Wow, thanks guys for all the help and awesome photos. I think Lower Mot Mot would work for us since it's just the two of us. The new remodeling looks amazing. BVV one bedroom villas look great too.

I really want to see one of those silky anteaters - watched a You Tube video of one at lunch - that will have to do for now lol.

Have you been to Hacienda Baru in Dominical?

m, no we haven't. Can you recommend some things to do there?

And are there any good places to go birding in the MA area? It's been a while since we've been there.

I was thinking Carrara (sp?) might be nice for birding. Does anyone know how long it would take to get there from MA? Isn't it close to the Rio Tarcoles and the big crocs?

Thanks again for all the help!

Hacienda Baru is a private reserve with self guiding trails, as well as a zip line (easy). They also offer two guided birdwatching tours (you need to get up early for those).

I saw lots of birds around the grounds of the Arenas del Mar hotel, they have their own nature guide.

Thanks for the info., m. I'm up for any kind of wildlife activity. Wouldn't it be nice if the wildlife were most active at 10:00 a.m. vs. 5:00?! We haven't decided yet if we're going to rent a car. Looking at going during green season, so we can get good rates on the room.

For anyone who has stayed at Tulemar or Buena Vista Villas, how does the shuttle work? Is it just constantly driving through on a set schedule, or do you call it when you need a ride back up from the beach or to go to restaurants, etc.?

Would you feel comfortable leaving your things on the beach while you went swimming there? I wouldn't do that elsewhere in CR, but it seems like the beach there is more private.

They give you a phone number to call for the shuttle that you can dial on the house phone. I think they will call from the restaurant if you need a ride up but at the end of the day they are running back and forth so you just need to go and stand at the shuttle stop. I can't say how well calling for them works because we were close enough to the gate to walk to go into town and we always walked down to the beach.

I always felt safe about leaving our stuff on the beach even when we all went kayaking. The beach is small enough that you can keep an eye on your things from the water plus there never were any outsiders walking along the beach. There isn't any access except through the Tulemar complex.

Thank you, Birdie - that really helps!

I did Villa Vanilla, booked it through the desk at our hotel. The tour was really interesting. we were there in December so you would see things differently depending on the growing season. We saw vanilla beans in various phases of processing, cacao, cinnamon, peppercorns.... You get to walk around the property and it is lovely. the tasting area has great views and you taste three or four yummy treats. They have a small spice shop at the end of the tour to purchase products, I think they only took cash. Villa Vanilla transported everyone to/from their hotel as part of the tour price. Really enjoyed it and it was a nice change of pace from the beach and all the adventure activities we had done.

Thank you, live. I definitely want to do the tour now. We've done all the ziplining, rafting, waterfall rappelling, and all that. We love adventure activities, but I love to do non-adventurous things too. We visited an organic farm near Arenal and loved it. We got to try fresh cacao while we were there, and they were making cocoa bean chocolate and ice cream. I will put it on our to do list. If my husband gets to eat, he'll enjoy it! I'm glad to know that they'll pick you up and drop you back off as well because I don't think we'll rent a car.