Playa Hermosa...Jolene especially!

Old Apr 17th, 2004, 05:17 PM
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Playa Hermosa...Jolene especially!

We will probably stay in this area for a few days in Aug., although Sugar Beach looks good, too. Thought we would stay north so we can visit Rincon easier. Does anyone have a favorite place (we are two parents and a 15 yr.old son)??
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 12:08 PM
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ttt
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 09:58 PM
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Hi, I see you've tryed a few times to get my attention, sorry I missed you. We loved our trip to CR. with our two teens 14 and 16, they enjoyed Playa Hermosa. Now to answer some of your past questions, finally.

We stayed at the Condovac La Costa in Playa Hermosa(timeshare), but there are some hotels along the beach. It sounds like you may be driving from Arenal to Hermosa, this should take about 4hrs. Your son might enjoy the Venado Caves, about 45min. from La Fortuna, let me know if you would like any details about them, we all had a grreat time. The road around Lake Arenal is beautiful but narrow, windy and lots of pot holes, once you hit Tilaran the rest of the way is OK. Turn right (north) when you reach hwy 1 at Canas traveling north to Liberia. For Hermosa, turn left at the light in Liberia(big gas station at this light on your left, their gas was the best price when we were there, good service too). The road to Hermosa will take 1/2hr, good road, flat, as your near Hermosa you get into the hills and the roads narrows with some potholes. Hermosa is a very large beach with lots of shady spots if you prefer to stay out of the sun, good swimming beach. The sunsets were beautiful from here. Lots of Iguanas and crabs running around the dark sand beach. Snorkeling at the beach wasn't good when we were there so we took a snorkeling tour out to the deeper waters. Still didn't see anything besides small fish, but the afternoon spent on the boat and out in the open water was still enjoyable, they also took us to a deserted beach. You could easily do a day trip to Rincon from here, we did one to Arenal! Make sure you leave early in the morning by 6am at the latest so you can make the most of your day. You can drive over to Coco(15min.from Hermosa), for lots of places to eat in the evening , also street vendors open at night for shopping. There is a grocery store as you enter Coco on the left, we bought our huge plastic jug of Lizano salsa here to take home with us, but also used this store for groceries and bottled water. Hermosa was very brown and dry very few leaves on the trees(except for our resort which used sprinkler systems) we wouldn't return there in March or April again, but was told it starts to green up again starting with the rains in May, so it should be lovely and green when you get there, enjoy.

The best time of our vacation was after we left Hermosa(had booked Condovac for 7 nights, but left after 3). We had come to see the rainforests and nice green scenery, so we left to find the real Costa Rica. We had no trouble finding places to stay visited Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, stayed in small tico family run places and loved it, they are wonderful people. Loved Monteverde stayed at a very rustic cabin right in the cloud forest(El Mirador) with wonderful private trails, hiked for 3 hrs. and never saw anyone. You can also see Lake Arenal and the volcano from your cabin window if it is clear in the morning, if you decide to stay in the mountains bring a small flashlight and warm clothes, zip pants are great if you have them.In Monteverde we enjoyed doing the canopy tour at Selvetura and their hummingbird gardens. Loved our lunch at Stella's and the ice cream at the cheese factory was excellent. Also enjoyed the serpentarium while there as my daughter was dissapointed that she didn't see any snakes in the wild! Roads to Monteverde were the worst we drove on, narrow, twisty, rought rock, took a different route in and out, but can't really recommend one over the other(if you go print the maps off the monteverdeinfo site.

When we left Monteverde we decided to head toward Maunel Antonio. Once back on hwy. 1 the next 2hrs. of our trip was easy driving. We headed toward Puntarenas turning off just before reaching there and headed toward Orotina. Turned off again toward Jaco before hitting Orotina. Stopped at the Rio Tarcoles Bridge to see the crocodiles(cross the bridge there is a place to pull over on the right, walk 1/2 way back across bridge, lots of crocs.) About 30min. south of Jaco we saw a small sign on the right for Esterillos Oeste turned here. We stayed at the Hotel Sirena right on the beach(they have a statue of a mermaid on the beach), 17,400 colones for a quad. The family was very nice, no nickel and diming here, you can use their surfboards, bikes, pool table, etc. free of charge. This beach was the best we were on for shells, rocky reefs out front but walk south along the beach for swimming and surfing. It was more humid here than Hermosa and the ocean is alot warmer. Manuel Antonio is about an hr. south of here, but we were told it was crowded this time of the year, so we chose to do it as a day trip. It was an easy hr. drive from our hotel we parked at the entrance for 1,000 colones. Loved MA, both the rainforest and the beach. It's a small park, easy to hike in a day, lots of guides, great chance to see wildlife, if you have a pair of small binoculars take them with you. We saw sloths(a mom and baby down low), monkeys, Iguanas even a Jesus Christ Lizard. We also snorkeling here, highly recommend MA to anyone who wants to experience a beautiful beach set against a lovely rainforest.

Our trip back to the airport from Esterillos Oeste only took 2hrs, we travelled north thru Orotina and Atenas(this is known as the old highway) you join back on to the interamerican hwy just west of Alajuela. Have a great trip and let me know if you want anymore info. on any of the places we explored!
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Old Apr 19th, 2004, 02:51 PM
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Thanks so much for the reply! We will be in CR for 2 wks and are thinking about: 2 nights near San Jose (11 hr tour), 2 nights La Fortuna/Arenal,3-4nights Playa Hermosa (to relax), 3-4 nights Manuel Antonio, last few nights in Cental Valley area. Want to include canopy tour and rafting. Like you, though, we can do beaches here so don't want to spend too much time in northern area. I think it will be greener, though, and Monteverde might be too wet/rainy. We have seen/hiked many Natl. Parks in the US and enjoy the peace as well as challenge they bring. This post also makes me wonder about La Selva area and Savegre area. I guess as Neta has said, you can't do it all....I think we may try to end our trip with a couple days at her place. Boy, I'm going on and on, sorry! And, thanks again! Joyce
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Old Apr 19th, 2004, 03:19 PM
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Check out Hotel El Velero in Hermosa. You will find the ugly brown Guanacaste of March and April to be just beautiful in August.

The Sarapiqui area is very nice, and you will be able to enjoy it on your 11 hour tour.

Also, I think you will find your two nights at Neta's to be a real treat. This will give you a chance experience rural Costa Rica and is a good launching point for the new Turubari (don't know if that is spelled right!) Park as well as Carara Biological Reserve--which you can also check out (either one of these two places) as you travel between Manuel Antonio and La Finca Que Ama (Neta and Arbel's hotel). Sounds like you are going to get a really good overview of Costa Rica (as did Jolene) through a very well-planned itinerary.

On your way from Hermosa to MA, you could check out Flamingo Beach, Tamarindo and that area as well. Flamingo has a particularly nice beach. Very Americanized, but nice beach! You can drive into Brasilito (between Flamingo and Tamarindo area), to the beach, and drive on the beach at low tide to Playa Conchal. This would make for an interesting excursion (if you want to make a very full day out of getting from Hermosa to MA). Have fun!
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Old Apr 19th, 2004, 03:37 PM
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Dear Joyce,
We would love to have you here!
Turubari (yes Shillmac, you spelled it right!), it a beautiful new tropical park, which includes, among other things a canopy tour, aerial tram, tropical gardens, butterfly farm, bamboo forest and a wonderful typical Costa Rican buffet lunch. It is only 15 minutes from our place, and I highly recommend it (www.turubari.com).
As usual, I will gladly help you (and any other fellow Fodorite!) with reservations in the hotels of your choice. I don't have a lot of contacts with hotels in the north, but in MA and Arenal I know many people, and I can usually get a discount. If you prefer, you can write me directly as well.
Hope to see you soon!
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

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