faithie

Arrived home in the wee hours of the morning from our 11 day trip to Costa Rica . It was my 3 trip , but the first trip back in 10 yrs. , the first time being 13 yrs. ago. We had decided VERY last minute to change our anniversary trip from Tortola to Costa Rica , and bring the kids with us !!! This was not a touring trip , more of a soak in the surroundings , see the animals kind of trip . It was perfect . Besides my initial shock , and a little sadness at the changes that have occurred in 10 yrs. I realized the incredible beauty has not changed . Just a few , once a little more pristine views have been marred by oddly placed aircraft and the like . So , after grumbling about the inevitable changes , I began enjoying the tropical splendor that is Manuel Antonio and area . we did stay at Costa Verde in the end , and it is a great place to stay with kids . We did see tons of animal life , both at the hotel and at the beach . we visited quite a few other places , Villas Nicholas still a really great spot , Tulemar Bungalows looked great , but we found for the price , location , restaurants Costa Verde was our best bet . we ate at Karolas (yum !!!), Plinios (good), El gato Negro (good )Barba Roja (ok, simply ok because a new owner had re-opened only 2 days before , I am sure it will be great once again ! )In truth we found the restaurants Anaconda and La Cantina VERY good , with reasonable prices . Did not eat at the airplane , more grumbling !!! We spent quite a few days wandering down the road past Makanda and the now very tall Mariposa to Beisanz Beach , one of my favourite places , ahhhh..... the beach , the views ..... On the return trip we would stop at Cafe Milagro for yummy treats , and cool drinks before catching the local bus back to our pool . we found the buses very convenient and used them a lot . The kids were amazed , and the first few days freaking out with the incredible abundance of wildlife , allready trying to figure out a way to get back ! Faith

Lauralis

Thanks for the nice trip report! What was your take on Makanda? Did it look nice and what about the location? Can you walk to stuff? We'll be going there is March of '05. Also, where exactly is Beisanz beach? Just a suggestion, you may want to post this under the Costa Rica section of the board as well. I think it's just under Latin America in general.

faithie

We did visit Makanda for old times sake . Actually ended up on there grounds while lost , now that was a hike ! We stayed there 10 yrs. ago on our honeymoon , we loved it , although the wide open concept has changed a bit due to air co . No kids allowed and now a great new restaurant . You can walk to La Mansion Inn , La Mariposa , Cafe Milagro , Barba Roja , To name a few , we did it with kids , 6 and 8 . Beisanz Beach is at the bottom of this same road close to El Parador . 13 yrs ago I hung out with jessie Beisanz , the owners son . ( while there ) The location of Makanda is great , central to a lot of cool spots , remember the buses are great . Take a peek at Mangoe Moon , it looked really , really intimate with lots of ambience . On the same road . I will try to put this under Costa Rica . , Thanx ! Happy to answer any questions , Faith .

Iza

Thanks for the report. We "discovered" Biesanz beach during one of our trips a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it too!

trevorjoyce

We also walked to that beach...a little further than we expected, but well worth it. I think it may have been because Iza mentioned it at some point! Joyce

faithie

Ahhhh ..... daydreaming of that beach , I have the back to reality blues !!! You can see great shots of Beisanz Beach on the website for Mariposa . Sweet torture .... Faith

hgraham

Faith: Thanks for your trip report. My husband and I will be staying at the Costa Verde in December. Do they have hair dryers? We're trying to pack light! (I guess I can email and ask them!) We are staying in the adult building as that was all that was available and it doesn't have air conditioning. Hope it works out. We wish we were taking our kids now after reading about everyone's experiences. It sounds like they would have had a great time. It will be our first trip to Costa Rica. We won't have a car so is the Costa Verde close enough to the beaches and restaurants to walk??

tully

I'm not faithie but no, Costa Verde doesn't have hairdryers in the rooms. I brought a mini, light weight one from Target ($10) & it worked fine.

Thanks for the trip report faithie, sounds like you had a great time.