One Great Trip with Lydia Hirt

Pickleballing in Guanacaste, Costa Rica with the CMO of CityPickle

Last week, I asked how you chose your last travel destination, and half of you said advice from friends. So with that in mind, welcome to One Great Trip, where I’m asking a cool and curious traveler to share a recent memorable trip — including some of the best things they ate, drank, and did — to help inspire your own travels.

Cocktails in coconuts; Lydia (R) playing pickleball; La Leona Waterfall adventure (Courtesy of Lydia Hirt)

Lydia Hirt first encountered pickleball while on vacation with family in Florida, and after a few sets she was hooked. She brought her new passion for the fast-growing court sport back home to New York, where she joined a league and eventually left her job as the Director of Marketing and Partnerships for the Viking and Penguin imprints at Penguin Random House to become the CMO at CityPickle, a premier pickleball lifestyle brand and NYC’s only indoor pickleball clubs.

So far in her new role, she’s helped transform Central Park’s Wollman Rink into a seasonal pickleball haven, taught the team at Good Morning America the proper serving technique, and just rang the opening bell at Nasdaq on behalf of CityPickle.

I met Lydia while she was working at Penguin and I was working on an interview for the Goodreads newsletter with Liane Moriarty, one of the authors she was supporting at the time, about her then-new book Big Little Lies. (Lydia has also worked with Adam Grant, Bozoma Saint John, and Elizabeth Gilbert.) We were instant friends — she’s a laser-focused, powerhouse marketer and supremely thoughtful human, plus such a ray of positive energy and light she’s like walking sunshine — and besides bonding over books, we also frequently talk travel.

Her trips tend toward beachy locales and warmer climates, and I’m obsessed with the “sister trip” she and her sister Meredith take each year (they’ve been to Oaxaca City, Paris, Rome, and Florence, among other far flung destinations.)

Just a few weeks ago, she rang in the New Year in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Read on for some of her favorite moments of the trip, including an adrenaline-fueled waterfall hike, drinks and dinner served in coconuts, and of course, where to play pickleball with epic views of the lush tropical landscape.

The pickleball courts at Club Eldorado (Courtesy of Lydia Hirt)

Where: Guanacaste, Costa Rica

I had the pleasure of traveling to Guanacaste, Costa Rica with three friends from New York City the week over New Years. We referred to it as a “Friend Moon.” We all play pickleball, and were invited by some other friends who are opening Club Eldorado, with eight beautiful pickleball courts, two clay tennis courts and an entire fitness center, steps from the beach. (Follow Club Eldorado on Instagram here).

Arrived by: Direct flight from NYC to Liberia

Clocking in at under six hours, it’s closer than California.

Stayed: A home in Mar Vista and Hotel Borinquen Thermal Resort

The highlight of our stay was in an incredible home in the Mar Vista community, with an infinity pool overlooking the bay and the perfect sunset venue, and only a quick jaunt down rolling hills to the pickleball courts (though climbing back up is another thing!)

It was also in a great area for local exploration. We were only ten minutes away from Playa Flamingo, a lively and newer area with fun restaurants as well as Playa Potrero, with beaches frequented by locals and some fun beach bars. Tamarindo, the popular surfing beach, was under an hour.

We also enjoyed a brief stay at Hotel Borinquen Thermal Resort up in the mountains. This remote spot has three natural hot springs of varying temperature and heated mud you can self-apply. We enjoyed it, though it is quite remote and closes down early. Definitely more of an adventure destination than social and nightlife.

Adventured: La Leona Waterfall; Pickleball on the courts at Club Eldorado

The most Costa Rican experience we had was an epic adventure day, including a river rafting tour and a challenging and rewarding waterfall hike that included scrambling over steep rocks and wading through streams. To get to the waterfall we even had to pull ourselves on a rope against the current in deep water - it felt like we were on a fancier version of Survivor, but we absolutely loved it. The tour guides were great - book your adventure here.

I am an unabashed lover of pickleball, and to get to meet and mingle with the existing community there was really special. Club Eldorado hosted a pickleball event for charity on New Year’s Day and it was another highlight of the trip.

Ate: Gracia in Mar Vista; Coco Loco in Playa Flamingo

We enjoyed fresh fish daily. The ceviche was incredible. We took a boat out one day and my friend Joey reeled in a tuna that a shack cooked for us on the beach. 

We went to the local Mar Vista restaurant Gracia for both lunch and dinner. There’s a pool on property that you can frolic in while dining - it felt a bit like Soho Beach House. The mango smoothie and their cocktails are all perfection.

Coco Loco in Playa Flamingo lived up to its name: We dined right on the beach and at one point during the meal, I had their signature cocktail and fish dish, each served in an individual coconut.