We returned from Costa Rica this past Friday, the 23rd. We had a wonderful trip thanks to all the info that we read here on the message boards. I wanted to give a report in order to help anyone that will be traveling in the future.

We had arranged our hotels and transportation, plus some tours, beforehand. Many thanks to Pat Hewitt who took care of this for us. His website is [email protected]. We were 2 families with 4 adults and 5 children(ages 17-12).

We flew into San Jose on the 11th and traveled to Arenal Lodge for 2 nights. It was a very nice hotel and had a tremendous view of the volcano--we stayed in the chalets at the top of the mountain. We did not get to see the lava at night because of the clouds but did get to see the crater at the top during the day. The lodge must have been a private preserve at some point because they had a wonderful rainforest trail plus a butterfly garden and some enclosures for pacas, collared peccaries, deer. The food was good and the staff friendly. The weather was very cool--longsleeve shirts and long pants were needed. It did rain quite a bit. We opted not to do Tabacon.

On July 13th we took the jeep/boat/jeep trip across Arenal Lake to Monteverde. That was a great transfer--beautiful scenery. At Monteverde we stayed at Hotel Heliconia in the family suites--another great view--at the top of the property. While in Monteverde we did a night hike(lots of fun) all day tour of Selvatura which included the hanging bridges, canopy tour, hummingbird garden. This was a lot of fun --unfortunately it rained all day and was cold but we had on our rain gear. We also did a guided hike of Monteverde which was great--that day was a beautiful day. We were determined to see a quetzal so our guide met us in the afternoon at no additional charge to see if we could spot one. Unfortunately we didn't but he told us where to go the next morning before we left for Quepos so we did and we had success--an absolutely gorgeous bird. While there we saw many sloths, coatis, many beautiful birds, howler monkeys, interesting insects, spiders including a tarantula, butterflies, hummingbirds, etc. We loved the town of Santa Elena and ate at Morhpo's, Johnny's, El Marques, El Sapo Dorado, a great bakery across from the bank and Stella's bakery.

On Friday, July 16th we had a private transfer to Quepos. It was a long drive but pretty. We stopped at a great restaurant on the way--Steve and Lisa's. We stayed at Tulemar Bungalows for several nights. This property was gorgeous and had their own private beach. The kids loved playing in the waves and body surfing. This was the first warm weather we had experienced. While there we did a guided hike of the park plus a guided tour of the Tarcoles River and the Carara Biological Preserve. We saw so much wildlife--sloths, white face monkeys, agoutis, iguana, Jesus Christ lizards, many birds including the scarlet macaws, crocodiles. At our hotel there were troops of white face monkeys plus the endangered squirrel monkeys at the pool/restaurant and the beach. There were also sloths right by the pool. We ate at Mar Luna, Karolas, Restaurante Marisqueria, Ronny's, and had pizza in one night. All the food was great.

We traveled back to San Jose on the 21st and stayed at the Hotel Bougainveilla--another nice hotel in Heredia. The gardens were extensive. We stayed a couple of nights and the day before we left we traveled to La Paz and stopped at a coffee plantation. We were going to Poas but it was cloudy so we opted not to go. We did go into San Jose and have dinner. It was like any other big city--crowded and crazy. However, we were glad to have the experience and their National Theatre was beautiful.

Overall, we were so glad we did not rent cars. That would have been very frustrating for us. I am sure we would have gotten lost. The roads were good in places and not so good. The roads in Monteverde are not paved and bumpy. We were shocked at how cool the weather was in the mountains--glad we had long pants and ls shirts. The weather at the coast was warm but not any warmer here in NC. Bugs were not an issue. We did use OFF with 30% DEET when we did our hikes but otherwise was not needed. Mosquitos are much worse here in NC. All the guides plus the hotel staffs were great--everything went according to plan. However, we did carry our passports and money with us at all times in a backpack. We did use room safes when available. There was a story in the Tico Times of a student group getting ripped off while they were away from their hotel on a tour--I think it could happen easily so just take precaution. We had a wonderful trip --if anyone has questions please e-mail me.

B Holland

B Holland,
Great report! Thanks for sharing the names of restaurants, etc. Glad you got to see the quetzal! He is a looker! And, I agree, the Teatro Nacional is definitely worth seeing. We went to see the opera "Carmen" there last summer. That was interesting!

ERJH: Thanks for the long detailed report. Could you please tell me more about Tulemar? The place sounds good, but I only read about it from people who have kids with them. Is it an "upscale" property? That's what we're hoping for, but also one with a good beach. Do you feel much like you're in the rainforest-- or are you aware of roads, etc. How much real privacy is there if one is on one's balcony? How quiet is the place? (both people noise and surf noise) Any other info-- pros and cons-- much appreciated. Thanks!

Tulemar was a wonderful resort. There were families there and we ran into couples also, one on their honeymoon. The property is located on a hillside on the road to Manuel Antonio. It is in a good location --we could walk to some restaurants plus grocery, ATM, and the local coffee shop. The resort consists of 2 types of bungalows--standard and premium. We stayed in the standard and were very pleased. They are individual bungalows nestled into the hillside with a tremendous view of the coastline. They did not have a balcony(which we did not miss), they did have AC, mini bar, small kitchenette, and a separate bedroom with TV and phone. The bungalows are an octagon shape with windows on all sides. The beach was gorgeous--you can either take a shuttle down or walk. It is probably a 10 minute walk --definitley take the shuttle back because it is a very steep hill. There is a bar on the beach plus they will bring food down from the restaurant to eat. One day we ate at the beach and they set up the tables with the linen tablecloths. They have a couple of kayaks plus towels and beach chairs. I thought the grounds were very lush and you are in the forest. You will see the monkeys there plus iguanas, lizards, and sloths. As for noise you will hear the birds in the morning waking you up. We loved it and it was a great place to stay several nights.

I want to give some press to Ronny's restaurant. He just opened this past December. We loved it--it definitely was one of our most favorite restaurants. Several local people recommended it to us. It is located on a gravel road off the highway to Manuel Antonio. It sits high upon the hillside and I am sure it would be a perfect spot for a sunset but we were there after dark. Ronny made the best passionfruit margaritas and the best tropical sangria. All the children had virgin pina coladas served in a coconut, plus banana smoothies! The food was delicious and Ronny was an entertaining and accommodating host. Be sure and check it out if you are in Manuel Antonio.

We were also at the Tulemar Bungalows this week. I give this resort an A+. Although we had our teenagers with us, it would also be a great place for honeymooners, or anyone else liking a quiet place as it is very private. We had a premium bungalow #203 and #303. It had a pool right outside that seemed like it was only used by us! We saw more monkeys here than anywhere else on our two week trip. Also, I recommend an inexpensive place to eat...it is called the Cantina Salsipuedes and it is next door to the hotel. Allison

Alison - have a question for you. I'm assuming that having the premium bungalows gave you 2 units connected by a staircase? I had looked at Tulemar (before deciding on Costa Verde) on my last trip, but couldn't find out enough info on just the deluxe rooms. I was told the deluxe room is basically just one of those units without access to the other. Could you tell which unit would be the deluxe room, the upper or lower? Did they both have balconies, kitchenette, etc? Thanks so much! Also, had read their cafe was closed in the green season, true?

Thanks for the report erjh. Could you give a little more detail where Ronny's is located? Thanks

Ronny's Place is located past Mono Azul(going toward Manuel Antonio) on a gravel road --there should be a sign. On the left is Amigos del Rio and the gravel road is on the right. After getting on the gravel road you may travel 1/2 or 1 mile before you get to the restaurant. Hope you can locate it--as I can remember the sign was quite big.

ERJH, thanks for a great and informative trip report. What did you do at Arenal? Any restaurants you can recommend in Arenal?

I'm glad you mentioned weather & clothing. I find that very helpful. I think that when people think of CR, they think of tropics & hot weather all the time. When you said it rained in ARenal, did it rain all day? We are going in August. I am expecting rain every day but hopefully not all day.
Thanks.

We only stayed at Arenal Lodge for 2 nights. We didn't get there till late afternoon on a Sunday so that really left us only one day. We ate dinner there both Sunday and Monday nights. Breakfast was included. Arenal Lodge is removed from the town of La Fortuna by several miles. While there it did rain quite a bit but it was not constant--it would come in cycles. Our rain gear came in handy. We all had rain jackets plus amphibian shoes-that was the best investment that we made! They could get wet and would dry since the upper is made of mesh. Because of the weather we opted not to do Tabacon--for some reason we were just not excited about going. Instead we hiked around the property which was beautiful--the rainforest trail, butterfly garden, gardens by the restaurant where we saw many beautiful birds. We did hear howler monkeys there but did not see them. There are plenty of options--hanging bridges, canopy tour which we elected not to do because we were doing those activities in Monteverde. It was very cool and cloudy the whole time we were there but still a nice visit, and the view from our chalet was absolutely beautiful.

Hi Tully, Our premium bungalow consisted of the following: a two storey unit connected by an outside stairway (not good if your kids are young, but excellent if they are teenagers!). The bottom floor had a king size bed with wonderful white linens, a refrigerator, microwave, tv,deluxe bathroom with two shower heads, a balcony with table, chairs and a hammock, the upstairs had two double beds with the great linens, tv, deluxe bathroom, full kitchen, living area, large deck, with table, chairs, bbq, hammock, and a tremendous view. I'm sure other bungalows have different configurations. Both upstairs and downstairs were very private. This place was what I consider "upscale" because we usually stay in more moderate hotels. Gaialink put our trip together and I asked for "moderate" hotels, but wanted a "deluxe" hotel for our last stop in Manuel Antonio. I'm not sure exactly what the hotel cost because we paid an overall amount per person for a two week trip. Whatever it was, it was worth it. The restaurant is called the "Tule Cafe" and it IS open during the green season. We just ate breakfast there and went elsewhere for lunch and dinner. The breakfast offers "cooked to order eggs" and a beautiful view of the coastline. Allison

Thank you so much for the all the details Allison! Sounds like the lower unit is the one they call the "deluxe room", since it has just one bed and sounds like it is a little smaller & without a full kitchen. I'd be traveling alone so no worry about the stairs or kids. Would you say the lower unit had at least a decent view? Glad to hear it has a hammock - I'd take a smaller room over a big balcony with a great view! I will defintely keep Tulemar at the top of my list for next trip; I really loved Costa Verde but would like to try something different.

What are the amphibian shoes you mention? Do you mean the water shoes that people wear at the beach? Are they expensive and where did you buy them? Sorry about so many questions.
Thanks.
Karen

The amphibian shoes are made by Salomon. We bought ours on sale at a camping store but you can order them online--they are listed as tech amphibian sport shoes. I find that campmor.com usually has the lowest prices for outdoor gear. I think the regular price was around $65 for adults. Even though they are expensive we wore them constantly for 2 weeks and feel as if we got our money's worth. It was especially handy on muddy hikes because after rinsing them out they would be dry by the next day, and they are comfortable enough to wear without socks so no dirty socks to wash. The only other shoes we wore were sandals at the beach.

ERJH-- Do you happen to know whether those shoes can be worn with orthotics? They sound very practical, but I've got a torn plantar fascia and need good inserts. I'll try to inquire from the company also. Thanks for the tip.

Poss: I think that you could because it is built like a tennis shoe--you would probably have to try on with the orthotics to see how it would feel--maybe you could go 1/2 size up.

Hi Tully, In our particular unit, the smaller king size bed room (lower floor) had a nice outlook. The larger room with kitchen etc. (upper floor) had a sweeping view of the coastline. However, I'm sure that the views vary from bungalow to bungalow. Allison