Pura Vida! 10 Days in Costa Rica

Laying on the beach and drinking from a freshly-opened coconut -- well spent; Horseback riding through the dry forest on the way to the beach near Witches Rock -- our first glimpse of howler monkeys; Scuba diving with 60+ feet visibility; watching the lava trickle down Arenal; sunsets while drinking the best pina coladas EVER!

Quick Tips:

Eat where the locals eat: Pescado Loco, La Finisterra and Puesta del Sol are all top notch; Diving Safaris is one of the top 2 or 3 dive shops on the Pacific coast; Don't jump at the first offer of a canopy tour -- some are boring and others are downright dangerous; rent a car -- travelling by bus or with a tour group may be cheaper, but far from convenient; remember that Ticos have their own driving rules -- don't assume anything!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking around Playa Hermosa is easy -- the beach connects just about everything. A car, however, is the best way to get around if you need to make trips to Playa Coco and other towns to eat or shop. Be sure to get a 4WD. Lots of folks, mostly younger and without a schedule, take the 'chicken buses', but when time is short keep a car. We rented a Toyota RAV4 from Tricolor for 10 days for less than with unlimited mileage including tax and insurance.

Best Things Nearby:
Playa Hermosa (Hermosa Beach), restaurants in Hermosa and Coco, scuba diving.

Best Things About the Resort:
Clean, well-maintained villas; two pools, one with a great view of the sunset; great location -- quiet, but near enough to activities.

Resort Experience:
Playa Hermosa in the Guanacaste province (not to be confused with the Playa Hermosa south of San Jose near Playa Jaco) is one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. Located on the central Pacific coast, Hermosa offers a fantastic beach with enough activities (e.g., horseback riding, canopy tours, diving, etc.) within an easy 45-minute drive to keep the whole family occupied and entertained. Nothing, however, beats sitting on the beach drinking from a freshly cut coconut while your kids play in the warm, calm water chasing fish.

The resort at Villas Sol Playa Hermosa is outstanding. There are about 100 two and three bedroom units along with a hotel on the property. About 25% of the villas have a small, but private, pool. The two bedroom units have one room with a queen bed and another with two twin beds along with a sleeper sofa. I think that the three-bedroom units have queen beds in two rooms. Each unit has a full kitchen equipped with all the supplies that may be needed including plates, utensils, glassware, and pots and pans. Beds were made each day (changed once during our stay) with a complete housekeeping service. The large living room includes a TV, VCR and small stereo. There is an eating area near the kitchen. The front porch includes a table and chairs and hammock to relax with a good book.

The resort has two pools -- one near the hotel with a great view of the ocean and the other in the middle of the resort with a swim-up bar and separate jacuzzi. The pools are rarely crowded and are a nice way to end the day since they are open until 10pm.

The resort offers a shuttle service to the beach that runs all day into the early evening. The beach is a short 10-minute walk down hill.

There is a nice restaurant in the hotel, but we only ate there twice -- lunch on our first day and breakfast before checkout. The food is good, but we found many more interesting places nearby. We visited the local 'mercado' in neighboring Playa Coco and bought breakfast food and snacks which both saved time and money. The buffet breakfast in the hotel was more than we wanted most days, although the gallo pinto was excellent.

The staff is courteous and speaks English well. Do not rely on the hotel, however, to change more than about $100 at a time. There are a limited number of other amenities at the resort, but there is plenty to do in and around Playa Hermosa.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Very Good

During our week in Playa Hermosa, we had two dinners and two lunches at Pescado Loco. Most people would just pass by this open-air restaurant that looks like a typical dive, but Mario -- host, waiter, and bartender -- is great and became a family friend, greeting us by name even when we were just driving by. Great, simple food that is CHEAP!!! Try the ceviche, arroz con pollo, or anything with shrimp. Dinner for four, including tax and tip, never exceeded $30.

Don't mind the lizards on the walls - they add to the character of the place and keep the insects down. Don't count on everything being available on the menu if it includes seafood since the daily catch determines what the kitchen can prepare. Some days they have shrimp, others they don't.

Pescado Loco became our own 'Cheers' as we were greeted like family every time we drove by. On our first night the bill came to 12000 colons, but all that I had in my pocket was a 10000-colon note. Mario simply told me to give him the balance on our next visit. We decided to stop by for lunch the next day and when I left an extra 2500 colon Mario couldn't understand why I left such a generous tip and I had to remind him about the previous night.

Great simple food and great atmosphere captures the essence of Playa Hermosa.

Owned by another one of the self-described Canadian tax refugees, La Finisterra is arguably the best restaurant in the Playa Hermosa/Coco/Occotal area. Located in the hotel of the same name, this restaurant offers outstanding views of the ocean from its location high on a hill above Playa Hermosa. The menu each night is brief, written on a chalkboard, and consists of whatever the local fleet brought to market that day. The fish may have one or more of marlin, yellow fin tuna, grouper, dorado (mahi mahi), and others.

The night that we went the menu featured jumbo shrimp, dorado with a garlic butter, and filet mignon au poivre. The attentive, but not doting, service from the owner, his daughter, and the bartender was appreciated. A nicely prepared ceasar salad started the meal along with margaritas and pina coladas (virgin, for our kids). The main course was outstanding with one of the best steaks that I have ever eaten. Dessert consisted of a rich cheesecake with mango topping.

La Finisterra has a French chef who delivers meals with wonderful presentation and uses local ingredients with flair. This restaurant is not to be missed. As a bonus, the hotel has great rates--$65 during green season and $75 during high season, all with breakfast. The hotel is less than 5-years-old and features large rooms with queen beds and a great view.

The Arenal Volcano is like the Space Mountain of Costa Rica -- it is a must-see attraction for a variety of reasons. First, it one of the most active volcanos in the Western hemisphere and during active periods you will appreciate what this means. Second, it is just too cool to be able to see something this awesome so close. Third, the thrill that you may be incinerated at any time is just what every vacation needs.

If you are driving from the Pacific beaches, keep in mind that the road from Tilaran (the last major town before Arenal) to the volcano are horrible. Maps will mark them as gravel roads that may be impassable -- heed this information, especially during the rainy season. The 51km drive took us nearly three hours with a good part of that time following one or more bulldozers clearing the mudslides, trees and downed power lines. Not that the destination isn't worth it, but I wish that we had been better prepared (e.g., rent the biggest and most powerful 4WD car that you can).

Approaching Arenal from the west, you don't get a sense for how big it is until you are nearly upon it. Even through the clouds, it dominates the sky. On our first night we went to sleep at 10pm, but were awakened by the unmistakable rumble of the volcano. Walking outside our cabin we saw a huge puff of black smoke and the distinct red trickle of lava rolling down the face. Too dark for a picture, it was an awesome site. This was, however, the only activity during our two days there.

The other attraction worth spending time with are the hot springs located at several places near the volcano and in nearby Fortuna. The biggest (and best?) are at the Tabacon Resort. More than 20 pools and waterfalls with water ranging from 75-120 degrees are available to soothe sore muscles and relax a weary traveller. The biggest pool has a swim-up bar that is busy most of the day and night. Be forewarned that the Tabacon Hot Springs are a mecca for tour buses, but these generally come around noon and leave by 6pm. There are excellent locker and changing facilities with towels available to rent. The restaurant is OK, but very pricey (the dinner buffet is $18 per person and it was the least inspired meal we ate during our vacation).

Earl and Bobbie Jo, transplants from Colorado, operate one of the most highly-regarded dive shops in Costa Rica. We enrolled our daughters in a PADI 'Discover Diving' program. Their instructor, Sylvia, brought enthusiasm and knowledge that made the entire experience memorable.

We had not planned on diving during our vacation, but Diving Safaris shares a location with a friend's business, Spanish Dancer catamaran, and we kind of got sucked in by our kids. The course is normally $115, but they cut the price to $100 since we had three people. The program is simple -- about two hours of instruction including 1.5 hours in the pool -- showing us basic dive safety. Sylvia, our instructor, is very good with kids and quickly brought our daughters up to speed. The staff fit us with wetsuit and the other gear that we would need for our dives later that week.

We scheduled our dives for Friday morning at 8:30. They are located just down the beach from our resort in Playa Hermosa, so we had a quick breakfast and headed for the meeting place. Diving Safaris has three boats, one of which was used that day for another group of new divers along with some local girls. After a short boat ride to the first dive spot we donned our gear and stepped into the warm, clear water. Visibility was greater than 50 feet and we slowly made our way down, checking our buoyancy and clearing our ears. At about 20 feet, we saw a large turtle swim by, startling my 12-year-old, but exciting her at the same time. We continued down to 40 feet and saw an amazing number of fish and other aquatic life.

After about 35 minutes we surfaced and climbed back aboard the dive boat where we were greeted with cold drinks and all the fresh pineapple that we could eat. We cruised to a secluded beach for about 45 minutes where we rested and snorkeled. A short while later we cruised to our second dive location at Monkey Head. This time we were greeted with a small group of reef sharks along with a number of huge rays. There were fewer fish, but it was a great experience during our 40-minute dive.

All in all this was a great half-day and excited our children to want to take a complete PADI course on our return to the States. Everyone was highly professional: instructors (both Sylvia and Johnny), dive masters, and crew.