rnman

Hello!
Thank you for all your help with our trip! It was FANTASTIC! We arrived in SJO at 9:45 pm. The Customs and immigration lines were like the express check-out at a Supermarket. Walked outside to find a gentleman with a sign with my name on it. The Villa Bonita made arrangements to have us delivered to their hotel. It was a long day so after a few cold Beers we retired.
Day One:Have a hearty breakfast at the Villa Bonita. I had originally made arrangements for Tricolor to pick us up at 10:30, but we were ready early.. no problem.. they came and got us an hour earlier.

Renting the Car: I was grateful to know in advance about the credit card slips that are run as a deposit. The amount of paper work was staggering.. I felt like I was getting a mortgage. But once filled out we were on our way. 4x4, two drivers and ALL insurance and GPS(which saved us many times).

TICO DRIVERS: must have a firm belief in an afterlife. It is unpredictable driving.. passing on blind curves.. craziness.. but my husband points out that I have the uncanny ability to assimilate all bad driving habits in any country so I was immediately at home behind the wheel.. I drove in towns and cities.. he drove on the unpaved roads.. it worked out well.

Arenal: We took the route via San Ramon. I would advise this route as there are actually signs!It is a beautiful drive. We arrived on a clear day and the volcano is amazing. We stayed at the Arenal Paraiso. I would recommend this place with one stipulation. Get a free standing cabin. We had one and it was quiet.. I think the double cabins would have noise from the neigboring cabin. I liked this place. The hot pools were NEVER crowded.. we always had pools to ourselves. Lovely!
While at Arenal we did the Hanging Bridges(booked through the hotel). Our guide Anna was fabulous.. first female guide in the area. She was infomative and delightful and got as excited as we when seeing monkeys and beautiful birds....wonderful.

Cano Negro: It was nice to have someone else drive. Our guide Julio was excellent and the wildlife viewing was amazing.. monkeys...both kinds of sloths....a good lunch and just a wonder to be in such a rich environment. I also recommned this tour.. We booked with Sunset.

Sunday.. drive day. Arenal to Playa Junquillal.....busted for speeding.. Tico police .... more to follow...

CathyF

Thanks rnman! Can't wait to hear the rest of your report!

We are staying at Arenal Paraiso next month and plan to do the Cano Negro trip with Sunset. Glad you liked it.

rnman

Trip report continues... the driving day.. My one regret about Arenal was that we did not have a clear evening to drive to the other side of the volcano at night to see the lava glow... if you get one take advantage and head to the Observatory lodge.. both guides urged us to do this!
We left Sunday morning and took the route around the lake to get to Guanacaste... this is a narrow road.. lots of curves but beautiful! We could see the smoking lava! We were going at a good pace.. little traffic.. crossed the Tempisque Bridge.. them a speed trap!The speed limits drop from 60KPH to 40KPH.. without warning.. many people were stopped.... It was obvious early in our converstion that the very polite policeman did not want to ticket us but wanted a pay-off... So for $20 I got out of the ticket.. got our passports back and we were off... In a perfect world I would have not done this... but it is what everyone wanted.. and the path of least resistance... so off we went.We arrived in Junquillal at about 3 pm and stayed at the Guacamaya Lodge.. There is little in Junquillal.. that is why I picked this location. ANd I also wanted to be close to the Paradise Riding Stables.
The Lodge is run by a Swiss family. It is kid friendly.. but also good for couples like us not traveling with children. It is walking distance to an uncrowded beach, Great place... The weather was perfect... only used the a/c once. The restaurant is EXCELLENT!.. and the horses at Paradise riding are Great... They perfectly matched my husband(novice) and myself with great horses.. It was a Great day of riding. We stay in Junquillal for 4 nights

On to Ostional!! We arrived at the Luna Azul.. a hotel and gourmet restaurant owned by Andreas and Rolf.. from Switzerland (again). This was a lovely place to stay.. not kid friendly... pool.. have to drive to the beach. Individual casitas.. open air showers.. monkeys..birds.. this was our high end hotel.. but still reasonable considering the comfort and quality..at 140.00 night. This place was heaven...we loved it. we missed the Turtles.. Ostional is a nesting place for turtles. In the dry season they come in small numbers.. we missed 10,000 two weeks previously.. in the raining season 300,000 will land in a week's time!!!! We saw turtle tracks but no turtles. We stated here for 4 nights.. swam at San Janillo.. and walked on Ostional Beach. We also checked out Playa Giuones.. surfing beach with more services.. very nice.. even an ATM!!!
then back to San Jose for a night and home'''
Impressions and things I would do differently. I would fly to Liberia. the drive on 1 to SJO can undo your relaxation.. it is pretty but really intense.. Liberia is more low key. I felt safe.. I feel more at risk in Salt Lake. We had rooms with safes and left passports and cash there.. never left stuff in the car... but driving we were fine... I loved Costa Rica and hope to return every winter.. thanks for all your help.Con Mucho Gusto!

volcanogirl

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

hipvirgochick

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a great vacation and I'll take all your tips on driving and check out Junquillal too!

rnman

If you go to Junquillal.. a nightly tradition is to go to the little bar on the beach (there is only one) and watch the sunset.. every one is really nice and we met many Europeans and people from Western Canada. I