cat

My husband and I are planning to take my stepson (15) and his cousin (Girl, 15) to Costa Rica for vacation sometime this summer. The two of us have been to CR twice before, and really want to check out the Osa Peninsula and stay at Lapa Rios.<BR><BR>Questions: Do you think the teens will have enough to do here? How many days would you recommend? What kinds of activities? Do you think the teen girl will be tramautized by the amount of insect life here? (She's no hot-house flower, but not a girl scout either.)<BR><BR>THANKS!!!

lisa

I would have loved Lapa Rios as a 15-year old. If they enjoy wildlife and hiking, and can live without TV, phones, movies, hair driers, etc., I think they'll love it. Brace them for the fact that they will get lots of exercise (even just getting to lunch & dinner requires walking up lots of stairs -- which they'll probably have an easier time with than you will). As long as they're not picky eaters they should love the food -- choices are limited, but everything is excellent, and there is plenty of it. My only reservation about recommending Lapa Rios so highly is that others who have gone in the summertime had bad weather (too hot, humid, rainy) and reported lots of bugs. We were there in November and, while it was hot, it was not unbearable, and we didn't find it too buggy at all. But summer is the rainy season and I can imagine that it is less delightful there then. I would think June or July would be better than August. In terms of "what to do" -- they may want to bring some books to read, a walkman, travel-sized games, a deck of cards, or little things like that to help keep themselves entertained, especially in the event that it does rain for any significant length of time. There is a swimming pool and there are lots of guided hikes and things like that, and endless monkey-watching, toucan-spotting, etc. -- but no organized "activities" to speak of, and there are unlikely to be other teens there. <BR><BR>In terms of how long to stay, I would recommend a minimum of three nights and a maximum of six. We stayed 3 nights and we would have liked to have stayed longer, but I'm not sure teenagers would feel that way. <BR><BR>In terms of being traumatized by the insect life, she will probably be fine, although my boyfriend and I did find a spider in the shower one night that was the size of a Buick (I exaggerate only a little). Even he was a little traumatized. Other than that, no problems.

Iza

Lisa had very good points and there is not much I can add to her advice. <BR>One thing I want to mention is that we were at Lapa Rios in August of this year with our then 7 year old daughter and she had a very good time there. She is a very adventurous type, not bothered by insects and she doesn't need TV to keep herself entertained, so she enjoyed the wildlife and the exercise and didn't miss civilization. We spent 3 nights there and we could probably use another night to really be able to do all the activities we wanted to do there. <BR>Our daughter was the only child there during our stay, so if your kids need company, they may feel lonely there.<BR>Make sure you take the early bird tour: it would be too much for our daughter so we ended up not taking it, but from what I heard from other guests it is the tour where you can spot most wildlife.<BR>Also arrange to visit the local school that is supported by Lapa Rios. We found that visit to be a great experience for our daughter.

David N Cook

Leave them at home, you'll have a LOT more fun!! Maybe they will too!

Tom

We are going to be in Lapa Rios in March and hope there are not going to be any kids including teenagers. We are paying $1500.00 for three nights and for this much rather not see any kids running around. I hope you are not going to be there in March. Why not go to some resort on the Osa Penninsula more suitable for young people and less expensive too.