I don't think that I would like to stay anywhere near Puntarenas. I try not to be negative on this board, but Puntarenas is an ugly and congested port town. The coast around it isn't anything special either.

My guess is that your travel agent does not specialize in Costa Rica. Most travel agents only sell packages that our offered by wholesalers. Most wholesalers only offer larger properties, that will have the room space to support the marketing that they do. So your typical travel agent is only going to know about what is offered to them by the wholesaler they work with.

This is not a knock against travel agents. Heck, some of my best friends are travel agents! They just can't know every destination on the planet, so they have to depend on what their wholesalers tell them.

The Paradisus would probably be perfect for your dad. We have just recently started working with them, after a long absence. Although we specialize in small hotels and eco tourism, we have been getting a lot of requests for all inclusives.

If you are going to go this way, then the Paradisus is your best choice. It is pricey. But this is a case of getting what you pay for. Beautiful beach too.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer any more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

Despite what shillmac says, I have nothing to offer on this subject whatsoever, so I will stray off topic instead :) Shillmac - Scrabble! What do you think, I could bring it with me. Loser has to go get daquiris, ha!

To aturco - shillmac & Pat won't steer you wrong. (Now that Percy fellow is another box of frogs). Have fun!

Which areas on the Pacific side have concerns about sewage in the water? I remember reading about Tamarindo I believe - is that still happening?

shillmac, congrats on getting a spot in CR. I think a blue morpho is an excellent sign. I hope it all works out for you. Sounds very exciting!

When we sign the papers, I'll quit holding my breath. Spoke with Pat at length on the phone today. He was a big help with advice on how to avoid pitfalls. And we are certainly looking to avoid those! Don't need potholes and pitfalls both. . .

Tully, yes! Bring Scrabble, although I wonder if Kim has it upstairs at the restaurant? One of my favorites. We could make some time for it when we're not staking out the puma with our tuna melts.

Wonder where Cam is? She has a job that gets pretty stressful and busy at times. And you know who else hasn't posted in forever? Earthtraveler. Remember him? I think it's been almost 2 years. And Percy. . where are YOU hiding?! :)

And hip too.

Ah, the hip has appeared on another thread. She's been in the throes of a "work situation". As have I. . .however it hasn't involved my time--only my patience. Fodor's is a great outlet sometimes!

Apparently, the problem in Tamarindo has been resolved (at least for the short term). A year to the day after the beaches were closed, they were reopened.

The problem was that they had a heavy rainy season, and there were numerous overflowing tanks. Eventually, this run off drained to the sea.

The local municipality required that all properties close to the beach have a working septic tank, and that everyone have them cleaned. They still have a couple of businesses that have not complied, but they have been identified. From what I have heard, the remaining offenders are under major pressure to get their act together.

The long term solution is a true sanitary sewer system, and planning for this is underway. We are now (cautiously) recommending Tamarindo again to our surfing clients, and those who prefer a commercial kind of beach.

The good news here, is that it was a wake up call to other beach communities in Costa Rica. Though it has cooled a little, there has been a land rush going on for the last few years. They were building like mad in some areas, with no regard for the lack of infrastructure. Tamarindo really suffered due to this situation, and lost a lot of tourist dollars.

Other beach communities took note, and are making more of an effort to be forward thinking. If they don't, we will hear more stories like this in the future.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer any more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

Thanks for the scoop, Pat!

Just came back from a multi-generational family trip to CR. We had 4 children: 3, 6, 9, & 10. We stayed at Ylang Ylang for several nights & Corcovado Jungle Lodge. I'll do a more extensive posting on Ylang Ylang soon. Corcovado JL is expensive but all inclusive. They were great w/the kids. Two pools (adult only pool closed for repairs) w/fluffy towels, restrooms close-by, bar close-by. The naturalist assigned to our group was great w/the kids. We did all-day outings away from the lodge, had a lot of fun. No TV, no movie night, but lots of outdoor fun.