I’m a 27-year-old female Tech Sales professional, and I love to travel to new places whenever I get the chance! Writing this quick post to share the incredible experience I recently had working in Costa Rica (facilitated in large part by Olas Verdes Hotel) in case other people are thinking about testing out the digital nomad lifestyle!

After months of WFH monotony and zoom fatigue, my friend and I decided it was time for a quick escape.

When thinking about where we might want to spend a week or two working remotely, our main criteria were:

1) Reliable Wi-Fi // remote work setup to make sure our routine & productivity wouldn’t be disrupted

2) A culture and environment that would allow us to *safely* adventure and explore during our time away from the screen 3) A country with strong and organized Covid-19 measures in place.

After speaking with our networks, we landed on Costa Rica and Olas Verdes Hotel, in a town name Nosara, where we were able to stay and work for half of our trip. Our experience working remotely at Olas Verdes was more positive than we ever could have imagined.

The Wi-Fi ran smoothly without a single glitch, and there were plenty of nooks to hunker down and zone into a zoom call or emailing session. Not to mention, the sounds of monkeys and birds instead of headphone noise was a welcomed addition to the work environment!

During our time in Nosara, we only had one small travel snafu when a friend was stuck at the Airport due to bridge closures after a massive flood. Paulina from the OV front desk immediately quelled our concerns when she took swift control of the situation and came up with a rather creative plan (involving multiple modes of transportation and some local networking!)

Our friend felt so well taken care of and even arrived at the hotel ahead of schedule. To top off the logistical success of our remote work week, the Olas Verdes staff (and Nosara locals) truly couldn’t have been warmer and more welcoming.

The most noteworthy takeaway for me though was how tight the Costa Rican people & government were around Covid 19— whether we found ourselves in a boutique hotel, a national park or even a small village market, everyone wore a mask (imagine that!), hand sanitizer was available around every corner, and routine temperature checks were administered upon entry.

Given the negative impact that stunted tourism has had on most economies in tropical spots, it felt like Costa Rica was prepared and eager to reopen after successfully managing the virus within their own borders.

Yes, traveling during Covid is a bit scary and surreal, especially the whole wearing a mask on a plane thing. And yes, no doubt the virus is deadly and is nothing to be taken lightly.

But, having experienced such a smooth execution that made me feel safe, not only for myself/my friends, but for everyone else we encountered (from a social distance!!), I’m so happy we made the decision to visit Nosara in Costa Rica.

I view our experience as 1) A sign that if handled appropriately, the digital nomad experience can be scaled in Costa Rica and become a new approach to tourism in the country and 2) An opportunity for those who feel stuck in the dull vortex of pandemic life to inject some fresh perspective and creativity into their work routine!

We recognize how privileged we are to have had the chance to travel at all, and for that we are immensely grateful.