vivian25

I just returned yesterday from a 12 day trip with 2 other families and we all had an absolutely fantastic time!
Our first and last night we stayed at the Vida Tropical bed and breakfast hotel in Alajuela. The managers, Ally & Martin, were very friendly and helpful but we found the location to be very noisy with street traffic so we didn't get a good nights sleep. The kids enjoyed playing with George the monkey in the back yard. The Vida Tropical no longer offers airport pick up but a taxi is only $2.
The next morning we took a Sansa Airlines flight from San Jose to Tambor. We stayed for 7 nights at the Barcelo Tambor Beach Resort. This was our second stay at this resort, and there weren't too many changes from last time, although we found the staff not quite as friendly as before. November is "graduation month" so there were quite a few high school groups of kids. Our teens liked that, as the disco was hopping almost every night and they had a great time dancing to the latin music. The food was excellent with a good variety. We made reservations twice for the a la carte restaurant and had excellent shrimp and lobster.

vivian25

The waves at Tambor beach are excellent for boogie boarding. We also took out the kayaks. The only other watersport equipment they had was windsurfers, which required a $50 deposit. There is also beach & pool volleyball, water polo, ping pong & pool tables, archery, water aerobics, and dance lessons. Oh yes, and 2 hour horseback riding trips for $20.

I had organized some day trips for our group to Curu Park (about 25 minutes away) and Montezuma (about 45 minutes). I arranged for a 15 passenger van & driver through montezuma expeditions to pick us up. We got a wonderful driver named Jose who lived in Tambor. He not only drove us to Curu but also volunteered to be our tour guide and took us on the trails. We saw lots of monkeys. The park admission is $6 per adult and $3 per child. Our transportation cost was $85 round trip for 15 of us.

Jose also took us to Montezuma where some of the group went on the canopy tour ($30 per person) which they really enjoyed. The rest of us did the hike to the waterfall. It was a great experience swimming in the cool, refreshing water surrounded by jungle and feeling the spray of the waterfall. The hike was about 30 minutes through the creek. Even our 5 yr old son enjoyed it. Afterwards we had lunch at a great restaurant on the beach that Jose recommended, then did some souveneir shopping in the main village where there were lots of stores (there is even an ATM in Montezuma now, but they do charge 5 percent to use it). We walked along the beach to check out the Sano Banano bungalows - awesome! They are doing some construction there right now. Definitely a wonderful place to stay.

After a week at Tambor beach it was time to move on to our next destination: Malpais. Jose charged us $50 one way for van transportation from Tambor to Malpais, which took about an hour. We stayed in treehouses at the Blue Jay Lodge and absolutely loved it. The first night there was a big thunderstorm and the monkeys were going wild, making lots of noises! The other nights were quiter, I enjoyed going to sleep to the sound of the crashing waves and chirping crickets. The breakfasts (included) were excellent!
It is a family owned lodge run by brother and sister (David and Hilcia). Hilcia spoke excellent English. David was also the chef and prepared wonderful meals for us and also acted as tour guide. He arranged a fishing trip for my husband and kids for $30/hr. They caught tuna fish and a 40 lb wahoo! David cooked the tuna for our dinner and it was absolutely delicious. He also took my husband snorkelling for lobster.
My sister and brother in law took surfing lessons which they really enjoyed. Some of our group also did the Malpais canopy tour which started with a 30 minute hike through the jungle, then sliding down the cables (9 platforms) with views of the ocean.

There is really not very much in Malpais, just a few stores and restaurants, but there is now an ATM machine located at Franks Place (again, for a 5 percent surcharge). We bought some great hammocks for $18 each.

To get back to Alajuela we had prepaid a van and ferry transfer through costa rica transfers for $210. It took us most of the day to get back to Alajuela.

If anyone has any specific questions about the Barcelo Tambor Beach Resort or the Blue Jay Lodge in Malpais, you can email me at: [email protected].

I took lots of digital photos and will update this with a link to them once I have downloaded them all.

jlh370

So glad you reviewed Blue Jay Lodge. Right now we have reservations at Milarepa but are still considering staying a night at Blue Jay.

Where did they take surf lessons and do you know how muck it cost? Had they surfed before?

Any major hit or misses in Malpais as far as restaurants?

We are trying to stay at romantic, intimate places while in Malpais. Do you think Blue Jay would fit the bill? There have been very few people to give reports on it.

Thanks!

vivian25

The Blue Jay lodge is much closer to "the crossroads" than Milrepa. We did not have a car so we would walk about 20 minutes along the beach from the Blue Jay to El Carmen beach which was the main beach area for swimming, surfing, & boogie boarding. The Milrepa is about a 25 minute drive from El Carmen Beach. We did not go there to check it out, so can't compare them for you. At El Carmen beach there is a surf shop called "Corduroy" owned by American surfers. They charged $8/day to rent surfboards. The lesson was half an hour and I think cost $20. The waves were not that big so easy for beginners. There is also an Italian restaurant right there on the beach that was pretty good. Our other meals we had at the Blue Jay Lodge. Breakfast was included, you could order anything off the menu. I had the "Tico breakfast" every day which was eggs, beans, rice, and fried bananas. Also had the fruit plate with papaya, pineapple, watermelon and bananas. They had excellent coffee and fruit shakes as well. We ate so well at breakfast that we were never hungry for lunch! They provided us with coolers and ice so we bought some beer and juice from the grocery store that we enjoyed by the pool. The pool is small but very nice and kept clean. There is also a small bar area with pool table.

For dinner it was too dark and inconvenient to walk to other restaurants so we just ate at the Blue Jay. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and always seemed to anticipate our every need. The dinners were well prepared and reasonably priced.

shillmac

What a great review! Thanks for sharing your experiences. The southern Nicoya Peninsula is a little world all unto itself--and a great place to vacation. I'm so glad everyone had a good time!

vivian25

I have added my photos of the Barcelo Tambor Beach resort to this website: www.geocities.com/barceloplayatambor