Costa Rica: Nature's Sanctuary

This is a small, 17-room bed and breakfast in the historic district of San Jose within walking distance of the central downtown area of San Jose. A charming inn with friendly and helpful staff who help with travel or any arrangements you need. Excellent buffet-type breakfast is served in the Inn's patio which includes many fresh fruits, tamals, eggs, fresh juices (different ones every day). There is a computer room for use free of charge, with a lobby sitting room with cable TV. Each room is different in size and furnishings; some for only one person and others for a small family. Each room has a cable TV, telephone, and private bath with a ceiling fan. It is on a busy street and there is street noise until about 10pm. It is connected by a passageway through the patio to another hotel with a restaurant. It is also across the street from the more upscale Don Carlos Hotel. The Inn has wood floors and stairways with a small garden patio and spa at the back of the property. It is two stories with one room called the “turret room” in the attic. The staff here are excellent in all respects and eager to make your stay in Costa Rica memorable, and they will help you with any arrangements you need, including storing your luggage while you take overnight tours. While they do take credit cards, they give a 20% discount for using cash or traveler’s cheques, which equates to about $50 for a double standard room. Web Site: www.hemingwayinn.com For reservations contact Eric Robinson. e-mail: reservations@hemingwayinn.com

This was a lodge that was included in an all-inclusive package for a three-day visit to Tortuguero. I chose this particular tour and lodge for its location. It is on a river canal next to the Caribbean. The beach is isolated and beautiful and you can see for miles and there is not another soul around except for people who might be staying in one of the 30 cottages. The cottages are connected in series of five or so in beautiful cultivated tropical gardens right next to tropical jungle full of all different types of wildlife including birds, monkeys, sloths, frogs, iguanas and bats.

All meals are included and are served at the same time each day and were buffet style with individual tables for groups or couples. The food was fresh vegetables, fruit and various meat dishes and chicken dishes. A small bar and recreational area with pool table, a small swimming pool, beach area with hammocks, tropical gardens, domestic animals such as horses, one pig, several dogs and a parrot who always shows up at mealtime for a handout. The rooms were all open air with ceiling fans and curtains which could be let down for privacy, with the rooms made of native wood and screened- in halfway to top of the ceiling, private baths with hot water. Rooms all have two double beds with a large day bed couch, which can sleep six people. This is set in tropical gardens and orchids close enough to the ocean to hear the surf at night and right next to the jungle where you could hear all kinds of wildlife. This is truly a real get away from everyday activities that puts you right in nature with no telephone or TV's and you either walk or take a canoe to reach any other place.

This is a small garden hotel,with 11 rooms; some have kitchen and two bedrooms, others are small with room for two twin beds. The small rooms without kitchen start at $50 double, which includes a private bath, a/c, and ceiling fan. This hotel has a nice restaurant and bar with fresh fish every day and with rooms scattered around gardens,some attached; others by themselves. All have private baths with hot water, with fans and air conditioning. Some rooms are quite dark, as you are right next to Manuel Antonio National Park with a hill separating it from the park. You have an easy walk down the hill to the town and beach and just a few feet to the park entrance. This hotel is up the hill from the beach and you cannot see the beach from the hotel. Many of the hotels in this area are in the hilly area of Manuel Antonio and some are on the beach in town. They range from budget to luxury and the beach is a popular retreat for Ticos from the city. This hotel is a good backpackers/budget choice and local bus service is nearby with many restaurants, internet cafes, and other small hotels in the area. The beach is quite lively and has an open air market with vendors renting chairs. This is popular on the weekend for people from San Jose as it is only a three-hour drive from the city. Also, in the national parks and reserves, visitors are charged $7 but Ticos are charged only $1 which makes it very attractive for families and residents.

This hotel is close to the airport and an easy choice for arriving or departing the city. It is a large hotel with bar, internet/computer room, attached casino, Denny's Restaurant where your included breakfast is served, swimming pool, spa and gym and other public rooms. The room was quiet, air-conditioned, with private bath, cable TV, telephone, clock radio, and ironing board. There is an on-site swimming pool, tobacco shop, and a lively karoke bar with the casino down a walkway separate from the hotel. Also, the Denny's Restaurant is in a separate building where food is offered 24 hours, 7 days a week.

This resort timeshare is located on a steep hill overlooking a bay and beach. There are carts holding six people that go up and down the hill from the beach up to the units, which are on several levels, then up to the top of the hill where the restaurant and lobby is located. The units are large-sized rustic units with large tiled showers and baths and partial kitchens in the front room with a hot plate in place of a stove, with full-sized refrigerator and sink with microwave and electric appliances. The bedroom is air conditioned and there is a ceiling fan in the front room. Each unit has a patio with chairs facing the bay. Our unit was near the top close to the reception and did not have much a view but was close to swimming pool,spa, and gym as well as the restaurant. The lobby did have internet connection with one computer and a travel desk run by Grayline Tours from which you could book optional tours and transportation. There was a small grocery store with freezer but no fresh fruit. For that, you could walk about three blocks to town to a store that had fresh vegetables and fruit. There is a long bay with mountains at either end with tide pools and volcanic rocks at the north end also. Several streets or paths lead up into the hills where various B&Bs and small hotels are located around the small bay and community of Playa Hermosa.

There are many beaches and towns along the stretch of the Pacific which can be reached by car or taxi, and it is just south of the major resort area of Papaguayo. There are tours available from here to various parks and wildlife preserves; some, like Arenal, are a four-hour trip one way and require a ten- or eleven-hour tour. There are tours to hot springs in Rincon de la Vieja, tours to ranches and boat wildlife tours on various rivers. Even with the carts for transportation, one should be in good physical shape as the entire resort is built on a hillside and you will need a car to get around the outside of the resort. The resort is 16 miles from the airport in Liberia and there is a local bus that goes to Liberia four times a day from the main road near the resort. However, to reach other beach towns and resorts you will need a car or taxi. Taxi can be called from the front desk. The beach area has beach chairs for sunning with a very nice long beach which is volcanic in origin and dark grey. There are numerous tide pools and volcanic rocks nearby for exploring. Also nearby on the beach, small restaurants and other hotels, which one can reach by walking down the beach. There is no real town but a small community with bars, restaurants, hotels and one store.

Excellent restaurant in a old house transformed into a restaurant in the historic district close to the Don Carlos Hotel and the Hemmingway Inn. Serves mainly Italian food with emphasis on fresh seafood and salads as well. Excellent wine list and varied menu. Diners are served on several patios as well as separate rooms.

Ambiance is warm and intimate and service excellent. This restaurant was recommended by both the Don Carlos Hotel and the Hemingway Inn for its clients even though both hotels have dining rooms. The clientele is mainly Tico business people at lunch time; with the night time, there is dining by candlelight which is very warm and intimate. This is a lovely old home to visit just for an expreso or latte and dessert.

I had a somewhat limited view of Arenal, as I visited it as a day tour from Playa Hermosa. The trip up the mountain from the main road is slow with some potholes, but very scenic and well worth the drive. However, our day, it rained and the volcano was not very visible, but we did enjoy the hot springs near Tabacon Hot Springs - sitting in the hot spring with rain falling is quite an enjoyable experience, as you did not need to get out to cool off under a shower.

Visitors that stay overnight at Arenal are more likely to see the volcano erupt at night when it is clear. There are hotels there with balconies that face the volcano and have a wakeup call service for guests wishing to see volcanic activity. There are various hotels and B&Bs for all budgets and after speaking with other travelers who made the trip, it is highly recommended that one stay overnight.

The volcano is frequently in the clouds by afternoon and the best viewing is night or early morning. By the time most day tours arrive from San Jose, the mountain is clouded over.

Manuel Antonio is one of the must-see places in Costa Rica. Home to endangered spider monkeys as well as howler monkeys, three-toed sloths, numerous birds, lizards and iguanas. I do recommend using one of the guides that are in the park, and licensed by the park. They are extremely knowledgeable and greatly improve your understanding and enjoyment of this park. They are $20 per person for a two-hour tour, but expert in spotting wildlife and pointing out various plants and trees, and well worth the cost.

This park can be enjoyed in two hours or a whole day or weekend, as it has five different beaches within the park, all different, some with tide pools and cliffs; others for swimming. All of the parks in Costa Rica are $7 for non-residents and are good for the entire day. In Manuel Antonio, you must bring a lunch or leave the park to eat. There are various places to eat in the community of Manuel Antonio right outside of the park. There are numerous trails off the beaten track where you can be alone and walk to a river crossing or a waterfall with no one else in sight (best to tell someone where you are going, as you can get lost). If you stay in Manuel Antonio near the park, you will hear the howler monkeys at night howling out their territorial rights. It sounds somewhat like a team cheering in a football stadium, and after hearing it once, you know what it is and look forward to hearing it again.

This park is south of Quepos, a larger town, from which there are numerous other tours available such as canopy tours, surfing and many water sports. However, there are many places to stay in Manuel Antonio, with some of the places being very luxurious and in the hills overlooking the bays and park of Manuel Antonio. The park is closed on Monday for cleaning and attendance is limited to 600 people per day so one should arrive close to the 7 a.m. Opening to be sure of admittance during the dry season.

This is a tour available from different agencies and lodges in the area for a package price, including one night, two-day packages and three-night, four-day packages with lodging, meals, transportation and tours included. This is a must-see in Costa Rica. This area has no roads into it, but has many rivers and canals (transporting bananas). You can fly in by small plane or be picked up by van at your hotel in San Jose area. It takes 20 minutes by air and half-day by van with stops for lunch on the river and breakfast, with stops at a banana plantation and processing plant or facility.

Once you are at your particular lodge, which are isolated from one another along the river, you check into your room. All meals are served at certain times, buffet or sometimes family-style, and includes all excursions by canoe and guide into the jungle, as well as hiking tours with guide into the jungle. The lodge at which I was staying -- Turtle Beach Lodge -- supplied rubber boots and hiking staff and guide for all activities. We had one early-morning (5am) wildlife viewing canoe trip watching the various birds and animals start their day in the jungle. We saw monkeys, sloths, caiman, manatee, many birds and other wildlife.

You can go to a settlement of Tortuguero where the natives live who used to work on the banana plantation and now are mostly engaged in some capacity or other in preserving or catering to the tourists who visit for the turtle nesting which occurs from May to October each year. There is a Conservation Group there of biologists and volunteers who monitor the turtle nesting, tagging, counting eggs, and generally helping with the nestlings. There is a volunteer program that you can sign up for which you pay $1300 a week for your room and board and transportation to Tortuguero, and does involve physical activity and sometimes late hours when the turtles are nesting.

If you come off-season as I did when the turtle are not there, this place is still a must-see for all the other plant and animal life. It was the only place I saw the green tree frog and the tiny, red, poison-dart frogs in nature. There are numerous butterflies, dragonflies, and hummingbirds, including the giant blue morpho butterfly and the violet saberwing hummingbird.

This area is warm and humid, and if you are on the Caribbean as I was, the beach is wild, driftwood-strewn, and isolated. This is not the place to swim because of the rip tides, but is a wild, lonely area where you will not see another soul. All the lodges are separated in the jungle along rivers a long way from each other, so you really feel as though you are alone except for the few people staying at your lodge. Some lodges in the area cater to fishermen - I understand the fishing is excellent.

INBioparque is self-guided, or at various times of the day, if you wish you can join a guided tour through the park which is recommended as the guides can point out many things you would miss on your own. There are orchid gardens, bromeliad gardens, and many areas of biodiversity, as well as exhibits of frogs, the life cycle of the butterfly and various insects. Birds, caiman, small animals, tree frogs can all be seen in the park as well as exhibits of the pupae of the butterfly and caterpillars.

You can hold the various caterpillars and view butterflies, including the giant blue morph, in a netted outdoor facility where you can see the butterflies in their natural habitant. You can view the different pupae of the butterflies, which are tagged and named so you can see the difference between the species of butterflies and their pupae. There is also a store that includes artisan products from all over Costa Rica including the many excellent coffees grown here. Grayline also does tours here with pickup from your hotel; however, you can take a cab and join one of the tours at specified times and spend all the time you want there including a very nice restaurant.

This is an excellent tour while staying in San Jose. This is close to San Jose and does not require long periods of driving. We started out early, picked up by van and taken to breakfast in mountains. We then travelled to Doka Coffee Plantation, where we saw the various stages of coffee production and were able to taste the different varieties of coffee. We learned that 90% of the top grade coffee from the Doka Tres Generacions is sold to Starbucks in the U.S. (no wonder their coffee is so good ) We then went to Poas Volcano; another volcano near San Jose, with a large green crater lake and some steam vents in this still active volcano. This volcano last erupted only four years ago but is covered with vegetation that looks like your house plants on steriods. There really are our little houseplants and hot house plants that we baby in our homes to grow maybe a foot tall or so, that grow into trees here.

After the volcano, we had lunch at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens (included in our tour price) and then a tour of the butterfly gardens and then a hike to the waterfalls. This involves getting wet, so you must have raingear and it also involves some climbing of steel stairways around and under different waterfalls. You can opt out of the most strenuous part of the hike if you wish. Otherwise, you will walk along steel walkways and stairs over and under and through a rain forest and five waterfalls along the Trail of Falls. There are nine viewing platforms below and next to the water. The power of these waterfalls into the river gorge below is awesome and I believe, a must see. There is also an excellent handicraft shop here with handcrafted objects from all over Central America.

This is area that is close to Arenal Volcano,yet takes about four hours to reach by going around Arenal Lake. It can be reached by horseback from Arenal or by an arduous gravel road that takes four and a half hours from San Jose. There are hotels and B&Bs in the small communities of Monteverde and Santa Elena. This is a large area of cloud forests and rolling hills with hiking, canopy tours, and horseback riding. The cloud forest can be viewed by a series of suspension bridges crossing waterfalls and streams, and rainforests.

Canopy tours are offered here for those who wish the thrill of sailing through the trees, which is an adventure but not a way to view wildlife. Any wildlife would be scared out of its wits by the screams and yells of those people swinging through the trees.

There are wild orchids and bromeliads everywhere in the trees and insects and animals of all types. I came across a beautiful orange-kneed Tarantula in the woods., along a trail. The suspension bridges and trails are the way to see the plants and wildlife.T here are various types of hotels here for all budgets, including backpackers and hikers as well as upscale mountain lodges.

There is regular bus transportation to this area from San Jose and other areas as well as one-day tours available in San Jose. Some people rent four-wheel drive vehicles for the drive on a rough, gravel road. It is slow going as the road is rough and there are potholes from the rain which is almost a daily event.

This is a small mountainous community of farmers and dairy farmers and people involved in the tourism industry. The road will probably guarantee that the community will remain small and isolated which the residents probably want to keep that way. You can charter a small plane into the area but otherwise, you will always have to deal with that road.

It is worth the trip only if you stay overnight as it will take at least four hours each way to Monteverde and you do not want to drive that road in the dark with the steep dropoffs and potholes. The trip on the way is very scenic and you will see lots of wildlife on the way so the trip is well worth it, but if you don't stay overnight, you have very little time to enjoy the area.

This is an excellent small gallery near the central part of San Jose that specializes in indigenous and folkloric art of Costa Rica that one seldom sees in the stores. There are paintings from many small isolated farming communities, many painted by women on serving platters and skillets, as well as masks in clay, metal, wood and papier mache and glass. The items are reasonably priced and the owner, Aisling French, is very pleased to describe and tell the background of all the items in his gallery. You can also see the items in gallery on his website: www.galerianamu.com. Open 9:30am-6:30pm Monday-Saturday, phone: (506) 256-3412

If you are into ecotourism, wildlife, or nature, this is the place for you. Costa Rica has the largest biodiversity of any place I have visited. 28% of the land in the country is set aside as parks or reserves and there is an emphasis on recycling, the environment, and preservation and conservation. In a country the size of West Virginia, there are mountains, rain forest, volcanoes (over 60), rivers, valleys, both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, wildlife areas which can only be reached by boat or plane, cloud forests, dry cattle farming areas, coffee plantations, many isolated beaches, sport fishing as well as water sports such as surfing and boating. There are areas for hiking and camping.

There is really something for everyone to do here including history, culture, and museums in city of San Jose. It is only six hours on a direct flight from Los Angeles (one hour longer than for Cancun here) and with approximately the same airfare that it takes to reach Cancun. The people are friendly, educated (98% literacy rate), and many speak english as it is required in the schools. You can use travelers cheques or American dollars in many hotels, restaurants and shops as well as credit cards. I went to the airport bank on arrival to change to some colones and never had to visit a bank again.

Some places will give discounts for cash as the rate on credit cards are high (8%) here. I used the banks at both the San Jose and the Liberia airports; their rates were the same as banks and without the lines found in the banks. Banks are crowded here as Ticos pay their utility and mortgage bills at the bank and sometimes the lines can be an hour wait. Gambling and prostitution are legal here with numerous casinos in the hotels. I just returned from Costa Rica and can hardly wait until I return which I know now will be often.

I'd love to keep this place a secret so it won't be overcrowded and spoiled by tourists but I know that other travelers like myself have fallen in love with this country and will not keep it quiet. The Ticos are very proud of their country and really go out of their way to make your experience in their country a memorable one.