Costa Rica June 2008

Costa Rica - June 2008
by Rochelle Zemke

Jason & I were recently in Costa Rica. We were with an EF tour group, the leader being our Spanish teacher. We really had a great time in Costa Rica. We hit all the major areas except the Guanacaste resort area. I would recommend other tour operators over EF. We did see Caravan tours, Disney Destinations and EcoTours.

My highest praise goes out to our tour guide Francisco Mirabelli. He was excellent. He is highly educated and spoke fluent English, Spanish, French, etc… He not only guides for EF, but is Michael Crichton’s (the author) personal guide when he visits Costa Rica. He will arrange, guide, and/or customize any tour for you. He used to have a connection with TAM tours. I wouldn’t hesitate to contact him. He also works for Windstar on their Costa Rica cruises. Our bus driver was just as good – Jaime from the Marvi bus company.

San Jose – very busy, airport is easy to navigate as it’s quite small. Hotels in the city I’d recommend are the Don Carlos Hotel - A small colonial style hotel located in the oldest historical section of San José and the Gran Hotel Costa Rica located near the national theater in downtown. Some great restaurants are Fogo Brazil and Café Mundo.

From the central valley to Arenal we visited the Poas Volcano and a coffee plantation as the Arenal region is one of the world’s major coffee producers.

The Arenal Volcano region is beautiful! This area has some great natural hot springs. We visited the Baldi Hot Springs - very impressive with over 10 different natural pools and more building underway. Hotel recommendations in the area are the Arenal Observatory Lodge (Located just 1.8 kilometers from the active crater of Arenal Volcano) and Tabacon Grand Spa a Thermal Resort (A five-star resort located at the foot of the Arenal Volcano). Some members of our group had been to the Tabacon hot springs and called it a “Disneyland for Adults.” We also visited the La Fortuna waterfall in the Arenal rainforest. It was quite a hike down with a nice dip in the pool followed by a long hike up again. The scenery was beautiful, but I wouldn’t recommend to clients that are out of shape as it is a steep climb up and down with uneven steps.

Monteverde is in a cloud forest. It tends to rain a bit J. Hotel recommendation is Hotel El Establo (In the heart of the tourist zone of Monteverde). We enjoyed the spa here and it was excellent! We got our thrills on a canopy tour in the Selvetura Park. (http://www.selvatura.com/) It was awesome and I felt totally safe here as there were numerous guides. Other in our group had been to skytrek and said this was much easier to climb with better cable views.

Jaco was our next stop. It is a “surfer and spring break” type area. I wouldn’t recommend that clients stay here, but rather in Quepos, about 30 minutes away. Recommended hotels are the Hotel Casitas Eclipse (near Manuel Antonio- Distinctive Mediterranean style villas) and the La Mariposa Hotel (described in Condé Nast Traveler as “Eden on a ridge” with magnificent views). Manuel Antonio National Park is a haven that is slowly being discovered by lots of tourists. They limit the number allowed in the park each day so arrive early. There are some great hiking trails, beautiful beaches and wildlife viewing.

On our way back to San Jose for our return home, we stopped in Sarchi, which is well known for its arts and crafts (furniture, wooden items, etc…) We were lucky to extend our stay for a day of whitewater rafting. The company, called Sarapiqui Adventures (http://www.sarapiqui.com/indexi.php) was great. Our guide was Miguel, co-owner of the company. They guide for Elderhostel groups as well as many others.

I could go back to Costa Rica in a heartbeat. The flora and fauna are beautiful, the people are friendly, and they eat lots of fresh pineapple, rice and beans (my favorites!).