Costa Rica Journals

One Week in Costa Rica

A March 2006 trip to Costa Rica by KellySenn

Orchid Photo - Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Quote: We spent 1 week hitting three popular destinations in Costa Rica: Arenal Volcano, Monteverde cloud forest, and Tamarindo Beach on the Pacific Coast.

25 Photos

One Week in Costa Rica

Overview

Costa Rica Transportation Photo - Monteverde, Costa Rica

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Costa Rica is an amazing country. There is a huge diversity of opportunities for adventure, with each region offering its own flavor and its own activities. In a week's time, we were able to get a taste of what Costa Rica has to offer, and with some pre-planning, we were able to maximize the diversity of sights we experienced. The reviews in this journal cover the three locations we visited: Arenal Volcano (and La Fortuna town), Monteverde Cloudforest (and Santa Elena town), and Tamarindo, a very popular beach on the Pacific Coast. In just 1 week, we went from the arid, dry, hot, and dramatic landscape of Arenal to the wet, cool green region around Monteverde, and then out ...Read More

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Hotel Dorothy

Hotel

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When visiting Arenal Volcano, most tourists either stay in very high-end luxury resorts, or they stay in La Fortuna town, for a little more flexibility and local flavor. There are a variety of budget to mid-range places to stay in La Fortuna, and a number of good restaurants, all within walking distance to one another.Hotel Dorothy is a very cute hostel-type arrangement. All rooms are private with their own hot-water baths, and range in price from $6-8 per night, per person (even if you are sharing a room with a friend). Internet is included, and food and drinks are also available for purchase. The rooms are small and basic, but clean. The bathrooms were actually quite nice, with big showers...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 16, 2006

Hotel Dorothy
La Fortuna
La Fortuna, Costa Rica

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Cabinas Don Taco

Hotel

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Cabinas Don Taco was one of our favorite places. At $20 per person, per night, we found these adorable cabinas overlooking the town of Santa Elena (3-minute walk up the hill from the main intersection of town) to be great accommodations for the money. A filling typical breakfast was included (coffee, tea, rice and beans, eggs, and toast), with great views. The cabinas themselves were very comfortable, with a wooden cozy finish and each with its own balcony. The bathrooms were small, but the rooms were big and the whole place was very clean, with maid service daily. They can arrange tours for you at the front desk.Important note: they do not take credit cards! The best way to make reserv...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 16, 2006

Cabinas Don Taco
Located from the Banco Nacional 300 m. east.
Santa Elena, Costa Rica
+506 645-5263

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Hotel El Milagro

Hotel

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For $50 per person/per night, including tax, etc., this is a good deal in the more touristy Tamarindo. Right on the main street, a little bit removed from the action (about 4 or 5 blocks from where it gets quite loud at night, down by the rotunda) and across the street from the beach, it has an ideal location.The grounds include a pool and a bar/restaurant, where included breakfast is served daily. Breakfast features fresh fruit, eggs, pancakes, and coffee or tea.The rooms are set up as separate cabinas, each with its own porch and hammock. They have A/C, which is key in scorching-hot Tamarindo, where temperatures often hover around 90F. The rooms are not that spacious, but very cl...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 16, 2006

Hotel El Milagro
Playa Tamarindo
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
(506) 2653 0043

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El Coconut

Restaurant

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This was one of the best meals we had in Costa Rica. Although expensive by Costa Rica standards, this was a steal by New York standards.The menu features fresh fish and shellfish nightly, made to your specifications, with a choice of sauces and vegetables. Go with the waiter's recommendations: everything is unbelievably fresh and finished to perfection. If you really don't like fish, they also have steaks, but we didn't try them. There were too many unbelievable sounding fish dishes, and being less than 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean, how could you order anything else?The appetizers were equally amazing, we had the shrimp and calamari, both of which were excellent....Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 22, 2006

El Coconut
Main Street, Tamrindo Beach
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
2653 0086

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Tamarindo Beach (General)

Attraction | "Tamarindo"

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Tamarindo is one of the more developed beach destinations in Costa Rica, although by U.S. and Caribbean standards it would still be considered undeveloped. The town of Tamarindo is basically one long street along the beach filled with hotels, ranging from the luxurious El Diria to hostel-type lodgings with shared rooms. There are a number of great restaurants and bars right on the beach, one of our favorites being Copa Cabana, where you can sit on the beach and they will bring you lunch or drinks. Nightlife abounds with a different party at a bar every night, which it seems as if the whole village attends. Live music is a staple, with reggae bands at Babylon on Thursday nights attracti...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Tamarindo Beach (General)

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Attraction | "Guided Nature Walk"

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We had a wonderful experience taking a tour with one of this private reserve's guides. The walks are in small groups, making them very manageable. The tour starts out with an educational and beautiful slideshow of photographs taken by professional photographers who came to capture the wildlife in the park. Following the slideshow is a 2-3 hour walking tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the forest, the ecosystem in general, individual plants, birds, insects, and larger animals. We learned a lot about individual plants and any medicinal uses, spotted numerous colorful birds, and even saw a larger mammal or two. Note that we did not cover much ground distance wise in the 2.5 hour...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica

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Selvatura Canopy Tour

Attraction | "Canopy Tour"

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What a fun experience! A canopy tour is a total tourist trap, and you'll find them all over Costa Rica, but the best ones are around Monteverde. Several companies offer them, and we found Selvatura to have the best combination of price and extensive grounds. A canopy tour involves 15 zip lines through different levels of the cloud forest... mostly in or above the canopy of the trees. It is an adrenaline rush mixed with breathtaking views. It is done in fairly large groups with experienced, very friendly local guides, and safety is taken very seriously. This is easily combined for an extra $5 or $10 with their canopy bridges, which is a walk with varying lengths of bridges, again, in or...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Selvatura Canopy Tour

Santa Elena, Costa Rica

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Santa Elena Reserve

Attraction

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Santa Elena is the smaller of the two major reserves in the Monteverde region. Locally sponsored and supported, in contrast to the NGO status of the Monteverde reserve, it has a quieter, less touristy feel. We actually had great luck spotting wildlife in this reserve and felt that is was well worth the trip. It is relatively small, so only a morning, half-day trip would be necessary to see most of the reserve.There is an observatory tower that is fun to climb and would offer great views on a clear day (which is rare to find in this cloud forest region...).In addition, this is a great activity to combine with a canopy tour, which is located 200m outside the entrance to the park....Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Santa Elena Reserve

Santa Elena, Costa Rica

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White-Water Rafting

Attraction | "Whitewater Rafting"

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We went whitewater rafting with Desafio Tours, leaving from La Fortuna, where we were picked up at our hotel, for an all-day trip down Class IV Rio Toro. We were divided up into groups of four or five, each with a guide; given a safety talk; and sent down the river. Everyone had a blast, and the guides were friendly, knowledgeable, safe, and fun. The river itself was beautiful and the whitewater was a blast. There were a few spills out of the boat, but all in good fun.After the approximately 2- to 3-hour float, we were met at the takeout point with a beautiful spread of fresh fruit waiting for us. After the snack, we boarded a bus, stopped at a grocery for celebratory b...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 16, 2006

White-Water Rafting
La Fortuna
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
+506 479-9464

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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Attraction | "Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve"

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Monteverde is the largest Cloudforest reserve in the area. At NGO (non-government organization), the reserve charges an entry fee and sells souvenirs (as well as accepts tax-deductible donations) in order to fund research, maintenance, and the purchase of more land adjacent to the reserve in the hopes of building a corridor for the wildlife in and near the reserve.This reserve is definitely worth a visit. Look at my entry on the guided nature tour, which we did here. The best way to plan a day here is to combine a nature tour with a few hours of hiking on your own, as the nature tours are very educational but do not cover much ground in the reserve. (There is an awesome waterfall and an outl...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 22, 2006

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica

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Night Hike in Monteverde

Attraction | "Night Hike"

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Ask at any hotel or in town and this is one of the activities that everyone recommends. There are a couple of different options: one is to do a night hike in Monteverde Reserve itself, and the other is to do it through a little park in town. We choose to do it in town at the recommendation of the staff in our hotel, and we were not disappointed. They recommended it based on the time of day (the one in town starts right at dusk, while at the reserve it starts at 7pm); however, we were also happy to try a different location, as we were planning to spend a full day in the reserve.You can sign up the day of in your hotel, and they send cabs to pick you up and drop you off. I believe we paid arou...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 10, 2006

Night Hike in Monteverde
Santa Elena
Monteverde, Costa Rica