Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Costa Rica Trip

Just got back from a 11 day Costa Rica trip. It was great! Country beautiful and the people were all helpful and nice. Flew into Liberia and stayed at the Hotel Santa Ana near the airport for the night. Arranged transportation and the Arenal Volcano activities through DeSafio Adventure co. Very professional and a lot of fun. Stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge (about 30/40 min from LaFortuna) and a little more money for the transportation to and from, but for us, well worth it. Lodge is beautiful, right at the base of the volcano and a lot of hiking trails and things to do. Restaurant was also excellent. Did the Mambo Combo and Venado Cave through DeSafio. The guides were very concerned about safety and at no time during the Mambo Combo did I feel unsafe. Also for DeSafio drivers and the other tourism drivers of Costa Rica, a round of applause!!! The roads are bumpy, rocky and when it rains hard to travel, but these guys (double R trill Roy and Eddy to name a few) are experts! Made the travel fun. I would highly recommend DeSafio Adventures. We booked the boat, taxi ride to Santa Elena through AnywhereCosta Rica. It was an adventure to get there (roads). Stayed at Arco Iris in Santa Elena (what a great place). Beautiful setting right in town. Reception very helpful and helped us book the coffee plantation, night tours and zip lining. We used Selvatura Tours for zip lining and Tarzan Yell. Again, guides were great! Very safety conscious. Great fun! The last place we went was Playa Potrero and stayed at Bahia Del Sol. Beautiful beach hotel. Great service, loved their Mango Mint drink and the stay. I would highly recommend. It was a great trip!!!! Thanks to all the nice and helpful people we met along the way!