Costa Rica Trip Report -- Very Long
Nov 2nd, 2005 | 06:15 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 64
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Costa Rica Trip Report -- Very Long
Monteverde/Santa Elena, Arenal/La Fortuna, Peace Lodge/La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Day 1
We arrived at SJO at around 12:45 p.m. and waited around a long time for our driver. We had booked through MonteverdeInfo.com, and the driver had run into some road problems on the way to the airport. We were told he would be there within about a half an hour, but it was probably closer to 2:00 before we got on the way.
Santa Elena/Monteverde
After the crazy drive, we got to Santa Elena between 5:30 and 6. Checked into the Tree House Hotel for $40 a night. It’s a nice place, pretty basic but clean. It was loud, lots of street noises and wind. There is an internet café on the second floor for only $1 per half hour.
Dinner at Mar y Tierra. It’s upstairs from the bakery, across from the bank. The rice dishes are great, and food for two plus three beers ran just over $15.
Day 2
Gallo Pinto for breakfast at Maravilla. With drinks only about $6 and very good.
Moved to Pension Santa Elena for the help offered by the staff. $20 per night, the room was clean and the people were friendly.
Did the zip-lines and hanging bridges at Selvatura. I’m scared of heights, but they don’t give you a chance to get too worried. Before you know it you’re strapped in and moving across the canopy. It was a lot of fun, and once you get used to being so high up you can really start to enjoy your surroundings. The only line I didn’t do by myself was the longest one. My husband and I were the last two people in line, and the two people directly ahead of me got stopped along the line and had to do hand over hand to get to the platform. I didn’t like the sounds of that, so my husband went first and I went across with the guide. I got to enjoy the ride, and he did all the braking. I actually did the Tarzan swing, which I never thought I would. I screamed about four times total on it, but it was a rush. Overall we both really enjoyed the zip-lines. The walk for the hanging bridges was really nice, as well, and it was a good way to relax after the canopy tour. Had lunch there since we had an hour til the free shuttle. A lot of the menu was pretty expensive, but we shared a cheese pizza cooked in a brick oven that was really good for only about $15 total with drinks.
Dinner at Morpho’s. The waiter was great, very friendly. Good food again, about $20 for the meal.
Day 3
Got up early to take the shuttle to the Monteverde Reserve. Decided to go with a guided tour. We probably could have gone either way on the guide, but we did learn a lot of interesting things. After the guided section of the morning, we walked on our own to the waterfall. It was pretty and a nice walk.
Lunch at Restaurante Campesino. Owner was nice and friendly, and the food was good. It was a bit more food than we were looking for, very big meals here.
Rested for the afternoon and got ready for the trip the next day. Had dinner again at Mar y Tierra before heading to bed.
Day 4
Gallo Pinto again at Maravilla, then the jeep-boat-jeep to Arenal. We booked through the Pension Santa Elena and got a better price than I’d seen anywhere else. I believe we traveled with Aventura. I would recommend this trip to anyone traveling between the two areas. The boat ride across the lake is beautiful.
Arenal/La Fortuna
Checked in at Cabanas Guacamaya, $35 a night. Nice hotel, clean, but we shared our room with a huge, huge bug.
On the recommendation of a few people we decided to walk to the La Fortuna Waterfall. Worst idea of our whole trip. It was long, hot, and miserable. We do a lot of walking and activities on our vacations, and this nearly wiped us out. Worth it to take a taxi out there, do not walk it unless you are in great shape. The falls themselves were amazing. Very tall and powerful. You can get in the pool at the bottom, but the water is very cold, the force of the falls pushes you around a bit, and the rocks are very slippery. Definitely be careful, but it is fun. Luckily, we met a couple at the falls that had driven there and they offered us a ride back to town.
Went to Eco-Termales that evening. The woman at the front desk called to make reservations for us. Got there a little after five, cost $4 for the taxi out there. This place is amazing. You have to be buzzed in through a gate to get in. The pools are beautiful and range from bath water warm to pretty hot, there are four total. The hottest one had a waterfall you could let massage your neck and back, or go behind it for a sauna. They also have cold water misters in that pool coming down like a cold rain to refresh you. The bar is on honor system, you just tell them when you leave what you had and pay for everything at once. We were there for about two hours, and for about half that time we had the place to ourselves. They have nice bathrooms with lockers and showers. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
Day 5
Waterfall rappelling with Pure-Trek today. They picked us up at our hotel at around 7:30. There were six of us on the tour, and three guides. This was amazing. The guides were great, very personable. You start out on the highest rappel, along side a 165 foot waterfall. I was a little nervous, but it was great as soon as I got started. There are five rappels total: one next to a waterfall, one down a dry rock face, and three down waterfalls. The scenery was gorgeous, and I was sad when I realized we had made it to the end. I could have done this all day long. The hike out was strenuous, but not horrible. Probably would have been easier if it hadn’t been for our hard walk the day before. When you finish they take you to the Pure-Trek headquarters for lunch, which was great. Rice with fish and veggies, beans and salad. Also, a fresh juice drink that was really refreshing. They had changing rooms with towels and bags to put your wet clothes in. The owner, Scott, had lunch with us, and was a really nice guy. Excellent tour, one that I would definitely do again and would recommend to anyone who wants to do something fun in La Fortuna.
In the afternoon the Observatory Lodge picked us up for our stay there. Our Smithsonian room had an amazing view of the volcano. We sat out on the balcony just watching the rocks tumble down the sides. Tried to take a dip in the infinity pool, but it was too cold for me, but the hot tub was nice. Dinner here wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be after hearing about the restaurant on different message boards. For a salad, two entrees and two drinks our total was about $28, expensive compared to other places we ate but the food was good. At dinner there really isn’t a view of the volcano because of all the light reflections from inside. The front desk sells snacks and drinks at pretty reasonable prices. Spent the rest of the night watching the glowing red rocks tumble down the side of the volcano.
Day 6
Free breakfast buffet included in the price of the room here. Lots of choices and good food. At 8:30 we left on a guided hike to an old lava flow. Only had to pay the admission to the park ($6 each). The hike was interesting, and the views were great. Lunch at the restaurant was a little disappointing. Local dishes were ridiculously expensive ($10 for a rice dish) so we ended up with burgers. Then we took a hike on our own to the waterfall on the Observatory grounds. Very nice walk, not too challenging. Steep stairs down to the waterfall, but very pretty. Dinner was about the same as the first night.
Stayed up as late as we could watching the volcano and taking a ton of pictures. The volcano was very clear, and the rocks were really coming down. It was quite a show. We could even see the top glowing.
Day 7
Buffet again for breakfast, then checkout. The Observatory had arranged a driver for us to the Peace Lodge at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and he was picking us up at 9. Ride takes a little over 2 hours.
Peace Lodge/La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Amazing place. Juice to sip on at check in. Luggage was taken to our room while we explored the grounds. They were nice, but they don’t keep you busy for very long. The waterfall walk took about an hour. There was a lot of construction going on by them, looked like they were building new walkways over the water. The butterfly, snake and frog exhibits were okay, but we’re really not too into that sort of thing. The hummingbirds were pretty neat, and we got to feed them even though it was really rainy outside. You also get a free drink at the Big Trout Bar which is a really good rum punch.
When we were able to get into our room we were very impressed. The pictures on the website can’t really show you how neat it all is. We got a free bottle of Chilean wine since this was the last night of our honeymoon. The waterfall shower is great, especially since it turns into a sauna when the door is shut tight. The balcony Jacuzzi is very nice, but the balconies could use a little more privacy. Seemed that we had a pathway near to ours that people were walking by on every once in a while.
We opted to have dinner in our room in front of the gas fire (no extra charge for this). A four course meal for two for $70. Expensive for us, but the food was great. We usually don’t treat ourselves like this, so it was nice.
Day 8
We were very sad that we had to check out this morning. Had our free buffet breakfast. Nice spread of fruits and hot dishes. Had our bags taken to reception (they will not let you carry anything yourself). The Lodge arranged for a driver to take us to the Poas Volcano, then on to the airport.
Poas Volcano/Flight Home
Didn’t see a thing. Even though we got there early in the morning, the clouds were set pretty thick. At least we got a nice walk in to stretch out our legs before our flight home. And as a bonus, the volcano had cleared off by the time our plane went by it, so even though we didn’t get any pictures we were able to get a good view of it.
Highlights: Arenal Volcano, Pure-Trek Waterfall Rappelling, Eco-Termales Hot Springs, getting spoiled at the Peace Lodge
Lowlights: Not really anything that we were too disappointed in
If you have any questions about anything we did on our trip, I’ll see if I can help you out with an answer.
Day 1
We arrived at SJO at around 12:45 p.m. and waited around a long time for our driver. We had booked through MonteverdeInfo.com, and the driver had run into some road problems on the way to the airport. We were told he would be there within about a half an hour, but it was probably closer to 2:00 before we got on the way.
Santa Elena/Monteverde
After the crazy drive, we got to Santa Elena between 5:30 and 6. Checked into the Tree House Hotel for $40 a night. It’s a nice place, pretty basic but clean. It was loud, lots of street noises and wind. There is an internet café on the second floor for only $1 per half hour.
Dinner at Mar y Tierra. It’s upstairs from the bakery, across from the bank. The rice dishes are great, and food for two plus three beers ran just over $15.
Day 2
Gallo Pinto for breakfast at Maravilla. With drinks only about $6 and very good.
Moved to Pension Santa Elena for the help offered by the staff. $20 per night, the room was clean and the people were friendly.
Did the zip-lines and hanging bridges at Selvatura. I’m scared of heights, but they don’t give you a chance to get too worried. Before you know it you’re strapped in and moving across the canopy. It was a lot of fun, and once you get used to being so high up you can really start to enjoy your surroundings. The only line I didn’t do by myself was the longest one. My husband and I were the last two people in line, and the two people directly ahead of me got stopped along the line and had to do hand over hand to get to the platform. I didn’t like the sounds of that, so my husband went first and I went across with the guide. I got to enjoy the ride, and he did all the braking. I actually did the Tarzan swing, which I never thought I would. I screamed about four times total on it, but it was a rush. Overall we both really enjoyed the zip-lines. The walk for the hanging bridges was really nice, as well, and it was a good way to relax after the canopy tour. Had lunch there since we had an hour til the free shuttle. A lot of the menu was pretty expensive, but we shared a cheese pizza cooked in a brick oven that was really good for only about $15 total with drinks.
Dinner at Morpho’s. The waiter was great, very friendly. Good food again, about $20 for the meal.
Day 3
Got up early to take the shuttle to the Monteverde Reserve. Decided to go with a guided tour. We probably could have gone either way on the guide, but we did learn a lot of interesting things. After the guided section of the morning, we walked on our own to the waterfall. It was pretty and a nice walk.
Lunch at Restaurante Campesino. Owner was nice and friendly, and the food was good. It was a bit more food than we were looking for, very big meals here.
Rested for the afternoon and got ready for the trip the next day. Had dinner again at Mar y Tierra before heading to bed.
Day 4
Gallo Pinto again at Maravilla, then the jeep-boat-jeep to Arenal. We booked through the Pension Santa Elena and got a better price than I’d seen anywhere else. I believe we traveled with Aventura. I would recommend this trip to anyone traveling between the two areas. The boat ride across the lake is beautiful.
Arenal/La Fortuna
Checked in at Cabanas Guacamaya, $35 a night. Nice hotel, clean, but we shared our room with a huge, huge bug.
On the recommendation of a few people we decided to walk to the La Fortuna Waterfall. Worst idea of our whole trip. It was long, hot, and miserable. We do a lot of walking and activities on our vacations, and this nearly wiped us out. Worth it to take a taxi out there, do not walk it unless you are in great shape. The falls themselves were amazing. Very tall and powerful. You can get in the pool at the bottom, but the water is very cold, the force of the falls pushes you around a bit, and the rocks are very slippery. Definitely be careful, but it is fun. Luckily, we met a couple at the falls that had driven there and they offered us a ride back to town.
Went to Eco-Termales that evening. The woman at the front desk called to make reservations for us. Got there a little after five, cost $4 for the taxi out there. This place is amazing. You have to be buzzed in through a gate to get in. The pools are beautiful and range from bath water warm to pretty hot, there are four total. The hottest one had a waterfall you could let massage your neck and back, or go behind it for a sauna. They also have cold water misters in that pool coming down like a cold rain to refresh you. The bar is on honor system, you just tell them when you leave what you had and pay for everything at once. We were there for about two hours, and for about half that time we had the place to ourselves. They have nice bathrooms with lockers and showers. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
Day 5
Waterfall rappelling with Pure-Trek today. They picked us up at our hotel at around 7:30. There were six of us on the tour, and three guides. This was amazing. The guides were great, very personable. You start out on the highest rappel, along side a 165 foot waterfall. I was a little nervous, but it was great as soon as I got started. There are five rappels total: one next to a waterfall, one down a dry rock face, and three down waterfalls. The scenery was gorgeous, and I was sad when I realized we had made it to the end. I could have done this all day long. The hike out was strenuous, but not horrible. Probably would have been easier if it hadn’t been for our hard walk the day before. When you finish they take you to the Pure-Trek headquarters for lunch, which was great. Rice with fish and veggies, beans and salad. Also, a fresh juice drink that was really refreshing. They had changing rooms with towels and bags to put your wet clothes in. The owner, Scott, had lunch with us, and was a really nice guy. Excellent tour, one that I would definitely do again and would recommend to anyone who wants to do something fun in La Fortuna.
In the afternoon the Observatory Lodge picked us up for our stay there. Our Smithsonian room had an amazing view of the volcano. We sat out on the balcony just watching the rocks tumble down the sides. Tried to take a dip in the infinity pool, but it was too cold for me, but the hot tub was nice. Dinner here wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be after hearing about the restaurant on different message boards. For a salad, two entrees and two drinks our total was about $28, expensive compared to other places we ate but the food was good. At dinner there really isn’t a view of the volcano because of all the light reflections from inside. The front desk sells snacks and drinks at pretty reasonable prices. Spent the rest of the night watching the glowing red rocks tumble down the side of the volcano.
Day 6
Free breakfast buffet included in the price of the room here. Lots of choices and good food. At 8:30 we left on a guided hike to an old lava flow. Only had to pay the admission to the park ($6 each). The hike was interesting, and the views were great. Lunch at the restaurant was a little disappointing. Local dishes were ridiculously expensive ($10 for a rice dish) so we ended up with burgers. Then we took a hike on our own to the waterfall on the Observatory grounds. Very nice walk, not too challenging. Steep stairs down to the waterfall, but very pretty. Dinner was about the same as the first night.
Stayed up as late as we could watching the volcano and taking a ton of pictures. The volcano was very clear, and the rocks were really coming down. It was quite a show. We could even see the top glowing.
Day 7
Buffet again for breakfast, then checkout. The Observatory had arranged a driver for us to the Peace Lodge at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and he was picking us up at 9. Ride takes a little over 2 hours.
Peace Lodge/La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Amazing place. Juice to sip on at check in. Luggage was taken to our room while we explored the grounds. They were nice, but they don’t keep you busy for very long. The waterfall walk took about an hour. There was a lot of construction going on by them, looked like they were building new walkways over the water. The butterfly, snake and frog exhibits were okay, but we’re really not too into that sort of thing. The hummingbirds were pretty neat, and we got to feed them even though it was really rainy outside. You also get a free drink at the Big Trout Bar which is a really good rum punch.
When we were able to get into our room we were very impressed. The pictures on the website can’t really show you how neat it all is. We got a free bottle of Chilean wine since this was the last night of our honeymoon. The waterfall shower is great, especially since it turns into a sauna when the door is shut tight. The balcony Jacuzzi is very nice, but the balconies could use a little more privacy. Seemed that we had a pathway near to ours that people were walking by on every once in a while.
We opted to have dinner in our room in front of the gas fire (no extra charge for this). A four course meal for two for $70. Expensive for us, but the food was great. We usually don’t treat ourselves like this, so it was nice.
Day 8
We were very sad that we had to check out this morning. Had our free buffet breakfast. Nice spread of fruits and hot dishes. Had our bags taken to reception (they will not let you carry anything yourself). The Lodge arranged for a driver to take us to the Poas Volcano, then on to the airport.
Poas Volcano/Flight Home
Didn’t see a thing. Even though we got there early in the morning, the clouds were set pretty thick. At least we got a nice walk in to stretch out our legs before our flight home. And as a bonus, the volcano had cleared off by the time our plane went by it, so even though we didn’t get any pictures we were able to get a good view of it.
Highlights: Arenal Volcano, Pure-Trek Waterfall Rappelling, Eco-Termales Hot Springs, getting spoiled at the Peace Lodge
Lowlights: Not really anything that we were too disappointed in
If you have any questions about anything we did on our trip, I’ll see if I can help you out with an answer.
Nov 3rd, 2005 | 05:03 AM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Eco-Termales: Is this a place that has massages? What was the price for entry, massages and/or meals?
Jeep/Boat/Jeep on Arenal Lake: Is this something one can do as an activity while staying in one location? In other words, we are driving during our trip and wouldn't leave our vehicle but a boat ride on the lake sounds very nice.
Great report. We leave on Dec 7 for a 20 day adventure.
Thanks,
Ginny
Jeep/Boat/Jeep on Arenal Lake: Is this something one can do as an activity while staying in one location? In other words, we are driving during our trip and wouldn't leave our vehicle but a boat ride on the lake sounds very nice.
Great report. We leave on Dec 7 for a 20 day adventure.
Thanks,
Ginny
Nov 3rd, 2005 | 06:07 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Ginny -
Eco-Termales does not have massage service. Dinner is available, but I'm not sure of the price because we were not up for another big meal that night. For two entries, two frozen drinks and two bottles of water, our total was $42.
You could contact the Jeep-boat-jeep tour companies to see if you could just do the boat portion. Or, if you are planning to do both Monteverde and Arenal, you could have someone drive your car around while you did the jeep-boat-jeep. We had a guy on our boat that was doing this. Not sure of the cost.
Eco-Termales does not have massage service. Dinner is available, but I'm not sure of the price because we were not up for another big meal that night. For two entries, two frozen drinks and two bottles of water, our total was $42.
You could contact the Jeep-boat-jeep tour companies to see if you could just do the boat portion. Or, if you are planning to do both Monteverde and Arenal, you could have someone drive your car around while you did the jeep-boat-jeep. We had a guy on our boat that was doing this. Not sure of the cost.
Nov 3rd, 2005 | 10:11 AM
#6
Original Poster
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Fry -- My husband and I both agree that the hike out from the waterfall rappelling was tougher than the rappel. It's actually quite a bit easier than I thought it would be, it doesn't take much to hold yourself up in the air. The hike out isn't too long, but there are a lot of stairs. It might not have been too bad except we were already wiped out from the day before.
At Eco-Termales, two entries, two frozen drinks and two bottles of water cost us $42.
At Eco-Termales, two entries, two frozen drinks and two bottles of water cost us $42.
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Nov 10th, 2005 | 04:10 PM
#8
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 425
Likes: 0
I'm so glad you posted your trip report. My husband and I are taking a trip in Feb., and he is the type the tougher and scarier the adventure, the better. Luckily I'm in good shape and like some adventure myself. I'm pretty sure I can manage the zip line at Monteverde, but it was good to hear that guides will sometimes go with you. And I really appreciated the info. on the canyoning with Pure-Trek, a tour I've been thinking about. Though I'm somewhat afraid of heights, it sounds like a lot of fun and I'm going for it!
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