Shonda

I'm re-posting this to be specifically Costa Rica instead of just Latin America.

Author: Shonda
Date: 01/12/2004, 01:13 am
Message: Hi,

I've flagged Ally because she seems to be very CR beach savvy, but if there is anyone else reading this who can help I would appreciate it.

I am still trying to finalize my honeymoon itinerary for CR and am not sure about a few beach days.

It will be June 7, 8 and 9.

Originally I was thinking Manuel Antonio because it really seems like a must see?. The more I was thinking about it, and after talking with my fiancé, I think we may be more interested a less touristy place. There seem to be a couple beaches that are still cool and somewhat undiscovered by the masses.

Monteverde and MalPais/ Santa Teresa.

What is you opinion of these two places. (Or is there another that you would recommend?)
It is a honeymoon so we are looking for romance, beauty, relaxation... If we felt like doing anything other than relaxing, it might be snorkeling/scuba.

According to Frommer?s, the place to stay in Mal Pais is Flor Blanca Resort and in Montezuma it is El Sano Banano Beach Hotel.

Also, we will be coming from Monteverde, driving. Is it too brutal of a drive? Or do you think Manuel Antonio is great?

Sorry for this lengthy post, I will appreciate any feedback.

Thank you!!!

Ally

I've not been to Motezuma. That hotel you mention is not on the beach. They do have a couple of beach bungalows, but they are a 10 minute walk down a 'path' to get to them so if you decided to stay there you will certainly need a flash light to get into town to eat at night. Personally, Montezuma is more of a 'hippy backpackers' place and I'd not go there for a honeymoon.....unless your the Hippie backpacker type!
I LOVE Mal Pais. Very small town and very little 'tourist'. And very pretty with the vegetation going almost all the way to the water. This town does attract surfers, so there are plenty restaurants to try for a few days. Flor Blanca would be perfect for a honeymoon...if you can afford it! It's NOT cheap. For less money, you should look at the Hotel Milarepa. For even less, we stayed at Tropico Latino and liked it. I have heard they have a couple of brand new rooms that are actually beachfront that you may want to look into. The only thing about Mal Pais is that you will not find the variety of activities that are in and close to MA. But, you WILL find a couple hotels on the beach, which you won't find in MA. In Mal Pais, there is a surf camp that is quite fun at night with pool table, and other games.
As for the drive, it would be an eaiser drive to MA, that's for sure. After leaving Monteverde (which is the worse road by far) you will have to drive to the ferry. It takes about an hour to an hour and 1/2 to cross the bay. After that, the roads will not be paved for most of the trip but are not as bad as the road to/from Monteverde. It will take most of the day, if not all day to make this trip so you'd have to leave early, but there is some stunning scenery along the way. It's too hard for me to pick one over the other as they are both great but so different!

lisabel

I thought i'd add my two cents on montezuma, malpais. we stayed in both on a recent trip in early December, and we LOVED the sano banano. Luckily, when we arrived they had a bungalow available- they drive you about 5 minutes down the beach with your luggage, give you a flashlight and after that you're on your own. The walk back to town would take us 10-15 minutes each time, but it was a wonderful experience. We ended up staying a couple of extra nights because we enjoyed it so much. and the pool is unbelievable.
in malpais, we stayed at the blue jay lodge, which although not on the beach was within walking distance. it was a nice place to stay, but we had lunch at tropico latino one day and that seemed a more private, "beachy" environment. Can't say enough about both of these places, you're going to have a fantastic time.

Shonda

Thank you both Ally and Lisabel.

I am not a 'hippie backpacker' so I think I will now have to decide between MA and Mal Pais. I have a feeling that Costa Rica will be a place we will return to, so maybe next trip we can check out Montezuma.
I was thinking that maybe we could drive to Mal Pais from Monteverde, have our car there with us for a few days in case we want to voyage to neighboring areas, then fly back to San Jose from Tambor. Have you ever done this? I know one way flights are about $66.00. I am assuming that there will be a place to drop our car off. I though this way we wont lose too much time driving.
Maybe we should just do MA so we don't have to worry about too much driving and the additional flight.
Ahh, if only all my problems in life were about which beach in Costa Rica to choose from.
Thanks for your help

Shonda

Flor Blanca looks so beautiful, but a bit too pricey.
Is Hotel Milarepa much nicer than Tropico Latino? It is hard to tell from the websites. Has anyone stayed in the new bungalows at Tropico Latino? If so, how was it? It looks like they are only $66!! Do they each have their own private bathrooms? Tubs?

Thanks

Ally

I would say that yes, Milarepa would be much nicer than the standard garden rooms at Tropico Latino, but I've not seen there new ocean view bungalows so I sure hope we hear from someone who's stayed in one...or even just seen them! The idea of flying out of Tambor is nice, but you should check with the car rental place to see how much extra it will cost to leave the car somewhere other than where you got it. It may cost a lot more! Let me know what you find out!

maslow

We also went to CR for our honeymoon. We stayed near Manuel Antonio at Makanda by the Sea. Wonderful place to stay. The staff was incredible, the pool beautiful, and it is near La Barba Roja -- which has the best nachos EVER! It is situated btw MA and the small town of Quepos. We walked to both and took cabs when we were tired (or hot!).
We found the beaches in MA gorgeous. Great hikes through the park as well. Saw lots of monkeys and sloths. I did not find it to be too touristy, but have not traveled anywhere else in CR.

My next trip there I would love to go to Arenal and to the Osa pennisula.

Shonda

Thanks maslow

It sounds like I can't go wrong with either place. I have heard so many amazing reviews about Makanda by the Sea. Have you ever been or heard anything about La Mansion in MA?
I may have to just flip a coin. With some places or activities, there are unanimous opinions about the best or the worst, but people who know both MA and MalPais, love them both!

I?m tempted to do Manuel Antonio and stay at Makanda by the Sea because it is our honeymoon. Then, go back and do the little rustic bungalows on the beach.

Ally

Hum...I thought you only had 3 beach days? I don't know how you'd squeeze in a stay at Makanda and the more 'rustic' bungalows on the beach...unless you're talking about a different trip?
As for Makanda or La Mansion. I had dinner one night at Makanda and it is lovely and it get's very, very high remarks from honeymooners that have stayed there, but WOW! I just saw the pictures on the web site for La Mansion and was blown away!...except for the pictures that showed too many people around the pool area. HA!

Shonda

Ally,
Sorry I didn't make myself clear in my last post. I think since we will be on our honeymoon, MA may be the better choice.

We will have to do another vacation to Costa Rica at another time so we can do the bungalows on the beach.

La Mansion looks so great doesn't it!

Has anyone stayed at La Mansion and Makanda by the Sea?? If so, how do they compare??

I may enter a separate post into the forum to help me decide.