting for a meal that is expensive and just not that great.

All of our accommodations were in beautiful settings and often it just didn't make sense to leave the comfort of our lovely places for a restaurant.

Because we had a kitchen in four out of the six places we stayed, it was easy to meal plan and shop from one place to the next

The final reason, and probably the biggest reason, is that we were four adults who all pitched in and were happy to shop, cook and clean up. It wasn't a scenario where one exhausted Mom, who really needed a holiday from food prep, was having to look after everything.

In the end, we saved a lot of money and were able to make food to our own tastes.

Because we were sharing food costs with another couple, I took a picture of each grocery receipt for accounting purposes and thought it would be fun to show them.

I don't know if what we spent reflects everyday reality. We were often shopping in heavily touristed towns and chose grocery stores that were convenient and that we were familiar with. Though we did seek out produce stores where possible, we didn't shop at any Farmer's Markets.

Automercado in Alajuela. A nice grocery store with lots of imported items but EXPENSIVE.

Max y Menos in Tejar near San Jose

Walmart in Perez Zeledon

Produce market in Perez Zeledon. It definitely pays to shop at the produce markets - 6 avocados for $3

The BM grocery store in Uvita

BM grocery store in Uvita. We discover sour cream and onion Yaquitas

Santa Fe grocery in Drake Bay. Food prices were a little higher in Drake Bay and the selection was limited. Because of this, we had more restaurant dinners while in Drake Bay than anywhere else.