Report on our 2 weeks in Costa Rica
Apr 4th, 2004, 01:36 PM
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Report on our 2 weeks in Costa Rica
First, thanks to all of you who helped me. We had a wonderful trip and followed many of your suggestions.
This will be long and really directed to first timers. To give you a point of reference, we are an active couple in our 60's and we have travelled the US (including Alaska) and Canada (including Nova Scotia) by RV. We are into cozy and natural as opposed to fancy and expensive and we love seeing wildlife and taking photos. With that in mind this is Costa Rica through our eyes.
First and last days were spent at Orquideas Inn, an excellent choice. Check the thread on Orquideas. I just answered it in detail.
We rented a Kia Sportage from Dollar Rental and they picked us up at the Inn so we could get the car.
We drove to Manuel Antonio where it was oppresssively hot. The road was pretty good. We stayed at Tres Banderas. The hotel was small but lovely. It has a beautiful swimming pool and the room was air conditioned (weakly). The A/C was a must. The room was basically furnished with cable TV in English. The wood trim was very attractive and we had a balcony facing into the forest.The balcony made it an upgrade but it was well worth it. The room was on the third floor and we had to carry the suitcases ourselves. The owner/manager, Gilbert, needs a serious attitude adjustment. He made it clear that he does not like to talk to tourists and behaved accordingly. He was curt to the point of being rude. Too bad, he was the sour note to the place.
Do take a guide into Manual Antonio Park. You see much more. If you have time, go to the park the day before, and arrange for a guide early in the morning for $15 each. If you arrange through a hotel it costs $20 and the groups are much larger. We were 8 people.
We parasailed side by side and that was unbelievably great, amazing. You can book it at any tourist agency there and there is only one guy doing it. (I think Jim)If you can, it is a must do.
We took the Safari Canopy Tour which was lots of fun. They pick you up at the hotel and drive you 45 min. outside of Quepos, an interesting drive. The downside was that it was very hot and we left the hotel at 10:30. I advise taking the earlier one. It was also very crowded. There were too many people on the platform and there was a wait between zip lines. The other problem was that there was a long walk up to the second platform on rock steps that were a bit slippery. The walk in that heat was a bit much. After that it was fun. The buffet lunch was good and the plunge into the water hole was a great relief.
Sunset at Barbra Rojas was great and dinner at Karola's was pricey but worth it. New York Pizza is great for a cheap meal. One slice is like two.
Our next destination was Arenal. We stopped at Zarcero to visit the church and topiary garden and it was worth the stop but don't go far from your car if you have your luggage in it.
We stayed at the Arenal Lodge, about 15 minutes past La Fortuna and up a 1/2 mile rocky, pitted, winding road. Was it ever worth it. The lobby is charming, the desk clerks helpful, and the dining room has a glass wall facing the volcano. We were upgraded to a Chalet. We opened our door and faced a 20 foot glass window that was 10 feet high. Spectacular! A fabulous view of the volcano and Lake Arenal. If you request it, security will wake you if there is an eruption. We weren't that lucky. On the grounds there is a butterfly house, a wonderful marked trail in the rain forest, and a horseback ride you can take to their farms. The buffet breakfast was included and excellent. The dinner we had one night was delicious.
We spent one evening from 5-9 at Hidalgo Family Farms, a private hot springs that has been open less than 1 1/2 years. It is a quiet, charming place that caters to a quiet clientelle. We had dinner there and thouroughly enjoyed it and the place. Reservations are necesssary.
We went to Tabacon Hot Springs, more of a party place. If you want to avoid the tourist crowds, as we did, you need to arrive about one and be out by five. The place is beautiful and the Swedish massage that I had outdoors was heavenly.
Our next stop was Monteverde. From our point of view we could have missed this entirely. We did find things to do but we did not feel that there was enough for us there to make up for the drive in and out and the roads there. The Cloud Forest was a disappointment. We took a guide, 8 in a group, early in the morning. The slide show was great but we did not see any wildlife on the trails and the guides were backed up, one against the other going and coming. The birds were hidden in the trees and we ended up being shown pictures of them and listening to lots of statistics. We did see some howler monkeys on the way out but they were not active.
We stayed at El Sapo Dorado and highly recommend it. The cabins were up on hillsides and they were charming. It was so chilly one night that we were tempted to light the fireplace. I think our room was called the classic. They had trails on the grounds that we enjoyed more than the Cloud Forest and maps to go with them. We had dinner in their restaurant one night after watching the sunset (sort of, it's blocked by trees) and the food was excellent. We ordered steak fillets and each of us got two of them presented beautifully. The whole meal including a bottle of wine and cheese came to $60. You do need reservations.
I suggest reservations for Johnny's Pizzeria as well or arrive before 6 or after 8. Pizza was great. We also ate at a less sell known restaurant in Santa Elena. I can't remember the name but it is downstairs at the edge of town across from the bank and starts with an E. The food is very inexpensive and very tasty. The grilled chicken was really good.
We took tours of the Frog Pond and a Coffee Plantation, both were interesting.
If you decide to go to Monteverde, download the map. If your hotel is past Stella's Bakery (also great food and goodies), the road goes from ridiculously bad to more ridiculously bad).
Next stop was a hotel we picked because it was off the beaten path and looked interesting. It was a real find. It is called Centro Neotroopica de Serapiqui on the Serapiqui River. You would have to go to their website because there is too much to say. It is on an archelogical site and the rooms are regular rooms in a circle under a thatched roof with a terrace going around the building. The terraces face botanical gardens and their is an abundance of birds and butterflies. You need to take the deluxe room (only $8 more).The Terabina Rainforest is across a suspended bridge (the longest in Costa Rica)and the guided tour (turned out to be just us) for $15 including entrance fee was great. Three meals a day are served buffet style in an open air thatched roof dining room. Just charming and the food was very good.
Hacienda pozo(?) Azul (brochure at the hotel)
took us on a white water raft ride. Great fun and it was just us. The same tour company took us on a short horseback ride (optional but included) to another Canopy. The zip lines were longer and faster and went through the canopy as well as above it. Again, it was just us. It was great and I highly recommend Hacienda. Because we took the two activities with them, it only cost $70 each for both the whitewater and canopy.I do not know if the tourists, other than ecologists, haven't found this area yet or it was because we were on an off weekend. Definitely recommend the whole Serapiqui portion of our trip the way we did it.
I hope this is a help to first timers. I am also going to write a separate thread called warnings and suggestions. I will check this site for the next couple of weeks so if you want more details address your headline to Marion2 or respond to this.
Pura Vida!
This will be long and really directed to first timers. To give you a point of reference, we are an active couple in our 60's and we have travelled the US (including Alaska) and Canada (including Nova Scotia) by RV. We are into cozy and natural as opposed to fancy and expensive and we love seeing wildlife and taking photos. With that in mind this is Costa Rica through our eyes.
First and last days were spent at Orquideas Inn, an excellent choice. Check the thread on Orquideas. I just answered it in detail.
We rented a Kia Sportage from Dollar Rental and they picked us up at the Inn so we could get the car.
We drove to Manuel Antonio where it was oppresssively hot. The road was pretty good. We stayed at Tres Banderas. The hotel was small but lovely. It has a beautiful swimming pool and the room was air conditioned (weakly). The A/C was a must. The room was basically furnished with cable TV in English. The wood trim was very attractive and we had a balcony facing into the forest.The balcony made it an upgrade but it was well worth it. The room was on the third floor and we had to carry the suitcases ourselves. The owner/manager, Gilbert, needs a serious attitude adjustment. He made it clear that he does not like to talk to tourists and behaved accordingly. He was curt to the point of being rude. Too bad, he was the sour note to the place.
Do take a guide into Manual Antonio Park. You see much more. If you have time, go to the park the day before, and arrange for a guide early in the morning for $15 each. If you arrange through a hotel it costs $20 and the groups are much larger. We were 8 people.
We parasailed side by side and that was unbelievably great, amazing. You can book it at any tourist agency there and there is only one guy doing it. (I think Jim)If you can, it is a must do.
We took the Safari Canopy Tour which was lots of fun. They pick you up at the hotel and drive you 45 min. outside of Quepos, an interesting drive. The downside was that it was very hot and we left the hotel at 10:30. I advise taking the earlier one. It was also very crowded. There were too many people on the platform and there was a wait between zip lines. The other problem was that there was a long walk up to the second platform on rock steps that were a bit slippery. The walk in that heat was a bit much. After that it was fun. The buffet lunch was good and the plunge into the water hole was a great relief.
Sunset at Barbra Rojas was great and dinner at Karola's was pricey but worth it. New York Pizza is great for a cheap meal. One slice is like two.
Our next destination was Arenal. We stopped at Zarcero to visit the church and topiary garden and it was worth the stop but don't go far from your car if you have your luggage in it.
We stayed at the Arenal Lodge, about 15 minutes past La Fortuna and up a 1/2 mile rocky, pitted, winding road. Was it ever worth it. The lobby is charming, the desk clerks helpful, and the dining room has a glass wall facing the volcano. We were upgraded to a Chalet. We opened our door and faced a 20 foot glass window that was 10 feet high. Spectacular! A fabulous view of the volcano and Lake Arenal. If you request it, security will wake you if there is an eruption. We weren't that lucky. On the grounds there is a butterfly house, a wonderful marked trail in the rain forest, and a horseback ride you can take to their farms. The buffet breakfast was included and excellent. The dinner we had one night was delicious.
We spent one evening from 5-9 at Hidalgo Family Farms, a private hot springs that has been open less than 1 1/2 years. It is a quiet, charming place that caters to a quiet clientelle. We had dinner there and thouroughly enjoyed it and the place. Reservations are necesssary.
We went to Tabacon Hot Springs, more of a party place. If you want to avoid the tourist crowds, as we did, you need to arrive about one and be out by five. The place is beautiful and the Swedish massage that I had outdoors was heavenly.
Our next stop was Monteverde. From our point of view we could have missed this entirely. We did find things to do but we did not feel that there was enough for us there to make up for the drive in and out and the roads there. The Cloud Forest was a disappointment. We took a guide, 8 in a group, early in the morning. The slide show was great but we did not see any wildlife on the trails and the guides were backed up, one against the other going and coming. The birds were hidden in the trees and we ended up being shown pictures of them and listening to lots of statistics. We did see some howler monkeys on the way out but they were not active.
We stayed at El Sapo Dorado and highly recommend it. The cabins were up on hillsides and they were charming. It was so chilly one night that we were tempted to light the fireplace. I think our room was called the classic. They had trails on the grounds that we enjoyed more than the Cloud Forest and maps to go with them. We had dinner in their restaurant one night after watching the sunset (sort of, it's blocked by trees) and the food was excellent. We ordered steak fillets and each of us got two of them presented beautifully. The whole meal including a bottle of wine and cheese came to $60. You do need reservations.
I suggest reservations for Johnny's Pizzeria as well or arrive before 6 or after 8. Pizza was great. We also ate at a less sell known restaurant in Santa Elena. I can't remember the name but it is downstairs at the edge of town across from the bank and starts with an E. The food is very inexpensive and very tasty. The grilled chicken was really good.
We took tours of the Frog Pond and a Coffee Plantation, both were interesting.
If you decide to go to Monteverde, download the map. If your hotel is past Stella's Bakery (also great food and goodies), the road goes from ridiculously bad to more ridiculously bad).
Next stop was a hotel we picked because it was off the beaten path and looked interesting. It was a real find. It is called Centro Neotroopica de Serapiqui on the Serapiqui River. You would have to go to their website because there is too much to say. It is on an archelogical site and the rooms are regular rooms in a circle under a thatched roof with a terrace going around the building. The terraces face botanical gardens and their is an abundance of birds and butterflies. You need to take the deluxe room (only $8 more).The Terabina Rainforest is across a suspended bridge (the longest in Costa Rica)and the guided tour (turned out to be just us) for $15 including entrance fee was great. Three meals a day are served buffet style in an open air thatched roof dining room. Just charming and the food was very good.
Hacienda pozo(?) Azul (brochure at the hotel)
took us on a white water raft ride. Great fun and it was just us. The same tour company took us on a short horseback ride (optional but included) to another Canopy. The zip lines were longer and faster and went through the canopy as well as above it. Again, it was just us. It was great and I highly recommend Hacienda. Because we took the two activities with them, it only cost $70 each for both the whitewater and canopy.I do not know if the tourists, other than ecologists, haven't found this area yet or it was because we were on an off weekend. Definitely recommend the whole Serapiqui portion of our trip the way we did it.
I hope this is a help to first timers. I am also going to write a separate thread called warnings and suggestions. I will check this site for the next couple of weeks so if you want more details address your headline to Marion2 or respond to this.
Pura Vida!
Apr 4th, 2004, 01:51 PM
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Marion: Thanks for such a great trip report! Could you elaborate a little more on the Hidalgo Farm hot springs? I've been to Tabacon twice and really have no desire to return, but I'm taking my 20-year old son to Costa Rica for his first trip this July and am wondering if he would enjoy Tabacon more. I suspect probably so, given the number of string bikinis. 
Terri
Terri
Apr 4th, 2004, 02:03 PM
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Thank for the great trip report. It was good to hear from someone who had stayed at the Neotropical Center. How was the rainforest tour into Tirimbini? We only walked around the lodge but were amazed at the wonderful birds right there. It didn't appear to be open to guests at the time we were there so didn't get to see it as a "lodge". I had also visited the old burial grounds on a different trip.
We have been staying at La Quinta de Sarapiqui which is on the same road and not to far from where you were. It is a wonderful natural area that thankfully isn't full of tourists although both La Quinta and Selva Verde do fill up.
We have been staying at La Quinta de Sarapiqui which is on the same road and not to far from where you were. It is a wonderful natural area that thankfully isn't full of tourists although both La Quinta and Selva Verde do fill up.
Apr 4th, 2004, 02:44 PM
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As far as hot springs go, a 20 year old will be much happier sitting at the bar in the water at Tabacon. Hidalgo was great for us but it is quiet with very few people there. A very small minority were young.
Suzie2, thank you again for all your pretrip help. You would love Centro. As far as I could tell, there were not many individuals at the Lodge. There were a couple of small tour groups (one called OATS) that stayed a night or two. We stayed three. As I said, the deluxe is a must. You can hike into Terabina on your own for $10 but for another 5 you have a guide, in our case a private one. The atmosphere at that hotel is just great. I loved their dining room. They do not have A/C in the rooms but with the fan and the shutters open, it was very comfortable.
Suzie2, thank you again for all your pretrip help. You would love Centro. As far as I could tell, there were not many individuals at the Lodge. There were a couple of small tour groups (one called OATS) that stayed a night or two. We stayed three. As I said, the deluxe is a must. You can hike into Terabina on your own for $10 but for another 5 you have a guide, in our case a private one. The atmosphere at that hotel is just great. I loved their dining room. They do not have A/C in the rooms but with the fan and the shutters open, it was very comfortable.
Apr 4th, 2004, 06:28 PM
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Centro Neotropico de Sarapiquis is in Le Virgen about 2 hours east of Arenal Volcano. I found it in Frommers Guide to Costa Rica and was able to locate its website. Unfortunately, I am not at home and will not be for several weeks so I do not have the website with me. I have tried everything I know and can not bring it up. Perhaps if you head a thread with the name of the hotel, one of the regulars will help you out. I believe it has an 800 number so you could try information. I must tell you that their brochure does not come close to doing the place justice. Good Luck.
Apr 4th, 2004, 06:56 PM
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The website for Centro Neotropico SarapiquiS is www.sarapiquis.org. Phone (506) 761-1004.
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