Hey all - I wanted to see if anyone had insight on the places we are staying and of course the question every body always asks, how is the weather?

We are going in Late September and the trip goes as follows: 3 nights at the Tobacon, which I have now heard mixed opinions. We then fly to Tambor and shuttle over to the Amor de Mar for 3 nights. Then we take a short move to Mal Pais and stay at the Flora blanca for 3 nights, then home.

All and all I know we are going to have a wonderful time, but if anyone has insight to our trip it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hi Jonesy
As for the weather... I went last year Nov. 1-16. Pre-trip, I worried quite a bit about rain, but went expecting rain - and was glad I didn't let my rain-fears change my plans.
Stayed at Tabacon (one of those less-than-glowing reviewers) and Florblanca (which we LOVED). Glad you're doing Malpais on the end of your trip - it's such a beautiful, relaxing place to end a great trip.
Enjoy CR,
Leslee

Thank you Leslee - We are very excited, and we are also expecting rain. I'm glad you wrote that about Florblanca...we wanted to save the best for last!

Jonesy,
We just got back from CR this past weekend and visited all the places (if not hotels) you mentioned. Arenal is great - even if you don't get a clear view of the top, you can hear the eruptions. We went to La Fortuna for lunch while we were there and then out to the La Fortuna Waterfall which really shouldn't be missed. I've seen plenty of waterfalls in the US but this was amazing in scale. I saw Tabacon from the outside only so I can't really offer an opinion on it. We stayed at Los Lagos which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Their websites are a little cheesy and we weren't expecting much but it really was quite nice. They are right on the flank of the volcano and have a good restaurant and pools. The grounds are very lush and well planted. We stayed in one of their brand new rooms - really big with AC, and big tub/shower and both a front and back porch.

Amor de Mar in Montezuma is absolutely wonderful. It is just outside of town so it is nice and quite but within easy walking distance. The hardwoods everywhere are beautiful as is the porch seating area for breakfasts (quite good also). Very friendly and accommodating owners and a few resident cats. Hammocks everywhere among the trees and great rocks out front. The low-tide tide pool is big and calm and perfect for swimming. They really could charge more than they do. What room did you get there?
We had dinner one night at Playa de las Artistas - gorgeous restaurant and amazing food. Try to get a candle-lit table closer to the beach. Montezuma is charming in a funky beach kind of way - I was afraid it would be dirty or a little too hippy, but it wasn't at all. No hustlers there either. Took a day trip to Isla Tortuga which was alot of fun and certainly worth the $40 per person (includes the boat ride out and back, snorkeling, a great fresh lunch, drinks including 2 beers per person, and a few hours to enjoy the island).

We also went to Malpais which is hands-down my favorite beach in Costa Rica. It is just ridiculously beautiful. We stayed at Milarepa (my hands-down favorite hotel in CR)which is right next door to Florblanca. Ate dinner at Florblanca two nights and it was quite good. Only saw the restaurant and pool but both were very well done and the service was excellent. One thing to note is that unlike most restaurants in CR, they do not add in the 10% service tax - we didn't notice the first night and as a result undertipped our server. Malpais/Santa Teresa will indeed be a perfect end to your trip!

I can certainly go into more detail about any of these places - just ask!

Thanks mat629,

Sounds like a great trip. We are so excited ourselves. We are definitely looking forward to La Fortuna waterfalls. I'm over second guessing myself on staying at the Tabacon. It will not spoil our trip. We have been to several countries (back-packing it), so I can't see it being to terrible, maybe touristy but not terrible. I'm glad you liked Amor de Mar, looks amazing. As far as Montezuma, we are both beach people, and I have lived in few funky beach towns myself which is my speed, but I wanted to stay a little out of town (I'm not getting any younger). We got room # 6 at the Amor de Mar. Were there a lot of quests at the Amor when you stayed?

We also wanted to stay at the Milarepa, but they were full...so we will have to "slum-it" over at Florblanca, good to hear you enjoyed the food. Malpais, with out having been there, sounds like a place we will return to and would like to stay at the Milarepa next time. Sounds wonderful.

Questions: Did you rent a car? Where did you fly into? If no car how did you get around?...seems like we have the same travel route. How long did you stay at each place?

Thanks again

Hi Jonesy,
I don't think you have to worry about Tabacon - it certainly won't spoil anything! We flew into Liberia and relied on taxis/shuttles/transfers to get around. This worked well enough and probably cost a little less than if we had rented a car. Next time I will probably rent since I have a better idea of what to expect. A few things about Arenal: We didn't get to check out the actual park and wished we had. I would at least have liked to hike the old lava fields there. I think Tabacon is a little further from La Fortuna than our hotel, but we only paid about 1000 colones into town in a taxi (about $2.25). I had read some people walk to the Falls from town - unless there is a speedy off-road trail I don't know about I would not recommend it. It was pretty far! We took a taxi to the entrance and were exhausted afterwards - wouldn't have wanted to make the trek back to town. The trail down to the falls is well maintained but has ALOT of steps. The trailhead for the hike up to the crater lake Cerro Chato is also nearby but we only had 3 hours of daylight left and the hike is 4 hours roundtrip. Expect to pay $6 per person for entrance to the falls.
Like I said in my previous post, Amor de Mar is great. We had room 6 too! It is upstairs on the corner with a view of the lawn and ocean and the river to the side. A porch runs the length of the building and has plenty of rocking chairs. There's no AC, but they have a large fan in the room and there are three sets (like the top of an octagon) of windows to catch the breeze. The shower was one of the better we had as far as water pressure and temperature; just don't touch the showerhead! It's one of those electric ones - fortunately it's set pretty high up. While we were there I saw several couples around the grounds, but I don't think they were full. Breakfast is good and everything seems pretty laid back. The owner cuts flowers every day for the little vases all over the place. Check the tide chart in the breezeway for low tide times so you can check out the tide pool. We got a lot of great pictures out on the rocks...just don't underestimate the power of breaking waves (the tide pool is completely sheltered at low tide so the waves aren't a problem there, just if you decided to go scramble around)!
A shame Milarepa was full, but Florblanca will no doubt be lovely. Ask if you can eat dinner one night in the private gazebo on the far side of the pool (looks better than I just made it sound). The beach out front is amazing and was virtually deserted while we were there.
As for our moving around: We stayed 2 nights at Arenal, 2 at Monteverde, 2 at Malpais, 2 at Montezuma, and the last night near the airport at Playa Hermosa. Never had enough time anywhere, but wanted to see as much as I could in case I never made it back. I KNOW now that I will. Next time I will do less.
I assume you are planning on taking a shuttle to San Jose from Arenal and then flying into Tambor? If so, I would say DO IT. I don't know how long it will take you to get from the volcano to SJ, but all total, it has to be shorter than waiting for and riding the ferry. Have you picked a company for the trip to the volcano and back?

hey - mat,

Thanks for info. That's cool about the Amor and room # 6 (I will let you know if you left anything behind). I heard that the waterfalls in Montezuma are really nice too. We are also looking forward to frolicking around the tide pools. I'm sure they are a prefect setting to shot some film. How about the big tide pool, the one they call "their swimming pool"? Is it accessible all the time or just at low tide as well? As far as a shuttle goes. We will shuttle to Arenal from SJ and back. Then fly to Tambor from SJ. If you have a service or company you recommend that would be great. My only concern with using a shuttle is that we have to catch a shuttle early (7 am) at the Tabacon back SJ so we can fly to Tambor at noon. I'm just hoping we can be picked up that early. I have read it is a 3 and half hour trip.

Thanks mat 629 for all your help.

I loved Tabacon. It is all what you make of it. We stayed at the Tabacon Lodge which will allow you free entrance into what I would call the "fancier" part of the springs. Very therapeutic. There is a lot to do in the area, even if it is raining, but 3 nights is a lot. It mostly an area of rest and relaxation...not a lot of partying, but going into la Fortuna is a nice break from the paradise of Tabacon.

two minor notes on the flor blanca. (absolutely wonderful) 1.take a couple of flashlights. the beach is beautiful at night and FULL of hermit crabs! they are all over in certain spots. they are fun to watch and you won't want to step on them. we thought they were piles of rocks at first! 2.also, don't run out and dive into the water. it is very rocky underneath the surface. a very surreal picture when the tide is out! walk out and down to the left a bit and the wave jumping is excellent!! it was our aerobic activity of the day every day. i'm sure they could hear us laughing and screaming up and down the beach... they do a lot of surfing down the beach a little further. we didn't stay at tabacon resort, but stayed up the road a little. be sure to request a wake up call if the sky clears during the night - you won't want to miss the volcano at night. the springs at night are also great. also, in montezuma, i'm sure you won't miss the hike all the way back to the waterfall pool...awesome! (we went in the dry season, so not sure how hard it will be to make the hike up in the green season...) montezuma is a great town!

Just a note on the Tabacon. We recently returned for a stay there and had a great room. We were in a standard room in building 2 which had its own little porch and garden area and a FANTASTIC veiw of the volcano. It also seems even though the price is a bit higher then other hotels in the area it makes up for it in the fact that it includes entrance to the hot springs with is otherwise, $29 bucks a person!!

Enjoy and congrats on your upcoming marriage and honeymoon!

Thanks everyone for the posts, they have been most helpful...one more week till we leave, I can hardly sleep.

I'm excited for you! You have such a great itinerary planned. You'll LOVE MalPais! Let us know all about your trip when you return