Favorites in Costa Rica?
 

What was your favorite lodging?

Favorite tour or excursion?

Favorite experience?

Thanks!

You may have a hard time getting a response on this one, nina. There are SO many different and unique areas of Costa Rica (amazing diversity) that most of us would have to name several favorites lodgings or experiences.

For example, Peace Lodge is an amazing hotel on an amazing property. I imagine it would be a favorite of many, including us.

But I would also have to say La Carolina-- bare, thin, wooden walls holding up small little basic cabins, no electricity, showers by candlelight, cooking over an open fire in a common kitchen/dining area. In the middle of nowhere. Great horseback riding, hiking, birding. Excellent staff, no English! We had a great time there!

I think sometimes the "experience" IS the lodging, especially when the lodging is something quite out of one's ordinary realm of experiences!

Bosque del Cabo, on the Osa Peninsula, would rank as favorite lodging for a LOT of people (it's one of ours), and it would also come in as favorite experience.

You might consider "favorite area". A few people would tell you Monteverde. MANY would tell you Arenal, Osa Peninsula, or Manuel Antonio. A few would say Guanacaste (northwest area). Some would say southern Nicoya Peninsula (Malpais, Montezuma). And so on. . .

It's all so different that many of us have kept returning simply to be sure we don't miss any of it. Then there is the "problem" (at least for us) of wanting to return again and again to places that were really special, like Bosque del Cabo.

Favorite experience? The turtles nesting in Playa Grande.

Favourite Lodging:

Snoozing under the Guanacaste Tree in the central park in Liberia...oops that is not lodging ( snoozing does not count!!!)

Favorite Tour Excusion:
1. Turtles Nesting in Playa Grande
2. Palo Verde Wildlife Tour with the white faced Monkeys jumping right on to the boat and you feeding them bananas.!!

3 Favorite Experience:

My first zipline ride!

4.Favorite Experience.(that I missed)

To see shillmac coming down that water slide in Rincon de la Vieja Park area!!!

( oh oh I think I'm in trouble :)

Percy

I'm loving these replies!

Where is La Carolina?

And did someone say waterslide? We love waterslides, where exactly is it, tell me more!

nina

That waterslide is at a resort place on the western side of Rincon de la Vieja National Park.

I think the name of the resort is Bueno Vista Lodge.

You would have to be in the Liberia area to go here....too far out of San Jose.
If you are in Liberia ,Vargas Tours

http://www.ricardocostaricatours.com/
( When the web page come up , click on Enter.)

can take you there for an all day tour.
You can:
1. Ride Horses.
2. Do mud baths.
3.Zipline tour
4.Nature hike with canopy bridges
5. Waterslide....you HAVE to do the waterslide.!!!!

shillmac tell nina about the waterslide!

Percy

Oh Percy, you are such a mess.

The waterslide: let's see, can you picture this?

long climb up the mountain (Percy correct me if I'm wrong, it's been 6 years!)

put on helmet, get instuctions

step into the big slide (with sides) that has been built into the side of the mountain

no water in slide

big tank of (ice cold) water behind you

guide pulls a lever, tank door lifts

huge amount of ice cold water hits you and washes you down the slide

lots of screaming, what a rush!

very fast ride. . .very cold water. . .it lasts a long time!

What do you think, Perce, anywhere close to what you experienced? Did you yell, "oh s---!"????

I'd LOVE to see the turtles at Playa Grande, haven't done that. We were there one year right after Christmas and we didn't even think to check that out. Also a couple of times in March, we've been in the area. But seeing the turtles laying eggs at Tortuguero was pretty amazing, also!

And yes, that first (and only) zipline ride!

nina, La Carolina is a little horse ranch near the town of Bijagua on the flanks on Volcan Tenorio. North of Las Canas. Northwest of Arenal. Very special place, if you are looking for unusual. It is owned by a gentleman from South Carolina named Bill Harwell. He wasn't there when we were, and trusts the running of the place to 3 men and 3 women, who do a fantastic job of welcoming guests and keeping everything in tip top shape. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat. And I HOPE Bill doesn't decide to put in electricity--it would lose a good part of its charm!

Favorite lodging - Lost Iguana, Peace Lodge, and Bosque del Cabo.

Favorite tour was the Sunset Tours trip to Cano Negro - I think you never forget the first spot you see monkeys!

Favorite experience - seeing the lava flow from the volcano in Arenal - wow!!!

Hi, shillmac and percy!

Ziplining in the rainforest in the rain.

Buena Vista Villas and Casas.

Going to the supermercado in Manuel Antonio.

The Buena Vista Villas look beautiful, but at $450 a night they're a splurge, and believe it or not, they are already booked for the week in February when we'll be there!

Favorite lodging - Peace Lodge and Bosque del Cabo

Favorite tour or excursion - Cano Negro, also Guided hike at the Hanging bridges in Arenal.

Favorite experience - there are so many! I loved Arenal - I loved the whole area there - seeing the lava was great, the people in that area where amazing! I loved Peace Lodge, especially the Night Frog Tour and the waterfalls. Also feeding a Toucan! And Bosque del Cabo - seeing so much wildlife right from our cabina!

Favorite tour: you MUST do the zip lines, even if you think you might be afraid. I've done a couple and I thought the best one was Canopy Safari in Manuel Antonio.

Favorite experience(s): yes, hard to pick! But I'll never forget taking the hike around Arenal volcano... go on the late afternoon/sunset hike. I remember standing between Lake Arenal and the volcano, macaws were swooping over the rainforest around the volcano, and we watched lava rocks come tumbling down the side of the volcano, all while the sun was setting. Just one of those moments in life!

Another wonderful experience was the hanging bridges of Selvatura (near Santa Elena/Monteverde area). There's something about being in a cloud forest that makes you feel like you're on a movie set! Beautiful and surreal.

Ok, ok, shillmac's right... you can't pick! I agree with volcanogirl that wherever and whenever you see your first monkeys will be a very memorable experience.

Let us know where you end up deciding to go, and I'm sure you'll get a LOT more responses. CR's one of those places where, no matter what you do, you can't go wrong :)

lodging - Bosque del Cabo

tour - animal sanctuary on the Osa, holding lulu the howler in my arms like a baby

experience - too too many, a good amount of them happened at Bosque though

About that waterslide shillmac, I liked it when the fellow asked this lady ahead of me:

"Do you want to go slow medium or fast down the slide!?"

He said slow is 1/3 of the water tank full and medium is 2/3 of the tank full and fast means that he willopen up the chute when it is full of water !!!
The lady said "medium", so when the tank was 2/3 full of water , he opened the chute and this blast of water took the lady down the slide.

Then he winked at me and said ,"When I open this chute there is only one speed FAST...no matter how much water is in the tank."
" But they like to think they can go slow medium or fast...so I give them a choice that does not exist.!!"

When you hit that pool at the end of the slide, you will usually swallow half of the pool as you come up for a bit if air...it is neat though !!

No shillmac I did not yell anything ,I did not have time !!
Anyone in this area should do this slide for sure.
(:
Hi vo<font color="red">c</font>anogi<font color="blue">r</font>l

Percy

Favourite Lodging:
a tie
Rincon de la Vieja Mountain Lodge and Savegre Lodge

Favourite 'organized tour' [I've done very few] Sunset cruise with Mandingo on Tamarindo Bay

Favourite 'tour' we organized ourselves......can't really choose one but most have involved nature...

Favourite Experience....again there are many but one was a magical morning on the lower slopes of Rincon volcano walking in the forest with a good friend and seeing an amazing assortment of beautiful butterflies. The other was at Savegre Lodge on my very first trip to Costa Rica. We were walking the little road just below the lodge and a male Quetzal flew so close to us that my brother, standing beside me, could feel the air movement from the bird's wings. Then watching in awe as this beautiful, amazing creature perched 30 feet away in a tree.

Jerry

Ah yes ...seeing a male Quetzal is really something.

I know people who have gone to Costa Rica 3-4 times and have never seen one.

Good for you Jerry

Percy

Hi Percy--thanks for the photos. Will enjoy them tomorrow!

Re: the quetzal. . .if people have been to CR and haven't seen one, they haven't been to Savegre! :)