tully

Really loved reading your report. Love your attitude as well, you really got into the pura vida of CR! I too enjoyed Marlin's, great people watching! Now you can plan your next trip!

marleyzoemom

Hi Novj,
Tough question. How much time will you have?
We loved Peace Lodge- absolutely beautiful, tremendous grounds, and we visited Poas Volcano while there. It was only about a 30 minute drive, and Peace Lodge offers a few nice tours.The Peace Lodge room is outstanding for a honeymoon
Arenal on the other hand has a lot going on as well. You will need at least 2 nights ( at least) to do Arenal. We did not stay in Tabacon, I am sure it is nice but it looked very large and commercial, kinda like the Marriott in San Jose. Very nice, but Costa Rica with gloves on.
Your choice- but if time is limited Peace Lodge would be my choice.
Sandy

wanatrvl

Enjoyed your trip report! Very entertaining with good details to help me with my upcoming trip.

marleyzoemom

Hi Wanatravl,
Enjoy you trip. I will live vicarously thru you!
Sandy

eshain

Hi marleyzoemom,

thanks so much for your itinerary. I am leaving next week and happen to be doing your same trip except no Moneteverde. We will be at Peace Lodge (1 night), Tabacon (2nights) and 4 nights Si Cimono. I loved your advice on the restaraunts since that was something I was wondering about. Did you happen to hear anything about the horseback riding by Arenal? I know you did a hike to the volcanoe but my husband and I were thinking of teh horseback riding. Also, did you hear about the rainmaker tour or the Carero National Forest? we are doing the same excursions as you butt we were thinking about those too. I am glad you gave such a detailed itinerary.

Thanks.

eshain

One more thing - what was the weather like? i heard days it varies by region. thanks.

marleyzoemom

Hi Eshain,
Lucky- you will love the trip.
We are not horseback riders (!), but we met people who did the trip at Peace Lodge and loved it- these were pretty discerning folks, so I think their opinion was valid. We saw a lot of horseback trips at Arenel, but did not partake. 2 nights at Arenel is really only one full day- and in my opinion the Volcano and the Hanging Bridges were real highlights. I just picked a bad hotel and tour....but if left to do it again I would have still focused on these 2 activities. Would have also liked La Fortuna Falls, but we were out of time.
My knowledge of Rainmaker is from this sight- seems favorable, but no first hand knwledge. In MA we opted to be active only 1/2 the day, and then chill.
One not on Si Como NO- beware of the room assignment they make. If you tellme your room type I may be able to steer yu to good rooms, cause they were not all good.
As far as weather, it was very varied. Overall Peace Lodge was cool, sort of cloudy ( rain forest!) not at all hot.
Arenal was extremely hot and humid. HOT!
MA was great, warm but not as hot as expected. THere were breezes, just very pleasant. For the trip I had one gortex jacket, and one cotton sweater. I wore the jacket several times, but only the sweater at night in Monteverde. At the Peace Lodge just crawl into your hot tub on the balcony if you get chilly!
Enjoy
Sandy

eshain

Thanks for the advice cause I want to pack light.Just wondering - did you do a spa at Si Comono? I am wondering how there treatments are and if they have outdoor ones. In Si Comono, we are staying in an "economy room" it is actually an interesting store whcih i think i will share with everyone. We had been trying to get into that hotel but all they had was the hneymoon suite. Finally, Jairo said that he did have an economy room. it is 130/nt (plus tax) but they do not advertize it because it is for walk ins. I guess i was annoying them enough taht they let me book it in advance. they said the room is the same but smaller than a standard. (I figure I don't plan on spending much time in there). Also, I assume that there is really no view but I do not mind. I live on Mimai Beach in Florida so I am used to having th eocean view year round.
Another thing, i think you had mentioned that you bought food there (water, sodas), is this easy to do? we like o snack a lot.

marleyzoemom

Hi Eshan!
SPa at Sicomo no was very nice. I did a combo and enjoyedit- I am a bit of a spa girl!
There were not outdoor facilities for spa treatments, nor was it inexpensive, pretty much on par with the States, but hey, it's vacation. I do understand that Tabacon has a very good outdoor service. I think its called premiere or something- there is a slight upcharge (maybe10.00) but the people I met really spoke highly of it.
At Sicomono I just liked the whole scene.
THere are supermarkets everywhere.We too always need our snacks, and the supermarkets were very inexpensive. We went to one near Poas in the Peace lodge regon, a great one in La Fortuna (GREAT RUM SELECTION) We purchased our liquor and made drinks in the rooms, and also a very good one up the hill in MA.It is walkable from sicomono.
Are you driving your self, or do you have a driver? Sandy

mbscms

We are going to Costa Rica in 3 weeks. 2 Adults 2 kids. The only thing we know for sure is that the last 5 nights we will be in the Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park area. So here is the Dilemma. We have 6 nights prior to Osa and are trying to figure out the best plan. Should we fly into Liberia...spend some time around say Tamarindo (or some better idea) then go to Monteverde and Arenal then head back to San Jose for the flight to Osa OR Should we fly to San Jose and do what???? Any better ideas are welcome! Any advice is much appreciated .We need to finalize plans sooooon. Many thanks in advance?

marleyzoemom

Mbscms, I am not the best suited for this type of advice, but here goes.
Is this your 1st trip to CR?
If so I could not imagine missing Arenal and Monteverde.
But I also could not imagine missing Manual Antonio, the beach area we visited.
I have not been to Tamarindo, si I can't comment.
YOur thought of Tamarindo/Monteverde/Arenel/Osa is just too much travelling. 2 nights per stop is really only 1 full day.
I would probably fly to San Jose, go to Arenal,go to MA or a beach area. Can you fly from Quepos to OSA?
Cause if you can then fly to San Jose/Arenal 3 nts/Ma 3 nts, fly Quepos to OSa would be exellent in my opinion.
If you read my trip report ( it is very long and detailed) you can get a sense of Arenal and MA.
Good Luck. I will go to Osa next time.Have FUN!
Sandy

Starla2

Dear Tully,

When you think "crunchy" think birkenstocks, granola, soy milk, co-ops, and bean sprouts. And marleyzoemom isn't crunchy at all, but she sure used to be. Flanel shirts, denim overalls, rawhide braids, you get the picture.

marleyzoemom

Starla 2,
Hmmmmm, seems as if you knew me in a former life.....wonder who you are.....
ALLISON!
FYI My best friend from grade school highjacked my post!

CDNJ

Marleyzoemom,
Wow. Thanks for your post. My husband and I are going to Costa Rica on the 19th. We also are from NJ, are in our mid 40's, love the spa thing and unfortunately he was at the trade center on 9-11 as well. So many things in common. No wonder we picked Si Como No as well. I am a little concerned now about our accomodations. we booked a Superior room, any suggestions for room assignment?
We are also going to Arenel and staying at the Tabacon Resort. We are taking the direct flight from newark Friday night arrving at 8:00pm and driving up to Arenel the next day. So we will arrive Saturday afternoon. We have massages scheduled for that afternoon. We were planning on just hanging out at the Springs on Sunday and leaving MOnday am for MA. Anyone who has stayed at the Resort have any other suggesstions? I have a huge fear of heights so a lot of those tours are out of the question. How is the weather at Arenel in mid August at night? do I need a jacket?

marleyzoemom

Hi CDNJ,
WOW, ther is a lot in common- we are in Monmouth county....WHere re you? You are so going to enjoy thos trip!
In Si Como No I am not real sure about the superior rooms- i think we had a delux suite, but I would avoid building 18 and 14 overall, as well as rooms 47,48,49. It is a really nice resort, but I did not like the lower- far away rooms. I think they were all delux suites....
Anyway just try to avoid the above, and if unhappy with your assigned room just be nice and ask for a change- as you can imagine "going new jersey "will not work there!
A lot of the trips incude heights, but the hanging bridges are so nice I would try that. Also maybe la fortuna falls, and a trip to the volcano.
Where are you staying Friday night?
Did you rent a car?
Weather was very warm, only a gortex jacket for rain when we were there.
MA is so beautifull. Use the shuttle to go to the beaches, stop at sone of the places I talked about in the trip report- just enjoy. It is tonic for our 911 souls.Write when you return,OK?
Sandy

medsocialworker

It sounds like this was a wonderful trip . We are going to Manual Antonio and spending the whole week there? Any
additional recommendations? What are the beaches like, is it crowded, is it reasonable, as I had heard that it is more expensive. Is this true? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the great information

marleyzoemom

I read your post about your Husbands surprise trip- WHAT FUN! I have to tell you that we so loved Costa Rica, but especially MA. The entire thing....THe whacky public beaches, the park, Kayacking, doing nothing at all. I wrote a lot about restraunts,Karolas we loved, but also Mar Y Somba (SP) And The Marlin both for GREAT relaxing people watching.
We loved the whole thing, and are in our late 40's so....
If you want a bit of a "local" adventure go into Quepos. Do it in the Daytime, then return at night, because at night it is hard to find your way around.
As far as shots, not needed. As far as food, my trip report covers our adventures. We absolutely could have done a week in MA alone- you will love it.
(We bought our rum in the supermarket- it was cheap).
If your friends don't love it there is something wrong with them!
Have FUN.

CDNJ

MarleyZoemom (Sandy)
I can't believe you live in Monmouth County too, we are probably neighbors! If you would like email me to discuss further my email is "[email protected]" One last question for the thread, do I need pants at night? I was planning on bringing just shorts.

CDNJ

Sandy
I forgot to answer your questions, Friday night we are staying at Vista del Valle, Alajuela. We have arranged for private transfers to Arenel and MA, then flying back to SJ. By having someone else drive we will avoid any disagreemtns that could occur if we get lost.