Trip Report: Costa Rica April 18-25, 2009
May 4th, 2009, 01:19 PM
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Trip Report: Costa Rica April 18-25, 2009
We just returned from our first trip to Costa Rica and absolutely loved it! First of all I want to say thanks to everyone in this forum for their great advice. It was invaluable in planning and helped insure that everything went smoothly start to finish.
I have posted some photos on Flickr, and you should be able to view here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1424516...7617658926130/
(note, slideshow feature doesn’t seem to work)
I am not going to try to chronicle every minute of the trip, we packed a lot in, but did want to report back on the highlights.
We were lucky to get a direct flight into San Jose that arrived before noon, so we breezed through immigration with very little delay. Hands down one of the best decisions of the trip was to retain the services of our driver, Wilson, to pick us up at the airport and drive us to our first stop, the Arenal volcano. He had a representative waiting for us, and pulled up a few minutes later in an older, but clean and comfortable, van stocked with water, beer, snacks, and sodas. His English was very good, and he kept up a running commentary on the country, what we were passing, things to do during the trip, etc. He asked if we wanted to get lunch, and after agreeing that we were up for trying the local food, he took us to a restaurant in a small town near his home. The restaurant was perched on the side of a hill overlooking a lush valley, and the plantains were picked fresh when we placed our order. The food, plantains, chicken, black beans (all cooked on a coffee wood fire) and fresh mango juice was excellent and that, coupled with the relaxing setting, gave us a second wind after the early flight.
As we got closer to La Fortuna Wilson asked if we planned to zipline, and stopped to show us the view from one of the lines of a tour company he recommended, San Luis Canopy Tour. It was located in what should have been a cloud forest, but on that day it was unusually sunny and cloud free. We decided to stop at their offices and check it out, and my husband (who is deathly afraid of heights) was finally persuaded to go for it. I was not planning to dive right in to activities so soon after landing, but I am glad we did. There were 12 lines of various lengths and heights that alternated landing on/taking off from treetop platforms and land, plus one “tarzan” swing that allowed you to fly out over a gorge. The last line was the longest, and tallest, maybe 250-300 feet I was told, over a river valley. It was amazing, and I am so glad we did it. Even better, one of the 4 guides that accompanied us photographed and videoed us the whole way, so for just $25 we got a CD of everything.
We finally arrived at our hotel, Montaña de Fuego Hotel, just in time to get our first glimpse of the volcano in the sunset, but didn’t have a chance to see much of the grounds. After a simple but good meal at our hotel, we collapsed into bed. Our bungalow was very nice and included a sitting room, spacious bath with jacuzzi tub, and a little patio. We were amazed by the views that greeted us the next morning, the volcano was visible right from the bedroom, and the grounds were lush and well manicured, with a diversity of flowers and greenery everywhere you looked. Our first full day was devoted to relaxing by the pool sipping fruity umbrella drinks. The sky was clear blue and we watched the volcano smoke all day. Later, we went to Eco Termales hot springs, another spot I would highly recommend. The springs are tucked away in a quiet patch of jungle behind an unmarked wooden gate. We were fortunate to have just a few other people sharing the springs with us, and while we relaxed, a group of howler monkeys took up residence in the trees around us and proceeded to howl. Since this was my first time hearing them, I was amazed at how loud they really were. We tried all the different pools; the hottest was not too hot for me, but the cold was a little too much. We had a drink or two (on the honor system, pay as you leave) and just enjoyed the natural beauty.
The next day we booked a tour to Cano Negro wildlife preserve. I highly recommend Sunset Tours. Our guide Jamie was very interesting and spoke for nearly the full 2 hour ride up to the river. He could answer most any question, and his English was very good. Again we were lucky to be part of only a small group of 8 (I think the bad economy worked in our favor this way throughout the trip) on the boat, and were free to move around, share binoculars, and get the best photos of wildlife in our 2 hour trip down the Rio Frio. We saw a ton of birds, a couple that are apparently very rare, but alas we had no birders on our tour, so it was lost on us. In addition, we saw bats, several caiman, two kinds of monkeys, lizards, a sloth, and more. The scenery was gorgeous too.
After spending three days in the Arenal/La Fortuna area, it was time to move on to Manuel Antonio. We decided to fly Nature Air this leg, and were amused to see that the La Fortuna airport was a tiny, open air building with swings by the bar. We checked in, luggage was under the 30 lb. limit (woo hoo) and got a quick meal at the bar. Now, I am not a nervous flyer, and have been on many types of aircraft, but I have to say that was the most nerve wracking 30 minutes of my life. On the “pros” list, it got us there quickly and there was some beautiful scenery as we flew over the mountains and approached the shore. On the “con” side however, I really did think I might be sick and was honestly terrified for much of the time. Looking at the other 10-12 people on board, I don’t think I was the only one feeling this way, but the good thing is, it was fast. I’d do it again.
We made it from the Quepos airport (which made La Fortuna’s look like JFK) to our hotel, La Mariposa, and truly felt like we’d arrived in paradise. The views as we checked in were spectacular, and our room was one of the older Spanish style rooms with high ceilings, heavy wood furniture, and a deep tiled Jacuzzi tub situated overlooking the private balcony. We had a hammock on the balcony, and great views of Manuel Antonio park and the ocean beyond. I spent quiet time out there each morning and saw monkeys, toucans, butterflies and hummingbirds. One night, from the safety of the balcony, we watched as a storm rolled in off the ocean and a waterspout formed. It never made it all the way to the water, but you could see it trying to solidify. Watching that and the magnificent lighting displays was well worth missing out on a spectacular sunset (we saw plenty of those too!)
The following day we took our hotel shuttle down to the beach, and walked over the Manuel Antonio park. I will say the public beach in town was a bit of a disappointment as we were immediately besieged with people trying to sell us all manner of stuff, but this is not really different from what you may encounter on any number of beaches that cater to tourists. At the park entrance, we were again hit up by people hawking guided tours, and when we refused, they got a little snippy and said “well, be sure you watch out for the dangers”. Since we’d already seen so much wildlife we were more interested in the beaches and the signs to the beach were well marked with maps along the way, so it was fine. We entered just behind a group with a guide, so when he discovered a sloth or monkey in the tree, we just followed up with our own photo op, so I don’t think we missed too much. We spent the most time on Manuel Antonio beach, soaking up the sun and playing in the waves. When we were ready to move on we followed the path around to Espadilla Sur beach and back to the exit. Along the way we saw many more monkeys and lizards.
Most of the rest of our time was spent around our hotel. La Mariposa is on the list of 1000 places to see before you die, and I would hardily concur. The staff is very nice and helpful. The views are spectacular and the infinity pool, hot tub, and 2 swim-up bars put everything in easy reach. While we were there we routinely saw squirrel monkeys around the pool, and a three toed sloth hung out in a tree by the bar one day. The restaurant in the hotel was excellent and we had another great meal at the nearby Kapi Kapi restaurant.
Finally it was time to head back to San Jose for our last night. Unfortunately Wilson had been booked that day, so we just arranged a drive through the hotel. That didn’t work out quite as well. First he didn’t speak English and we know very little Spanish, and there was some confusion over payment, so that started things off on the wrong foot. Then while the 2 ½ to 3 hour ride took us through some lovely scenery, our driver was (as most others on the road were, to be fair) a daredevil who didn’t let little things like high mountain switchbacks slow him down! Everyone seems to love passing other cars no matter how fast they’re going, and at one point when we were passing in the oncoming lane behind a convoy including a bus and another car, I was sure we were going to meet a fiery end. But they obviously have a lot of practice at this style of driving, and we made it to our hotel in one (slightly nauseous) piece.
We had an early flight on Saturday, so chose to stay at Hotel Grano de Oro, another amazing hotel. The staff was top notch and the hotel rooms and interior grounds (including the rooftop hot tubs and the restaurant courtyard) couldn’t have been any more peaceful and beautiful. It was like an oasis of tranquility in the city, and the perfect way to end our trip. We had an excellent dinner at their restaurant and then left early the next morning to head back to “reality”. We really enjoyed our time in CR, so much beauty and so many really lovely people. We will definitely go back; the hard part will be deciding whether to repeat parts of the trip or try new areas.
I have posted some photos on Flickr, and you should be able to view here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1424516...7617658926130/
(note, slideshow feature doesn’t seem to work)
I am not going to try to chronicle every minute of the trip, we packed a lot in, but did want to report back on the highlights.
We were lucky to get a direct flight into San Jose that arrived before noon, so we breezed through immigration with very little delay. Hands down one of the best decisions of the trip was to retain the services of our driver, Wilson, to pick us up at the airport and drive us to our first stop, the Arenal volcano. He had a representative waiting for us, and pulled up a few minutes later in an older, but clean and comfortable, van stocked with water, beer, snacks, and sodas. His English was very good, and he kept up a running commentary on the country, what we were passing, things to do during the trip, etc. He asked if we wanted to get lunch, and after agreeing that we were up for trying the local food, he took us to a restaurant in a small town near his home. The restaurant was perched on the side of a hill overlooking a lush valley, and the plantains were picked fresh when we placed our order. The food, plantains, chicken, black beans (all cooked on a coffee wood fire) and fresh mango juice was excellent and that, coupled with the relaxing setting, gave us a second wind after the early flight.
As we got closer to La Fortuna Wilson asked if we planned to zipline, and stopped to show us the view from one of the lines of a tour company he recommended, San Luis Canopy Tour. It was located in what should have been a cloud forest, but on that day it was unusually sunny and cloud free. We decided to stop at their offices and check it out, and my husband (who is deathly afraid of heights) was finally persuaded to go for it. I was not planning to dive right in to activities so soon after landing, but I am glad we did. There were 12 lines of various lengths and heights that alternated landing on/taking off from treetop platforms and land, plus one “tarzan” swing that allowed you to fly out over a gorge. The last line was the longest, and tallest, maybe 250-300 feet I was told, over a river valley. It was amazing, and I am so glad we did it. Even better, one of the 4 guides that accompanied us photographed and videoed us the whole way, so for just $25 we got a CD of everything.
We finally arrived at our hotel, Montaña de Fuego Hotel, just in time to get our first glimpse of the volcano in the sunset, but didn’t have a chance to see much of the grounds. After a simple but good meal at our hotel, we collapsed into bed. Our bungalow was very nice and included a sitting room, spacious bath with jacuzzi tub, and a little patio. We were amazed by the views that greeted us the next morning, the volcano was visible right from the bedroom, and the grounds were lush and well manicured, with a diversity of flowers and greenery everywhere you looked. Our first full day was devoted to relaxing by the pool sipping fruity umbrella drinks. The sky was clear blue and we watched the volcano smoke all day. Later, we went to Eco Termales hot springs, another spot I would highly recommend. The springs are tucked away in a quiet patch of jungle behind an unmarked wooden gate. We were fortunate to have just a few other people sharing the springs with us, and while we relaxed, a group of howler monkeys took up residence in the trees around us and proceeded to howl. Since this was my first time hearing them, I was amazed at how loud they really were. We tried all the different pools; the hottest was not too hot for me, but the cold was a little too much. We had a drink or two (on the honor system, pay as you leave) and just enjoyed the natural beauty.
The next day we booked a tour to Cano Negro wildlife preserve. I highly recommend Sunset Tours. Our guide Jamie was very interesting and spoke for nearly the full 2 hour ride up to the river. He could answer most any question, and his English was very good. Again we were lucky to be part of only a small group of 8 (I think the bad economy worked in our favor this way throughout the trip) on the boat, and were free to move around, share binoculars, and get the best photos of wildlife in our 2 hour trip down the Rio Frio. We saw a ton of birds, a couple that are apparently very rare, but alas we had no birders on our tour, so it was lost on us. In addition, we saw bats, several caiman, two kinds of monkeys, lizards, a sloth, and more. The scenery was gorgeous too.
After spending three days in the Arenal/La Fortuna area, it was time to move on to Manuel Antonio. We decided to fly Nature Air this leg, and were amused to see that the La Fortuna airport was a tiny, open air building with swings by the bar. We checked in, luggage was under the 30 lb. limit (woo hoo) and got a quick meal at the bar. Now, I am not a nervous flyer, and have been on many types of aircraft, but I have to say that was the most nerve wracking 30 minutes of my life. On the “pros” list, it got us there quickly and there was some beautiful scenery as we flew over the mountains and approached the shore. On the “con” side however, I really did think I might be sick and was honestly terrified for much of the time. Looking at the other 10-12 people on board, I don’t think I was the only one feeling this way, but the good thing is, it was fast. I’d do it again.
We made it from the Quepos airport (which made La Fortuna’s look like JFK) to our hotel, La Mariposa, and truly felt like we’d arrived in paradise. The views as we checked in were spectacular, and our room was one of the older Spanish style rooms with high ceilings, heavy wood furniture, and a deep tiled Jacuzzi tub situated overlooking the private balcony. We had a hammock on the balcony, and great views of Manuel Antonio park and the ocean beyond. I spent quiet time out there each morning and saw monkeys, toucans, butterflies and hummingbirds. One night, from the safety of the balcony, we watched as a storm rolled in off the ocean and a waterspout formed. It never made it all the way to the water, but you could see it trying to solidify. Watching that and the magnificent lighting displays was well worth missing out on a spectacular sunset (we saw plenty of those too!)
The following day we took our hotel shuttle down to the beach, and walked over the Manuel Antonio park. I will say the public beach in town was a bit of a disappointment as we were immediately besieged with people trying to sell us all manner of stuff, but this is not really different from what you may encounter on any number of beaches that cater to tourists. At the park entrance, we were again hit up by people hawking guided tours, and when we refused, they got a little snippy and said “well, be sure you watch out for the dangers”. Since we’d already seen so much wildlife we were more interested in the beaches and the signs to the beach were well marked with maps along the way, so it was fine. We entered just behind a group with a guide, so when he discovered a sloth or monkey in the tree, we just followed up with our own photo op, so I don’t think we missed too much. We spent the most time on Manuel Antonio beach, soaking up the sun and playing in the waves. When we were ready to move on we followed the path around to Espadilla Sur beach and back to the exit. Along the way we saw many more monkeys and lizards.
Most of the rest of our time was spent around our hotel. La Mariposa is on the list of 1000 places to see before you die, and I would hardily concur. The staff is very nice and helpful. The views are spectacular and the infinity pool, hot tub, and 2 swim-up bars put everything in easy reach. While we were there we routinely saw squirrel monkeys around the pool, and a three toed sloth hung out in a tree by the bar one day. The restaurant in the hotel was excellent and we had another great meal at the nearby Kapi Kapi restaurant.
Finally it was time to head back to San Jose for our last night. Unfortunately Wilson had been booked that day, so we just arranged a drive through the hotel. That didn’t work out quite as well. First he didn’t speak English and we know very little Spanish, and there was some confusion over payment, so that started things off on the wrong foot. Then while the 2 ½ to 3 hour ride took us through some lovely scenery, our driver was (as most others on the road were, to be fair) a daredevil who didn’t let little things like high mountain switchbacks slow him down! Everyone seems to love passing other cars no matter how fast they’re going, and at one point when we were passing in the oncoming lane behind a convoy including a bus and another car, I was sure we were going to meet a fiery end. But they obviously have a lot of practice at this style of driving, and we made it to our hotel in one (slightly nauseous) piece.
We had an early flight on Saturday, so chose to stay at Hotel Grano de Oro, another amazing hotel. The staff was top notch and the hotel rooms and interior grounds (including the rooftop hot tubs and the restaurant courtyard) couldn’t have been any more peaceful and beautiful. It was like an oasis of tranquility in the city, and the perfect way to end our trip. We had an excellent dinner at their restaurant and then left early the next morning to head back to “reality”. We really enjoyed our time in CR, so much beauty and so many really lovely people. We will definitely go back; the hard part will be deciding whether to repeat parts of the trip or try new areas.
May 4th, 2009, 01:55 PM
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Beautiful pics - you had a great views of the volcano and gorgeous sunsets in MA. It's fun for me to see Grano de Oro; they were remodeling it when we were there - looks like it turned out great. I love all your wildlife pics too - great sightings at Cano Negro.
May 12th, 2009, 10:06 AM
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A question, actually. My company is providing a trip to Costa Rica as an incentive. Boss changed the trip to being trapped on a Carribean cruise (yuck) because of some "issue" in C.R. Am I missing something? Is there some political stuff going on that I have missed? Any help is appreciated so I can overthrow the cruise idea.
May 12th, 2009, 10:19 AM
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I haven't seen any political issues; CR seems very stable compared to some of the other countries. I read that they had a few cases of swine flu - could that be the issue your boss is worried about? I'm much rather go to CR than on a cruise.
May 13th, 2009, 06:50 AM
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We haven't heard of any problems. I did a good bit of research before our trip and in comparison to other countries in the region, CR is known to be very stable and safe, provided you use common sense as you would anywhere. They abolished their military years ago, and the current political climate seems very good, from our talks with the locals. We felt perfectly safe. They did have 1 case of the flu recently, but surely that is not enough to warrant cancelling a trip. I agree a trip to CR has so much more to offer than a cruise.
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