A fantastic time in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica
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Feb 19 - Feb 29, 2024
Olman, my travel agent had everything planned out perfectly! I went to three places, and each was totally different. Manuel Antonio= world class sunsets and one of top five beaches in Costa Rica. The visitors and picos (locals) applaud the sun as it sets. Monteverde was next. Rainforest and zip lining. Between the self guided rainforest and hanging bridges, the zip lining, and the guided night tour, I was at the park for nine hours. Amazing and awe inspiring! Last was Tamarindo. Another of the top five beaches in Costa Rica. The beach was probably 100’wide and about 1/2 mile long. I felt like I was the only one there!
Hotel Review
I cannot say enough wonderful things about La Mariposa in Manuel Antonio. It is the premier spot for watching the amazing sunsets. The entire staff greets you by name. A tropical floral arrangement and voucher for a bottle of house wine awaited me in my room. It was my birthday and I waited too long to reserve a sunset dinner table (it was 3:00 for a 5:30 sunset) everything was booked. I mentioned that it was my birthday. The guy excused himself and came back a few minutes later. He had reserved the primo table on the patio for me! I always try to have a few strange requests for the front desk. They either knew the answer or researched it for me. The entire staff was well informed, extremely courteous. It was probably one of the best experiences I have ever had.
Activity Reviews
The guides are very knowledgeable, and the groups are small. One good thing is that the guides use WhatsApp to tell the other guides about “finds” so the other guests can be included.
The park is very nice, but very busy. They push 2000 people a day through, and at the start, it’s like a cattle call. The guides are very good at spotting (animals) to small groups of about 20 people, but they are on a time schedule (get in, get out, next group). If one group sees something, all the other groups join in, so there are 30 people pointing, talking and taking pictures. The beach inside the park is one of the top 5 in Costa Rica, and the water is a perfect temperature. Beautiful!
A great experience! I combined the hanging bridges, zip line, and night tour in one LONG day. But it was worth it! Spent about 3 hours in the hanging gardens. Averaged 100 pictures an hour. There was something new at every turn! It’s cool ( end of February and about 50 degrees F and a 39 mph wind with mist. I had a sweatshirt and jeans and was comfortable. You can hear it raining, but by the time it gets through all the leaves, it’s like a mist. I never got “wet”. The zip line is terrific! I was second in line behind a 84 year old person from England! There’s a lot of climbing (bridges are fairly level), but it’s worth it. The day I was there, the mist was pretty thick (like a fog). When you zip lined, the water was hitting your face like tiny pellets. Didn’t hurt, but stinging.
Hello Bill,
Your photos from Costa Rica are amazing! I'm thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic time celebrating your birthday. I enjoyed planning your itinerary, and it's great to see that everything paid off.
Pura Vida,
Olman