My thanks to all you fellow travelers who helped me prepare for our holiday family adventure.
I had the good fortune to travel with my parents, both 76 and my son of 7.
Making everyone happy and comfortable was first on the list.

In the past my family and I normally cruise the Carribean for Christmas or rent a cabin in the Florida woods.
Normally we travel to Spain every other summer to visit family.
In Spain we rent a car and plan our own itinerary to different areas of the country.
In 2006 my then 6 year old and I did the Transcantabrico. Highly recommended if train travel is your passion. http://www.transcantabrico.feve.es/

This Christmas we traveled to Costa Rica for 10 days.
The first 5 nights were near Aguas Zarcas and Ciudad Quesada, about an hour from Arenal.
The hotel we stayed at is called Termales del Bosque http://www.termalesdelbosque.com/home.htm
At the time I had to call them to make the reservation for their email was not working correctly.

This is a hotel where the Ticos 'in the know' come to relax...I cannot say enough positive things about our time there.
We were treated SO WELL, with so much kindness and consideration. Everyone was friendly and helpful; hotel (Marcela) and restaurant staff (Francisco).
About 1 km from the hotel complex down a winding country road you enter a well maintained path that leads you to the river. You cross over 2 streams to get to the river where there are 7 natural thermal pools of various hot temperatures.
It is a beautiful setting and so therapeutic.
The hotel rooms are simple but the hotel does have a sauna, steam room, 2 jacuzzis and a small gym with 4 machines.
The massages and facials are INCREDIBLE. We get monthly massages at home and this place has great therapists.
You can either get the massage down by the thermal pools in small cabinas or up in the hotel. We did both in the time
we were there. In our 5 days we saw lots of rain. I was glad I included a knit pullover for my son and I for it was chilly and we wore it under our raincoats.

The hotel recommended a driver that turned out to be GREAT. His name is Frank, he drove us from the airport to the hotel.
[email protected] (506)377-6663
We also went to Poas with him on an all day tour. He is a young man (30s) responsible, timely, trustworthy, extremely helpful, very reasonable. He did not rush us on the tour he treated us well and made us comfortable. We will contact him when we return. On our tours there were only 4 of us, a couple from Toronto and my son and I. This is what I was hoping for a small tour so we could ask questions and receive personalized help, we were very satisfied. Now that I am a wee bit more knowledgeable I may not get a rental car but solely rely on Frank for our transportation needs.

This time we rented a car through Thrifty with a GPS. We drove to La Fortuna and Arenal. We visited Arenal lake and did the hangining bridges with a guide. Very informative but no sight of Arenal for it was a cloudy rainy day.

On the 6th day we drove to Manuel Antonio from Aguas Zarcas, the GPS was priceless even though we had a map and also stopped and asked for directions several times. We made good time and enjoyed the lovely scenery and weather. Getting out of the San Carlos area was challenging. We found heavy fog even at 11am! The roads are very tricky narrow and many turns up and down mountains. After Naranjo we had blue skies. We did not take a direct route but headed towards Puntarenas and followed the coast to Quepos. The roads were fine. Now the bridges are another story. Specifically right before Quepos we encountered Paquita & Parrita two very questionable bridges.

In Quepos we stayed at Espadilla Hotel. I was not happy with this choice mainly for the service provided.

Eventhough I had the international roaming plan on my phone I had minimal coverage in Costa Rica. If you have AT&T do not bother. Having a calling card was the answer they were easy to use and I scheduled our tours this way bypassing the expensive charges of the hotel. We toured Manuel Antonio with a guide and returned the next day to enjoy the beach. My father, son and I went horseback riding with Valmy Tours, we were the only ones in the tour and had a good time. We also visited the beach near El Parador hotel two times. At the end of our second visit we saw that a tour bus had gone to close to the edge and was waiting to be pulled from the peril.

The only bad experience was that on the last night we ate at El Gato Negro (I believe this is the name, its right across from El Avion). I was grateful my parents had a light dinner and only ordered soup that night. My son ordered spaghetti and I a fish dish. We shared and he became VERY ill with him throwing up all night. On January 2nd I took him to his pediatrician who ordered test to see if its virus or parasites.

I am grateful for all the advice I received from this page and hope to begin planning our next trip. We are hopefully returning to Termales del Bosque in CR soon but we are also considering a visit to Cuba this year.

Our wishes of good health and many happy travels to you and your family.
Ribota

Very nice report. Thanks! I only wish you had kept our secret about Termales del Bosque quiet. It is a magical place indeed, but I hope that most of the tourists continue to think Tabacon is the "place to go" (even though it is an overpriced tourist trap) and not too many "discover" our secret just "down the road". It is soooo nice to wander down to the river early in the morning and soak in the tranquil hot springs with no one else around except the blue morpho butterflies. And the food is quite excellent there, verdad?

Sounds like an excellent trip! Yes, the "oh my God" bridges near Quepos are fun The transcantabrico looks fabulous! I am going to Spain in October, but really meaning to hit Seville, Madrid & Segovia, is something like the transcantabrico offered in other areas of the country?

Ribota, thanks for the very nice report. May I ask where your family is located in Spain? I have a lot of family in Asturias. Thanks for the train link.

Wow I enjoyed your responses to my report.

raderbarbarian
You and I think alike. It is a great comfort to read your response. It was magical going down to the pools...we thought we were in Narnia (the light posts).
Yes the food was muy rica. The staff made it even nicer. Fransisco was very helpful keeping my sons medicine cold (flax seed oil) and many little ways that helped make my parents comfortable. He was there every morning and evening with a friendly smile...I think I have a wee bit of a crush on him...dont tell anyone.

tully
I vaguely remember another train trip in the south...its been awhile since I researched, but I will keep thinking about it and something may surface.

The Transcantabrico was expensive in the summer of 2006, but well worth it for a mom and child traveling alone (like a cruise your hotel travels with you). We have memories for a life time. Our guide Anna was FANTASTIC...very knowledgeable and going out of her way to help us.
We were fortunate to know Spanish and English and hear the descriptions twice. Just before sharing their URL in this CR report I wrote to them and asked for her email so we could keep in touch. We really lucked out for Anna mentioned that normally its an older crowd, usually couples. On our trip there was a large family (several generations) from California and Mexico with 3 sons the youngest a couple years older than my son. And also another mom and young daughter traveling. My son had positive children to play with.

parrmt
WOW my family IS ALSO FROM ASTURIAS!
Actually my ID 'Ribota' is one of my favorite places on earth: Ribota de Sajambre; a small village where my mother was born. Technically its just over the border in Leon but they consider themselves Asturianos! I have family in Oviedo, Gijon, Aviles, Cangas de Onis... I would love to type to you.
If you wish, email me at ribota@hotmail.

Happy New Year!

Oh my .....Aviles is where my father was born and our family still lives. Emailing you later! I love love love Asturias, my late father always said it is the most beautiful place on earth and I agree. I will email you. Toni