mad

any recommendations for good restaurants in the monteverde area?

Suzie2

Most of the restaurants in Monteverde are hotel based. You might have to check with the hotels to see if you can eat at them. I found the food at the Heliconia to be very good (and was not staying there at the time). Johnny's Pizza is good. Stellas Bakery for lunch is delicious. There are a couple of small tico style restaurants in town that I didn't find the food to be particularly good at.

mad

Thanks for the info.- greatly appreciated. You seem to be very knowledgeable about CR in general. If you have a chance, would you mind reviewing my itinerary and let me know if you think it's ok. Thanks! We leave in three weeks!

- arrive SJ mid-afternoon- overnight at Le Bergerac
- depart early morning for osa peninsula -3 nights at bosque del cabo
- arrive mid-afternoon to SJ, rent a 4 x 4 and drive to arenal (2 nights at arenal paraiso)
- drive to monteverde (2 nights at pico a pico)
-drive to airport for a late afternoon flight home.
any thoughts and/or suggestions along the way would be greatly appreciated!

Suzie2

Haven't stayed at LeBergerac but it looks like a lovely place. We don't stay in San Jose much anymore so am only familiar with areas and a few hotels. Have driven through the Embassy area and it looks nice.
Bosque del Cabo is one of my favorite places in all of CR. No argument there.
Do be careful with your weight if flying with Travel Air. Their planes seem to be smaller so have less wiggle room for extra pounds than Sansa. Their flights are more convenient though, for me, so I use them most of the time. The flight can be bumpy when you take off. There are winds that come through the central valley. On the way back you will fly over all of Corcovado Park and Manuel Antonio so take a peek. I have had some beautiful views of king vultures while flying over there. Shortly after MA you will turn back into the central valley and it will get bumpy again for a few minutes. I am just telling you this, not to scare you, but to keep you from getting scared. I hate the bumps but now that I know what to expect I don't get terrified.
Have not stayed at Poco a Poco but it looks like the kind of place I would stay in. I much prefer to stay in more costa rican type places when possible. It is fairly new and I was taking spanish classes last time I was up there so stayed further up the road. The location is very good. That little street is quiet but close enough to walk into town easily.
Do let us know how those hotels worked out. People are always asking about good or bad places to stay in different area.

Suzie2

PS I will just miss being at Bosque at the same time you are there. We are heading over to the Caribbean slope (La Selva) and then taking a boat up to Nicaragua for a few days before heading down to Bosque. We leave in 3 weeks also.

mad

thanks so much Suzie! You're incredibly helpful. I heard the flights are a bit bumpy (we're taking sansa), so I'll just hold my breathe til we get there! last question, at Bosque they have a hike to corcavado- is it worth it to go, or is there enough in the immediate area to see? I'm just trying to budget as much as possible and there's so much we want to do. thanks again for your input. sorry we'll just miss you!

Suzie2

Cabo Matapalo is in a wonderful location for seeing the same types of things you would see in Corcovado. Remember, the animals don't know where the park boundries are because there are no fences. The reason we like Bosque so much is that there are so many different options for hiking there. You can just stroll around their grounds on easy walks or there are several different hiking trails going through different types of areas. There are internal trails plus a small canopy platform with denser rainforest. There is a trail going down to the Pacific where you can walk to a waterfall. If Joel (Greenpeace captain who owns a place next door to Bosque called El Remanso) is in town he runs rapelling tours on that waterfall. Rocky beach but some sand.
There is a trail in another direction to the Gulfo Dulce. Not so rocky. there are areas of larger surf there if you want to try surfing. There is also a kayak company down there to go sea kayaking with. Once you get down to the gulf side beach you can get a ride back. Hiking down to the beaches is pretty hot. There are little tiny waterfalls along the way on the Pacific trail that you can wet down with. Someone mentioned that they had trouble with a shore fishing arrangement they made and didn't recommend that. Check with Kim or Phil on this if you do think you might want to try this. They also complained that they didn't get picked up at a prearranged time down there after hiking to the Gulf beach. They could have just gone to the kayak place and had them radio Bosque to come get them. Most communication down there is by radio. Check with Phil or Kim on where the best place would be to radio them from down there if necessary. Kim is pretty honest about the different trips offered. I would be upfront about what you have read regarding the fishing trip and pick up to be sure nothing goes wrong. Without my even asking she said the snorkeling trip really wasn't worth the time or money. To do anything in town is pretty expensive because of the cost of the taxi ride. We did go on a mangrove kayak tour with Escondido Trek and really enjoyed it but that was the only "tour" we took. Didn't feel like we needed any more as there is so much to see at Bosque. We also went to Escondido so we could run down to the pearl of the osa afterwards for lunch. I was going to be staying there after my husband left to go home the next day and wanted to say hi to Toby and Lauren.
The food is very good. A little repetitious for lunch but the smoked tuna sandwiches are very good. Breakfast and dinner are served at little tables on the patio and dinner is served family style and it is fun getting to know the other people. If you really really want to go to the Carate area you could get up very early and catch the colectivo when it goes by with the workers in the morning and catch a ride with them on the way back in the afternoon. There is a little pulpuria at the end of the road where you can get cold drinks. You can buy lunch at the Corcovado tent camp with advance notice that Phil or kim can do. Luna Lodge is a pretty place set back on the Carate River. Pretty waterfalls back there. they are very friendly and more than glad to sell you a cold drink and give you directions to the falls. I am sure Terry would give you a peek at LookOut Inn also. If you decide you want to go on an all day hike around Cabo Matapalo by yourselves you can get boxed lunches with drinks to take from Bosque, just let them know the night before.

mad

wow- great! so much info. I'm going to print this out and bring it with me. Thanks so much for your valued advice. have a great trip!

Suzie2

You too. don't forget to keep your eyes open for whales. They pass by that area at this time of year.

brians

We just returned from a Christmas week trip. My family's favorite restaurnat in Monteverde was Moon Shiva, located next to Stella's Bakery. In addition to great food, Moon Shiva served the best desserts we had on the entire trip.

mad

great- thanks so much for all the suggestions!