Great for Honeymoon or any kind of vacation!!! The best!!!
Written: Jan 21 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: beautiful. inexpensive, fun, relaxing, exciting, cultural, friendly, yummy, everything you want!
Cons: Slow service (teaches you to relax), few ATMs, bad roads, need bottled water, bugs,
The Bottom Line: One of the best vacations that you can go on and create yourself. You can go on any budget for couples, singles and families.
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| nyspider-man's Full Review: Costa Rica |
My wife and I went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon in January 2005. It was amazing. Our trip brought us to 3 different locations in Costa Rica. We booked our vacation through Costa Rica Vacations travel agency. They were helpful and would be great for anyone going to Costa Rica, but next time I think we might book everything on our own.
We first arrived at the San Jose airport. It wasn't too bad and we receive our bags quickly. We then met our travel assistant who gave us all of our vouchers for our hotels, transportation, and tours. I think that was very beneficial. Almost every tour, transportation, or lodging in Costa Rica asked for vouchers and some people we met did not have them available and this can cause problems. He took us to the SANSA airport (just a 5 minute walk from the San Jose Airport). We flew to Quepos and it was an experience on a very small propeller plane (not a Cessna). It took about 30 minutes flying time.
Manuel Antonio
We were met at the Quepos Airport by our private transfer (pre arranged) to Manuel Antonio. It took about 20 minutes. We stayed at La Mariposa. It was Beautiful!!! I would bet that it was the nicest place in Manuel Antonio. The people there were very nice and helpful. They speak a lot of English, so don't worry if you don't speak Spanish too well. If you don't stay there you have to make it to their sunset bar and bring your bathing suit as you can have drinks in their swim up bar and watch the best sunset in Manuel Antonio. The Pina Colada's are made with fresh fruit and may be some of the freshest and best tasting drinks you will ever have. The virgin Pina Colada's are also wonderful.
Mar Luna (great Sea food and prices) and the Marlin (great sea food and tex mex) (on the beach) were our favorite places to eat. The Bat Cave in La Mansion Inn was our favorite bar. The Zip Line tour is awesome. If you are afraid, don't be. It was soooo much fun. Do it and you will not regret it. I saw 2 people go together who totaled about 500 pounds and they were great. My wife and I went together and it was awesome. Go to the one where you go repelling, it is some experience. The Manuel Antonio National Park was beautiful. I highly recommend going with a tour guide. He or she will see things that you would not see (I guarantee it). It is beautiful and amazing. Keep your pass to the park (good for 1 full day) and if you decide to go back to the beach go to the beach at the national park, it will feel like it is your own private beach and it is nicer than the public beach, which is also beautiful. We left for Arenal (La Fortuna) by private transfer and it was a great trip. We got to see alligators, toucans, and learned more about Costa Rica from our guide. We traveled for about 5 hours in a big comfortable van with a private tour guide. If you don't want to fly, then this is the way to travel and it is not too expensive.
Arenal / La Fortuna
We stayed at Montana del Fuego. We had our own cabin and it was beautiful. They have a wonderful Spa, which I highly recommend taking advantage of. The restaurant was very good. The like to cook with yummy, but heavy creams with some of their food. The breakfast which is included was very good. It is worth getting up for. ***Watch out for heavy rain no matter what the season.*** We got hit by a lot of rain, so that was a it disappointing, being that it was supposed to be dry season. Buy a poncho! We went on a hike to the Arenal Volcano. It was a lot of fun and I recommend it. We did not actually get to see the top of the volcano, but the hike was nice. Wear at least good sneakers, if not hiking boots. I would also go with a tour guide. We went to the hot Springs at the main hotel in Arenal (you'll know it) and you can spend all day there. This is a MUST if you are there. It is amazing and beautiful. The town is very touristy and will take you about 25 minutes to see and you might not want to see it twice. We then had a private Transfer to Tamarindo. Well worth it again. You can stop when and where you want.
Tamarindo
We stayed at the Hotel Jardin del Eden http://www.jardindeleden.com/. We think it is the best hotel in town. No kids, VERY RELAXING, GREAT staff, GREAT FOOD & DRINKS and a 5 minute walk to the beach. A lot of people we met there rarely left the hotel/resort. If you go soon make sure to ask for a remodeled room and if you like your room ask if they plan on having you change rooms. If you are athletic and want a good challenge go sport fishing. I would go in the morning and I would ask about the conditions before you book. I would also recommend going out of Tamarindo rather than another beach (I made that mistake). I would also go with at least 1 other person who will want to fish. If you catch more that 3 fish then you will be sooo tired. It is also fun to share the experience. My wife went and did not fish, but had a good time. You can take what you catch. I highly recommend taking some fish to a restaurant you like and have them cook it up for you. It is very satisfying to eat your own catch. They only charge you a small amount. Some people take the fish home with them (sometimes up to 100 pounds of fish). I also recommend going on a sunset sail cruise with Mandingo Sailing, owned and operated by Andre and Maria who both speak English as their first language. We saw humpback whales, dolphins, Manarays and other sea creatures. They were very nice, the boat was wonderful and the crew was great. The sunset is phenomenal. http://tamarindobeach.net/mandingo/index.html. Go to Witches Brew (something like that) where they have a sign and serve "Nachos as big as your a**."
There is so much more to tell, but this is long to begin with. Check the checklist out next. Bring strong bug spray and a flash light. What a great trip, and it wasn't really expensive.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
nyspider-man
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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