fitzpemberley

Hi everyone...I just wanted to post my experiences on our trip to Costa Rica, especially since you all have helped me so much in planning this trip (I actually bookmarked this forum and checked it everyday for updates and ideas!). We just got back this morning and are so happy we went...talking about going again someday and exploring other areas! Anyway, here's my report...

We arrived in Liberia around 7 pm on Friday night and everything went smoothly through customs. I was expecting a shuttle from El Punto to be waiting for us, but after scouring the crowd of taxis and shuttles, we realized it wasn’t there, so we just took a taxi. When we got to El Punto, the woman who was running the place temporarily (the owner’s mother) wasn’t there, and called to ask us to wait a few minutes until she arrived. When she arrived, she told us she had bad news: the LiberiaCostaRica.com company that I had made my reservations through overbooked them, and they had no room for us that night. She offered to find a room for us at another hotel, and she would pay for it. She ended up finding room at El Bramadero. My husband and I were not impressed, but figured we could deal with it for the night. In our room it seemed like the shower head was connected to some open electric cable…needless to say, we didn’t shower that night!

We had breakfast there the next morning, but I wasn’t too impressed with that either. I think we were both disappointed that we didn’t stay in El Punto. Tricolor was supposed to come pick us up at 9 am, but we weren’t sure whether they’d come to El Punto, El Bramadero, or even the Best Western El Sitio (because that’s what they put on one of my emails confirming my reservation once). They ended up coming to El Punto, where I decided to wait. We went to the Liberia office and rented a big ol’ automatic transmission SUV (since neither my husband nor I can drive stick). It was fine though – although I have to agree with whoever said that the Tricolor Liberia office is not quite as organized as the San Jose airport one.

After picking up the car we shopped at the Liberia strip mall a bit before heading to Arenal. Didn’t have many problems with the route, and I gotta tell you, the first up-close view we had of the volcano was fantastic. It was a sunny, clear day, and the volcano was just amazing. The lake was beautiful too. On the drive we passed a pack of coatimundis on the side of the road – there had to be like 15 of them!

We got to Arenal Paraiso around 2 pm but our room wasn’t ready, so we went to eat at El Novillo in the meantime. I’m sorry, but I actually have contradictory feelings about this place compared to most people on this board – I was not a fan, and I was especially not a fan of the steaks. My husband didn’t seem to mind though. After lunch our room was finally ready. I was pleased with it, it was a huge improvement over where we’d stayed the previous night!

During our 3 days in Arenal, we:
- ziplined on the Arenal Paraiso grounds (great time, my husband’s favorite part of the trip!)
-hiked around the national park and saw the colocoa from the 1992 eruption (really cool, one of my favorite parts!)
-took the Cano Negro tour through Sunset Tours (the guide was Anders, really funny and jovial, and the tour was great – oh, and he was telling us that just 3-4 days previous, he had taken a group and they stopped like usual by the restaurant with all the iguanas. A girl was taking pictures from the bridge there and a drunk driver hit her! Some of her ribs broke and she had to be rushed to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, she’s okay. Just thought I’d share that story – don’t stand on the bridge to take pictures of the iguanas!)
-visited Tabacon hot springs (even though it was expensive and somewhat over the top, I’m glad we did it because it was pretty memorable and relaxing, especially after the day-long Cano Negro tour).
And we ate at:
-El Novillo (not so good for me, but my husband liked it)
-La Choza de Laurel (stopped there for lunch one day, we liked it)
-Don Rufino’s (our favorite in Arenal!)

I think our itinerary in Arenal somehow ended up perfectly – both of the days where we stayed in town, the volcano was visible…the day we did Cano Negro, however, it was rainy and cloudy and the volcano was entirely covered up…but I suppose it didn’t matter, since we weren’t around much to see it anyway!

I'll post again later with the MA and Peace Lodge parts of the review....

volcanogirl

I'm glad you guys got a good view of the volcano. I think that's something you never forget. What kind of food did you have at Don Rufino? We never got a chance to try that spot.

tully

Sounds like you recovered nicely after that stuble at the beginning. What a pain, would've been highly annoyed! Sounds like you missed all the fun of a suicide shower Looking forward to the rest....

shillmac

Just a clarification on the steaks at El Novillo. I'll be the first to admit they are NOT up to U.S. standards (or at least what I am used to), but for Costa Rica, they are pretty good. We've not had a lot of "luck" with beef dishes there. We usually order fish or chicken. Does that make any sense?

Sounds like you had a great trip--anxious to hear even more! Welcome home!

fitzpemberley

Here's the rest of my report....

After 3 days in Arenal, we left early and headed on the six hour drive to Manuel Antonio. The drive wasn’t too bad, although we got lost for a bit when we somehow missed our turn and ended up in Puntarenas. We realized what we had done, though, and was able to retrace our steps and follow the coastal road down to MA. On the way we stopped at Tarcoles to see the crocodiles and it was pretty crazy. I’m not sure I’ve gotten over the fact that we saw all these animals in their natural habitat. It’s kind of surreal.

After driving over the crazy-scary bridge near Quepos, we drove to Villas Nicolas. I cannot say enough good things about this place. We stayed in 8 Up and our view was fantastic. I loved lazing around by the hotel pool and relaxing on our balcony. The staff was also really helpful, and the manager’s Basset Hound, Ellie, was adorable. One night we chatted with Susan the bartender; she’s great too. I also liked how Villas Nicolas was close to Café Milagro and Si Como No’s giftshop next door – I really used the free book swap shelf there for the days we sat by the pool and in the mornings on our balcony.
In MA, we:
-went to the national park, of course (didn’t use a guide, but saw all the white-faced capuchins and a sloth…unfortunately didn’t see any squirrel monkeys)
-got a massage at Si Como No’s Serenity Spa (my first one, it was nice)
-RELAXED!

We ate at:
-Café Milagro (our favorite here, especially for breakfast – we went there all 3 mornings!)
-Claro Que Si (at Si Como No, what I had was really good)
-Rico Tico (also at Si Como No…not bad)
-El Avion (neat to see, but food was so-so and the service was very slow…although I guess it has to be since they have to wait till that lift is full of plates before they bring it up from the kitchen)
-Escalofrio (a nice departure from the Tico food and seafood)
I was disappointed that we couldn’t eat at Agua Azul since I’d heard so many good things about it – it was closed for a week while we were there.

After MA we drove up to Vara Blanca to stay in the Peace Lodge one night. I couldn’t believe the temperature difference! We put on coats and long-sleeved shirts up there…but it was also rainy and foggy then, which might have added to the coldness. We still walked around the grounds and saw all the waterfalls, they were pretty impressive. I was also impressed by the room! I knew it was going to be pretty lux based on what I’ve read on these boards and also seeing the pictures, but actually being there is something else! I really wish we had stayed at least two nights there so we could enjoy the room and restaurants properly. We did eat dinner there at the restaurant, and it was pretty good.

The next morning we reluctantly left the Lodge and headed to San Jose. We dropped the car off at Tricolor – I agree with whoever said that the San Jose office is probably a bit more organized than Liberia. The airport was pretty busy that afternoon, but we left on time and the flight was fine. It was sad to leave Costa Rica, especially when we descended from the clouds above Minneapolis and saw the white snow covering everything! Regardless, we had a great time in CR and we’d really like to go back sometime and explore some different areas. Thanks to all of you for your advice while I planned this vacation, I think your suggestions and recommendations really helped make our trip as great as it was!

fitzpemberley

volcanogirl: At Don Rufino's I had a kind of BBQ roasted chicken wrapped in banana leaves...it was very tasty. My husband had some kind of lasagna, I think, and he liked it.

shillmac: I think you're right about the steaks at El Novillo. After hearing so much about the steak there, I was definitely expecting something like we have here and was probably let down. But like you, after that I decided to stick to chicken. Next time I'll have to give El Novillo's poultry a chance! I did really like their garlic bread.

volcanogirl

Thanks for a great report, fitz - I think we'll try to give Don Rufino's a try. I always hear good things about it. It sounds like you had a great trip. We loved seeing all the animals too; when I show people our pictures, they always ask if we were at a zoo and can't believe it when we say that these are all in the wild and easily visible. Time to start planning your next trip!

cmerrell

Thanks for the report, fitz!

Sounds like you had a really nice time overall.

We also did Arenal, MA and a night at the Peace Lodge on our first trip. Loved it!