Our second (truly wonderful) trip to Costa Rica

Costa Rica | Jan 30 - Feb 13, 2025

We fell in love with Costa Rica after joining a G Adventures tour in 2024. We wanted to return, but wanted to visit different areas, with the focus on wildlife, birds and experiencing the forests/jungles/wetlands/national parks. We did not want 5*, all inclusive or private travel where shared travel options were available.
Olman understood our requirements and crafted a wonderful 2 week itinerary for us, and we enjoyed every second of every day - wishing we had arranged a longer visit as our time to depart arrived all too soon.
Our pick up at the airport was perfect, and our overnight accommodation at the Park Inn Hotel was comfortable. Shared transport to Tortuguero was fine, and we thoroughly enjoyed our 2 nights at Pachira Lodge, including the wonderful early morning boat tour. (We would not have wanted to stay in Anhinga lodge, the sister to Pachira). The buffet breakfasts, lunch and dinner were all very tasty with plenty of choices. Lunches at El Ceibo were fine.
The transfer to Sarapiqui Rainforest Lodge was very comfortable, in shared transport (often we were the only 2 passengers when using shared transport). The Lodge was particularly beautiful with a very picturesque 'wild' pool. The location was perfect for our trip to La Selva Biological Station and, of all our drivers and transport, the lady who collected and drove us was absolutely wonderful. She was full of knowledge, information and very charming and so kind and helpful, she was the best, I am just sorry that I don't recall her name. La Selva is a fascinating place - we barely scratched the surface of all there is is to see and do there. Whilst staying at The Sarapiquis Rainforest Lodge we were able to walk to 'Dave and Dave's' to watch birdlife very close up in a perfect natural setting. Highlights included the hundreds of hummingbirds feeding on Heliconia flowers, within feet of us. Dave Jnr, the host is a fountain of knowledge and no more than 6 people can visit at a time (pre-booking essential) so a very individual experience. We would definitely revisit this place. We were also able to walk to the Tirimbina Biological reserve and enjoy a night frog hike which was another amazing experience, seeing night birds and so many frogs with our knowledgeable guide. We loved how accessible Sarapiquis Rainforest Lodge was to all these experiences - perfect for us.
Our transport to Hotel Lavas Tacotal in La Fortuna was excellent and we were blessed with good views of Arenal. Our stay here was fine - as we were out most of the time. Our day trip to Rio Celeste and Tenorio Volcano National Park was fabulous. En route we stopped to rescue a sloth that was trying to cross the busy highway - our guide picked it up and carried it to safety, placing it on a tree on the other side of the road. We ended up with a bonus visit to a chocolate/coffee farm and a sloth farm where we came across a tapir. We also came across 3 eyelash pit vipers - our guide was able to share the importance of safe distance.
The drive to Natural Canon Negro Lodge was private transport, and very comfortable. The lodge itself is in a lovely location and we ended up doing a second boat trip in the afternoon to a different section of the wetlands - what a treat. We would love to return to explore more of the wetlands at Cano Negro, as the map indicates the wetlands cover a very large area.
Our trip to Rincon, again private, took longer as the more direct road was impassable and we were advised to go via La Fortuna, making it a long drive. Buena Vista Lodge was excellent, and again the location of our room with unspoilt views over the valley was perfect. There were many trails we could walk ourselves and we thoroughly enjoyed with hot springs. Again birds, wildlife, sunrises and sunsets could not be beaten. The buffet breakfasts were excellent.
Our drive to Tamarindo was on time, and comfortable, as was the hotel. The Wyndham Hotel had wonderful sunrise and sunset views with a regular shuttle bus to and from town, though we discovered a dusty track through the dry forest down to town where we could enjoy the amazing bird life, monkeys and even a Grey Fox. We enjoyed a roof top meal in Tamorindo as the sun went down and another on the beach where we were treated to a fire show. The Sunset catamaran tour was great, though snorkelling was curtailed by our guide due to an excess of jelly fish in the sea at that time - however we enjoyed spectacular views of a jumping hump back whale and calf, on both the sail out and return. Quite unbelievable.
We were glad to have had an extra day in Tamarindo, and could have had 3 nights in all our locations (except La Fortuna)!
Our hotels were excellent and all transport was comfortable and reliable (one of our unfounded worries!).
The flight down from Tamarindo to San Jose was perfect, and an interesting experience.

Thank you Olman, we are already planning a return visit in March 2026!!