Costa Rica?

5 years ago

Hey! So we are taking a trip to CR with the kids in early July. We are working with a TA and have our accommodations set. The first 4 nights we are staying at the Springs which is near the Arenal Volcano and is apparently quite swanky...it’s been on the Batchelor AND Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s, lol. We are looking to see if anyone has suggestions for activities in this area of CR. Our resort has hot springs and pools, and some other things included in our room...but was wondering if there was anything you did that was just amazing. Kids want to zip line and white water raft...any other ideas?

We are spending the last three nights in Las Catalinas...which is a beach town on the Pacific coast (I wanted some beach time, lol.) It looks gorgeous, and our villa has a “house mom” who makes our breakfast. :) Anyone been to this area? Restaurant recs? Any interesting activities beyond laying on the beach? I think there is a golf course so dh & ds could play.

Thanks for any CR suggestions! This is a much more active vacation than my typical Caribbean vacation, lol, bc the kids (15 and 18) are very outdoorsy. Usually just dh & I go to the Caribbean without them. :) I actually wanted to go to St Lucia and lay on the beach!

Featured Answer

Lars

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We went to Costa Rica in 2015, and the highlights of our trip were the La Paz Waterfall Gardens (huge collection of bromeliad, which I grow a lot of), Selvatura Park, and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, which has great ziplines. The zip lines at Selvatura are in Monteverde, and the jacket I bought there said Selvatura. You will need windbreakers or raincoats, and we went in the dry season but it still rained every day. The only beach we went to was Jaco, which had great seafood but not that great of a beach, but then we spent most of our time in the mountains.

Here are some photos from our trip:

Here I am just before I got thrown from this horse.

Howler monkey at Monteverde.

One of a pair of Quetzals birds that we saw. We hired a guide for this who was recommended to use by the hotel manager - he was a free-lance guide.

Hummingbrid at La Paz Waterfall Garden.

Coati Mundi crossing the road. We had to stop while they blocked the road.

While I enjoyed the trip for the most part, I would probably not go back because my allergies bothered me there more than any place else I've ever been - much worse than Brazil. If you do have allergies, take a huge supply of allergy medicine with you as it is much more expensive there, and the drug stores run out.S

Stairs between zip lines.

Waterfall at La Paz park.

We rented a car while we were there; in fact we bought a travel package that had hotel vouchers that included the car rental. The car had GPS, and we would not have found anything without it because streets and roads are poorly marked, if at all. We were there for 12 days in all, and the volcano erupted right after we got there, and the airport closed right after we arrived. Some of the sights will be difficult to see if there is too much rain or fog in the mountains, especially at Arenal Volcano.

Do visit a chocolate factory there if you find one - the chocolate is the best (and freshest) I've ever had, but the coffee was disappointing. I had better coffee in Hawaii, Italy, and Guatemala. I normally don't drink coffee unless I am in a special place. Shrimp is great wherever you go in CR, and in general we had excellent food there, but then I'm partial to seafood, which is abundant there.

The beaches may be a bit of a disappointment to you if you are used to the white sands of the Caribbean. The sand is dark (like Hawaii) and not cool.

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Comments (6)

nini804
Original Author
5 years ago
Oh my goodness...those pictures!!! Amazing! I think our travel agent mentioned the Monteverde Cloud Forest so I think she has added that to our itinerary. We will be there during the “green season” lol, so the rain jackets will be necessary I am sure! Thanks for the head’s up about the beaches..I am an East coast girl and have never been to beaches that weren’t East coast or Caribbean, but I am excited to embrace the difference at Las Catalinas. Your pictures have me very excited about our trip...I so hope we get to see some monkeys! :)
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I politely disagree with Mtn. Staying at the Four Seasons isn't my idea of Costa Rica. We love Costa Rica and have been many times. We like to go in January. My youngest daughter did her semester abroad in San Jose and I think that started our interest. We have traveled throughout the country. We usually don't stay in one place, even when we took our two daughters for a one week stay. I highly recommend you look at AnywhereCostaRica. I use them for bookings for private transportation, local plane reservations, hotel bookings. Yes, you can do all this all yourself. But, having the backup of a travel agency can come in handy. And, planning then becomes mindless! My youngest wanted us to see Costa Rica, so for my husbands special birthday, I planned a trip for the four of us. That year we did Hotel Corin in Arenal for a few days, then flew over to Manuel Antonio and stayed at Tulemar Bungalows. (Very hilly, but the views are amazing.) Hotel Corin has 3 pools directly fed from the volcano. While at Hotel Corin, I arranged for side trips to the volcano, the Tobacan Springs (commercial, but fun park with man made waterfalls from the hot springs) And of course Sky Trek, an amazing zip line tour. Another trip was a guided hanging bridge tour. All trips and transportation was arranged with Anywhere. When they say they are coming at 10:00AM they are there, always on time.) Tulemar Bungalows has it's own private beach, with an outdoor restaurant steps away. Monkeys, birds, iguanas. My two DD's went for surfing lessons which we arranged at the hotel. The only thing that was not prearranged. Perhaps our favorite place and one we have returned to a number of times, is Ylang, Ylang. It is a boutique hotel in Montezuma. It has gourmet meals and a yoga retreat. And of course, a wonderful spa. Exotic animal sighting along with the usual monkey tribes. Horseback riding is right on the beach, you can rent ATV in town, drive over to the local waterfall, or butterfly farm. As much as I love Costa Rica, I would not recommend the Caribbean side. Again, go to AnywhereCostaRica.com and if you have any questions, feel free.
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Many times, you'll love it. We just did two weeks near Arenal Volcano last year. My parents lived there for 10+ years and my mother (76) is there for six weeks right now. We are all hikers and my parents have done many mountain hikes there through their 70s without problem. They aren't athletic fit, but regular fit walkers or hikers should have no problem. Obviously bring plenty of water, sunblock, hat, snacks etc. Start the hike very early in the morning, plan to be back by noon if possible. You can turn back if it seems too long. It is often cloudy near the volcano which is a blessing re: heat and sun. Where are you doing the zip-lining? Which company? I'd recommend canyoning over just zip-lining. Essentially you repel down a cliff face then make your way through the canyon by waterfall jumping, swimming, zip-lining and repelling. We did it with our 11 and 8 year old last year and had a great time. We also did horseback riding which we enjoyed. Rafting on the river is fun, lot of howler monkeys. Consider the boat cruise around Lake Arenal if you need a less active day, beautiful perspective on the volcano. Also there is world class wind surfing on Lake Arenal if that interests you. My kids really enjoyed visiting and wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary as well. I don't know the beaches that well as we mostly stay inland. Enjoy your trip!
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eld6161
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
We go to Costa Rica every January. On the trip when we went to La Fortuna/Arenal with our two DD's and we went to the Sky Adventure Arenal Park Sky Trek. You will be challenged going on this one. Can't say it wasn't scary, but I'm glad I did it. Honestly, it will take your breath away. Not all zip lines are the same. This one is top notch.

We visited Monteverde for a few days. Needed jackets. Check your weather, you might need layers. I have never been in July.

Go on a hanging bridges tour. So much more informative to have a guide.

We have stayed in a few places in the Guanacaste area. The area is arid and cactus plants grow there. I just read that if you go toward the end of July there is a mini dry season.

Beaches are volcanic up north, so not my favorite. As you travel south you get the white sand. Our favorite towns are Nosara, Montezuma and Santa Theresa, all on the Nicoya Penisula.

All the beaches have a unique feel to them. I didn't find this when we visited various Caribbean islands.

DH and I have always talked about going in the green season, so I will be interested in what you thought about in terms of the rain and the weather.
nini804 thanked eld6161
nini804
Original Author
5 years ago
Wonderful!! I have sent travel agent the Sky Adventure Sky Trek and she agreed it was the best...so that is booked. I also asked her to check into the hanging bridges tour...sounds lovely!

I believe the beach portion of our trip is in the Guanacaste area (I know that we are flying direct into San Jose for the Volcano/Jungle part of the trip, but leaving out of Liberia bc it is much closer to where we are staying at Las Catalinas. We have to connect in Miami going home which stinks! We live near an American hub so are usually spoiled with direct flights most places we go. :) )

I am most hopeful that our TA and other folks we have talked to re: the “green” season are correct in that it basically means it can rain anytime, any day...but it is brief, then the sun comes out until it rains again! I can deal with that, particularly in the jungle...seems appropo! We did get trip insurance so I don’t have to be stressing about possible hurricanes brewing. :)

thanks so much for all of the info!!
eld6161
5 years ago
We fly directly to Liberia using Jetblue. We used to use American through San Jose because we had points. But, like you had to change planes. At least it's on the way home.

Enjoy!
nini804 thanked eld6161
Rachel Blaso Saoud
5 years ago
nini804, i know this is unrelated, but i saw you painted your brick white a few years ago, did you have any issues with it since? do you have a pic? thank you

Costa Rica?

Lars

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Costa Rica?

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