Recommended Hotels

During our visit to Quepos, we wanted to stay at the Mariposa, which is a blindingly beautiful site , however it not available. The alternative, the Byblos, was a wonderful exper- ience, nestled in the rainforest close to Manuel Antonio. It is operated by French people, and offers first rate dining (as does the Mariposa). The Byblos exceeded our expectations; the Mariposa however, would be preferable because of the magni- ficent views. Our visit to Costa Rica was 6 years ago and at that time these were the only really good hotels in the Quepos vicinity. I imagine there's been some development on that road since then; I hope not too much.

My wife, myself, and our two boys (ages 17,11) just got back from spending one week in Costa Rica. Our only question is why did we not do this trip before. It was glorious! Our trip operator was Tikal Tours. We booked a trip called Eco Adventure thru American Airlines. We spent two days in Orotina, at a private ranch, Dona Marta Lodge, then 2 days at Coco Verde Hotel (average, noisy) in Playa del Coco, in the Pacific Coast, and visited some wonderful beaches and snorkeling places. Then 3 days (the best part of the tour) at the EcoLodge near Nuevo Arenal. From the grounds of the lodge you can see both Arenal Lake and Coter Lake. Some fantastic hiking trails in the rain forest around the lodge. 90 minutes to Volcan Arenal. Canopy ride, and many other things. Highly recommended. Never a dull moment. They have a botanist, Gerardo Rivera, there, who is truly astonishing and nice as he can be. Showed my children how to make rope from the bark of some trees, how to make a "blender" from branches, and many other things. We're going back soon for more.

Justa warning if you are in Playa Jaco stay away from the SOL Doro.The owner,manager and staff will ssteal right out of your room.Had our movie camera sstolen out of the room by the maid!When i tried to get it off her we were laughed at!Travelling over 12 years to CR never,NEVER had that happen! STAY AWAY!‰

My husband and I visited spring, 1998 - Easter Week, in fact. No travel agent - Planned our itinerary in advance, not knowing what we were getting into - Just struck out on our own, starting with San Jose's Melia Cariari Resort - lovely for the first night, but that's enough. (We're just not resort persons. Drove to Dominical - surfer's paradise - and stayed at the Villas Rio Mar - it was a Jungle type resort - our room was hut like with a net enclosed porch complete with fridge and hammock. Really neat. Paul, the host, was fabulous, and he arranged thru Brunca Tours for a trip to Cano Island, where I hiked and my husband scuba dove. That was close to $400, and the breakfast was fine, but the lunch was for the birds. Our tour guide, David Mora, was terrific, though, and coincidentally we learned that he lived in the town next to ours for six years before he returned to Costa Rica. But I digress. Went horseback riding nearby (again, Paul's idea) at a family owned place. Two meals (cooked by Mama and entertained by exotic birds and family members) and a full day of riding. Halfway through you are at a waterfall and that's where you swim for about an hour or so. Just lovely. We also learned that on the Wednesday before Easter, at midnite the liquor is turned off. There are special dispensations for tourist areas but you can't buy a beer in the grocery store til Easter, and on that Wednesday night, we were cut off halfway through dinner at a restaurant that had a fabulous sunset view of the Pacif. Wish I could remember the name. Anyway, after two nights, we moved on to Quepos and stayed at the Mariposa for three nights. My God, that has the best views in all of Quepos and the rooms are enormous!!! Food is top notch. There is another magnificent hotel down the road from it, very luxurious in fact (and I forgot the name), BUT it did not have the views that the Mariposa had. I think that was my favorite. We had families of monkeys moving through the trees outside our room, and a hot tub on a deck. Did the Manuel Antonio tour and it was well worth it. Tried to get on the Pura Vida boat ride, but it was booked. Don't take the other cruise on the small schooner. It's crowded (literally no place to stand), overpriced and there's no protection from the rain (although the food was quite good). Then we made the five-hour trek back to San Jose and returned to the Melia Cariari Resort for our last night. (Be prepared for those wacky roads!) We're dying to go back to visit the central portion of the country. We thought the people were wonderful!

I am a teacher and frequent traveling surfer. I have been to Costa Rica many times and have always had fantastic experiences. Recently I went to CR with my girlfriend and had another amazing vacation. However this time I came across a real gem, a fabulous pension in Santa Elena de Monteverde. It is run by Jacques Bertrand and it is called Pension Santa Elena. The rates are incredibly cheap for what you get. The rooms are big and very nice. $5 per person for rooms with shared bath and up to $15 per person for the nicer rooms with private bathrooms. He also offers e-mail, laundry, horseback tours, Sky Trek reservations (a canopy adventure with 7 cables, 11zip lines, 3 suspended bridges, an observation tower, etc.) and short cuts to Arenal Volcano. We did the Sky Trek Tour it was fantastic...beautiful views and great guides. We also did the jeep-boat short cut to the Arenal Volcano that too was spectacular, a highlight of our trip. Even more incredible is the service that Jacques gives his customers. Besides being very helpful and informative, Jacques is friendly and truly honest. When we left on the jeep-boat tour unbeknownst to us we had left some travelers checks and plane tickets behind. Jacques went out of his way to contact us during this remote tour to tell us that he had our things in safe keeping. Amazingly he was able to contact us using a pager while on the boat, and again by CB radio to make sure we received the information. Since it was impossible to go back, he waited for us to contact him with instructions on what to do. He offered to FAX things and was a great help as we arranged to get new travelers checks through the bank. Everything worked out just fine, because Jacques went out of his way to make sure we knew about our mistake, we may not have found out until it was too late. A truly nice place to stay while in Monteverde.

A volcano is like a candle, sometimes it drips on one side, sometime on the other. In April 2,000, the best views of the Lava where on the North side, not on the South (Observatory Lodge is on the wrong side for now, maybe in a year or two, the Arenal Volcano will change is mind!). You can see a map of the lava flow, from the Smithsonian Institute here:

Smithsonian lava map

For a map, views, and hotels locations, check here:

Map of Arenal Volcano

The first afternoon and evening Arenal Volcano was completely clear, a fantastic show as the sun set and we began to see the burning rocks crashing down the mountain. We would never have seen it if we'd stayed in La Fortuna. I've talked to many people who made short visits since who were so disappointed. We enjoyed the trails there too; hiking up the Rio de Lava and climbing the lava fall at the top was an amazing experience. Wildlife was abundant, particularly in the early morning on the El Congo Trail - howler and whiteface monkeys, coatis, toucans by the flock, and the extraordinary scissor tailed kite. We found it easy -and necessary--to hitch rides between the campground/trailhead area and the hotel; that's a long, steep, and sunny 2k. We stayed at Los Lagos in Arenal. We could see the lava from our bed! We found them on the web site of Monteverde:

Hotel Los Lagos

As a budget alternative, you can stay in La Fortuna, and use the trail system of Hotel Los Lagos, for an entrance fee of $5. You need to take a taxi ($3), because you can't see the lava from the village. Since it's often cloudy in this area, if you go back and forth from Fortuna to stand just 30 minutes in front of the volcano, your chances are slim of seeing an eruption. You can find also maps of the area, and shortcuts to the not-to-be-missed Monteverde cloud forest on this site:

MONTEVERDEinfo.com

In Monteverde we stayed at the friendly, and helpful

Pension Santa Elena

It's clean, and reasonably priced. We preferred to save on the room, and invest in their tours: guide in the cloud forest, Sky Trek (a thrilling canopy tour), horseback in the mountain, Butterfly Garden, etc. Resting on the beach was soothing after all this action!
Have fun!

I travel frequently with students to Costa Rica since our campus maintains a field station in the Talamanca Mountains where the quetzals live and nest, and we always enjoy staying in the old section of San Jose. I find that hotels like the Don Carlos and the Hemmingway are close to all the museums and the walk is enjoyable.

Buena Vista Lodge, Costa Rica Vacations, Travel Packages, Tours and Hotels, Family Trip.
- Costa Rica Travel in Paradise is a full-service tour operator, Costa Rica vacation travel to Costa Rica: Adventure, Beach Getaways, Family, Nature, Romance, and Honeymoon http://www.travelinparadisecr.com Buena Vista Lodge Guanacaste Buena Vista Lodge and Adventure Center, proudly operated by a Costa Rican family, is a wonderful rustic mountain hotel located only a few meters from a mystic primary forest, wild and unspoiled. Only 31Km from Liberia, the Door to the Sun, this 1600 hectares of land surrounding the lodge are home to an outstanding richness of wildlife, including: monkeys, deer, ant-eaters, squirrels and lots of birds. The comfortable rustic rooms have astonishing views of both the Liberia area, the coastline and the nearby mountains and provide relaxation and tranquility after a day full of exciting adventures. Due to the vicinity of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, you can observe the volcanic activity at Las Pailas where boiling mud and hot springs provide a natural health spa. Here, you can put on mud masks that are known to cure skin ailments. A natural sauna, waterfalls with crystal-clear natural pools, horse back riding, volcano tours are other attractions at Buena Vista Lodge. Try the new 2400 ft. long Canopy Tour, featuring 10 trails, and discover the unique beauty of this untouched area in a totally new way. Having done all that, you will love the authentic Costa Rican food served with fresh ingredients at Buena Vista restaurant.

Flamingo Beach Resort, Guanacaste, Costa Rica Vacations, Travel Packages, Tours and Hotels, Family Trip.
- Costa Rica Travel in Paradise is a full-service tour operator, Costa Rica vacation travel to Costa Rica: Adventure, Beach Getaways, Family, Nature, Romance, and Honeymoon.
Flamingo Beach Resort.
The perfect place for a family vacation, sports-fishermen or the business-traveler. The Flamingo Beach Resort is perfectly adapted to the requirements of the traveler wanting to relax and get away from it all for a while, the angler looking for an exhilerating struggle with a black marlin, sailfish or yellowfin tuna or the family that enjoys vacation fun together."
ACCOMMODATIONS: The comforts of a beach front resort on Playa Flamingo in Costa Rica. We offer our guests a truly remarkable experience as each of our spacious rooms and suites can provide plenty of comfort and relaxation for a restful night.
SERVICES & AMENITES:
• Steps away from the crystal blue waters of the Pacific Ocean on beautiful Flamingo Beach • 91 spacious well appointed air-conditioned rooms and suites featuring furnished balconies, mini-bars, coffee makers, electronic safes, direct dial phones, clock radios and satellite TV with remote.
• Luxury suite accommodations: The Honeymoon Suite includes a large jacuzzi tub. The Presidential Suite includes a conference table, separate bedroom and a private garden
• Distinctive dining choices: Restaurant "Catalinas" featuring international cuisine, Restaurant "Arenas" offering ocean front dining, A Lounge and Piano Bar, and Magallanes Bar for poolside cocktails.
• Large swimming pool with pool volleyball and swim-up pool bar.
• Banquet & Meeting Facilities
• Fitness Center / Gym featuring 2 multi exersice weight stations, 3 programmable treadmills, 4 stationary bicycles, aerobics mats and steps and men's and women's shower / changing rooms.
• Beauty Salon with spa Services. Standard and therapeutic massages starting at $35.00. Facials, pedicures and manicures also available.
• Covered Children's Pool, and separate indoor / outdoor play areas
• Souvenir Shop
• Drug Store
• Table Game area (Billiards and Air Hockey)
• Internet Room with high speed internet access
• Snorkeling and Dive shop