An amazing high adventure vacation in Costa Rica
Apr 29th, 2009, 08:09 PM
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An amazing high adventure vacation in Costa Rica
April 18th. Arrived at the main San Jose airport and cleared customs around 7:30 pm. Our hotel (Le Bergerac – a Fodor’s Choice Hotel) sent a van to pick us up for the 30 minute drive to the hotel. While the hotel restaurant is known to be the best French restaurant in the CR, we were tired and needed a good night’s sleep so we settled for salad and French Onion Soup from room service – definitely one of the best salads and the best French Onion Soup we’d ever had! (Highlights: Convenient pick-up from airport, accommodations, hotel staff, and dinner)
April 19th. Exploradores Outdoors (EO) picked us up at 6:30am for white water rafting of the mighty Rio Pacuare. At approximately 8:30am, we arrived at the exploration center where we were fed a satisfying breakfast and met rafters originating from La Fortuna and another location. We stopped for a terrific lunch along the river and returned to the exploration center where we were transported to La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano location). The white water was exhilarating and the environment was breathtaking. Upon arrival at the hotel (Montana de Fuego – a Fodor’s Choice) we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Although the end of the dry season and the river was relatively tame, we had a terrific time. (Highlights: WWR - Great all around trip – beautiful and exhilarating! A major bonus was the time and money savings of EO’s transportation system – pick-up at our San Jose hotel, drop off at our La Fortuna hotel).
April 20th. Started the day with a fantastic (included with the price of the room) breakfast. The adventure continued with Desfio - Lost Canyon Adventures (Canyoneering). With a group of 3 guides and 5 guests, we repelled down cliffs and beside waterfalls all morning. It was an amazing adventure that concluded with an included lunch and transportation back to our hotel. We relaxed for about an hour before our horseback ride to the base of the volcano (Desfio). The ride was beautiful and the guide and horses were fantastic. We had dinner at the hotel and relaxed in the evening. Hotel Montano de Fuega is set up like a resort with beautiful grounds, in perfect proximity to Arenal, with each room enclosed into their own individual structures. As is common, Arenal was shrouded in clouds and we never saw the top of the volcano. (Highlights: Breakfast, Canyoneering, Horseback ride to the base of Arenal)
April 21st. Another fantastic breakfast at the hotel. Transported to Monteverde (Desfio) by Van, Boat, Horseback and Van – the best way to get from La Fortuna to Monteverde! The van picked us up at the hotel for a short drive to the lake. The boat ride was approximately 30 minutes. Along with a couple from the mid-west, we rode horseback for 2.5 hours (great horses, excellent guide (Nixon), and beautiful country) to the van pick-up point where we were driven to our hotel (Fonda Vela – a Fodor’s Choice). Around 5pm, we were taken to Santa Elena for a guided night tour of the cloud forest. It was a windy evening and the mammals were in hiding. We did see a few sleeping birds, insects and two tarantulas. (Highlights: Mode of transportation between La Fortuna and Monteverde)
April 22nd. Breakfast not included in price of hotel – a rarity in CR! We were transported by the Selvatura transportation service. We selected package #4 (including lunch and guided canopy tour) and spent a full day at the Selvatura ‘park’. The day started with a calm two-hour guided tour of the canopy walkways and was followed by an over-the-top (amazing) 2-3 hour zip-line experience through the canopy. The zip lines were incredible and a must-do for anyone who is reasonably fit and at least a little gutsy. Following lunch, we took the reptile and butterfly garden ‘tours’ and visited the hummingbird garden. Although we enjoyed the day, I’d recommend bringing lunch from the hotel, taking a self-guided canopy tour, do the zip-line and visit the hummingbird garden. We returned home around 5:30 and had a relaxing evening. (Highlights: Canopy Tour and Zip Lines)
April 23rd. We took Interbus for transportation between Monteverde & Manuel Antonio (MA). Although not completely comfortable, our van came with a great driver who stopped when monkeys and sloth were sited along the way. The drive was a little over 4 hours and was a terrific way to see the country. We checked into MA hotel (La Posada Jungle – a Fodor’s choice). La Posada, next to the entrance to the park, is nothing fancy but is the most warm/comfortable place we stayed while in CR. Our host (Mike Auvil) and the wonderful staff made us feel welcome and comfortable during our stay. Hotel staff recommended Marlin’s for lunch and we were not disappointed. The atmosphere was upbeat, food was excellent and prices reasonable. We explored the town and beach that afternoon and evening. That night, we enjoyed good/comfortable dinner and attended movie-night at the hotel. (Highlights: Interbus is a great way to get around CR. Our hotel with gracious host/staff were terrific.)
April 24th. Following a wonderful breakfast (included with the price of the room), we took a guided tour of the park where we saw 2 & 3 toed sloths, howler & white-faced monkeys, crabs, etc… Entry into the park was $10/pp. With a guide costing $20/pp, the experienced felt over-priced ($60 for 2 hours). I recommend touring the park without a guide or join a larger group where the price of the guide is significantly reduced. After separation from the guide, we explored on our own which was very nice. The park was beautiful. It was easy to take a trail and get off by ourselves. We had lunch again at Marlins and did some shopping for souvenirs. We took an Iguana boat tour of the mangrove forest which we felt was a good value. (Highlights: Hotel, Marlins for lunch, Mangrove tour with Iguana Adventures)
April 25th. Morning flight (NatureAir - $70pp) to San Jose. Our flight felt a lot like a Disneyland ride but wasn’t near as much fun. All-in-all, the bumpy 20 minute flight was preferred over a 4 hour drive. We dropped our luggage at the hotel (Pura Vida in Tuetal, Alajuela – not a Fodor’s choice – no phone, no t.v., but a short drive for our 4:30 am arrival at the airport – not sure about the neighborhood as our hotel and rooms were locked up like a prison (no kidding) and 3 large German Sherpards roamed the place). Our driver from the small airport (not the main airport) took us to our hotel ($25), waited and took us to San Jose ($10) and return us to our hotel ($20) after our visit to SJ. While in SJ, we visited the gold museum and shopped at the market place recommended by our driver. The marketplace contains stall after staff of vendors shopping their wares. It made me regret all my purchases up to that point as the prices and quality were far better than anything we saw/purchased anywhere else. (Highlights: Time savings by taking NatureAir between MA & SJ, shopping in the SJ market, our driver in SJ (Daxc))
April 19th. Exploradores Outdoors (EO) picked us up at 6:30am for white water rafting of the mighty Rio Pacuare. At approximately 8:30am, we arrived at the exploration center where we were fed a satisfying breakfast and met rafters originating from La Fortuna and another location. We stopped for a terrific lunch along the river and returned to the exploration center where we were transported to La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano location). The white water was exhilarating and the environment was breathtaking. Upon arrival at the hotel (Montana de Fuego – a Fodor’s Choice) we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Although the end of the dry season and the river was relatively tame, we had a terrific time. (Highlights: WWR - Great all around trip – beautiful and exhilarating! A major bonus was the time and money savings of EO’s transportation system – pick-up at our San Jose hotel, drop off at our La Fortuna hotel).
April 20th. Started the day with a fantastic (included with the price of the room) breakfast. The adventure continued with Desfio - Lost Canyon Adventures (Canyoneering). With a group of 3 guides and 5 guests, we repelled down cliffs and beside waterfalls all morning. It was an amazing adventure that concluded with an included lunch and transportation back to our hotel. We relaxed for about an hour before our horseback ride to the base of the volcano (Desfio). The ride was beautiful and the guide and horses were fantastic. We had dinner at the hotel and relaxed in the evening. Hotel Montano de Fuega is set up like a resort with beautiful grounds, in perfect proximity to Arenal, with each room enclosed into their own individual structures. As is common, Arenal was shrouded in clouds and we never saw the top of the volcano. (Highlights: Breakfast, Canyoneering, Horseback ride to the base of Arenal)
April 21st. Another fantastic breakfast at the hotel. Transported to Monteverde (Desfio) by Van, Boat, Horseback and Van – the best way to get from La Fortuna to Monteverde! The van picked us up at the hotel for a short drive to the lake. The boat ride was approximately 30 minutes. Along with a couple from the mid-west, we rode horseback for 2.5 hours (great horses, excellent guide (Nixon), and beautiful country) to the van pick-up point where we were driven to our hotel (Fonda Vela – a Fodor’s Choice). Around 5pm, we were taken to Santa Elena for a guided night tour of the cloud forest. It was a windy evening and the mammals were in hiding. We did see a few sleeping birds, insects and two tarantulas. (Highlights: Mode of transportation between La Fortuna and Monteverde)
April 22nd. Breakfast not included in price of hotel – a rarity in CR! We were transported by the Selvatura transportation service. We selected package #4 (including lunch and guided canopy tour) and spent a full day at the Selvatura ‘park’. The day started with a calm two-hour guided tour of the canopy walkways and was followed by an over-the-top (amazing) 2-3 hour zip-line experience through the canopy. The zip lines were incredible and a must-do for anyone who is reasonably fit and at least a little gutsy. Following lunch, we took the reptile and butterfly garden ‘tours’ and visited the hummingbird garden. Although we enjoyed the day, I’d recommend bringing lunch from the hotel, taking a self-guided canopy tour, do the zip-line and visit the hummingbird garden. We returned home around 5:30 and had a relaxing evening. (Highlights: Canopy Tour and Zip Lines)
April 23rd. We took Interbus for transportation between Monteverde & Manuel Antonio (MA). Although not completely comfortable, our van came with a great driver who stopped when monkeys and sloth were sited along the way. The drive was a little over 4 hours and was a terrific way to see the country. We checked into MA hotel (La Posada Jungle – a Fodor’s choice). La Posada, next to the entrance to the park, is nothing fancy but is the most warm/comfortable place we stayed while in CR. Our host (Mike Auvil) and the wonderful staff made us feel welcome and comfortable during our stay. Hotel staff recommended Marlin’s for lunch and we were not disappointed. The atmosphere was upbeat, food was excellent and prices reasonable. We explored the town and beach that afternoon and evening. That night, we enjoyed good/comfortable dinner and attended movie-night at the hotel. (Highlights: Interbus is a great way to get around CR. Our hotel with gracious host/staff were terrific.)
April 24th. Following a wonderful breakfast (included with the price of the room), we took a guided tour of the park where we saw 2 & 3 toed sloths, howler & white-faced monkeys, crabs, etc… Entry into the park was $10/pp. With a guide costing $20/pp, the experienced felt over-priced ($60 for 2 hours). I recommend touring the park without a guide or join a larger group where the price of the guide is significantly reduced. After separation from the guide, we explored on our own which was very nice. The park was beautiful. It was easy to take a trail and get off by ourselves. We had lunch again at Marlins and did some shopping for souvenirs. We took an Iguana boat tour of the mangrove forest which we felt was a good value. (Highlights: Hotel, Marlins for lunch, Mangrove tour with Iguana Adventures)
April 25th. Morning flight (NatureAir - $70pp) to San Jose. Our flight felt a lot like a Disneyland ride but wasn’t near as much fun. All-in-all, the bumpy 20 minute flight was preferred over a 4 hour drive. We dropped our luggage at the hotel (Pura Vida in Tuetal, Alajuela – not a Fodor’s choice – no phone, no t.v., but a short drive for our 4:30 am arrival at the airport – not sure about the neighborhood as our hotel and rooms were locked up like a prison (no kidding) and 3 large German Sherpards roamed the place). Our driver from the small airport (not the main airport) took us to our hotel ($25), waited and took us to San Jose ($10) and return us to our hotel ($20) after our visit to SJ. While in SJ, we visited the gold museum and shopped at the market place recommended by our driver. The marketplace contains stall after staff of vendors shopping their wares. It made me regret all my purchases up to that point as the prices and quality were far better than anything we saw/purchased anywhere else. (Highlights: Time savings by taking NatureAir between MA & SJ, shopping in the SJ market, our driver in SJ (Daxc))
May 4th, 2009, 02:40 PM
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wow! this is my kind of trip!
do you happen to have the contact info for the excursions you took? I am especially interested in the ziplining, whitewater rafting, and horseback riding at the volcano.
is it too late to plan a trip there over 4th of July?
do you happen to have the contact info for the excursions you took? I am especially interested in the ziplining, whitewater rafting, and horseback riding at the volcano.
is it too late to plan a trip there over 4th of July?
May 4th, 2009, 08:16 PM
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Most of the wild life on the mangrove tour was at a distance. The guides were great at spoting critters. We spotted a troup of houlers, pigmy ant eater, a few birds, lizards, etc... we enjoyed the excursion, but we didn't see as much wildlife as I thought we would. I understand there is more to see during the rainy season.
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