Thursday 24 March 2011

Costa Rica

Sheila and Erin from our Bowmanville office just took a trip to Costa Rica, here’s what Erin had to say about her family trip.

We’ve just returned from our family trip to Costa Rica and it was GREAT! There’s plenty to do and see and we weren’t disappointed.

Infinity Pool on deck - Pacuare Lodge
We flew Air Canada into San Jose and the flight was great, on time and great onboard service. We arrived in San Jose and were taken to our hotel. We stayed at the Days Hotel, the food was great and the rooms were very nice. The town of San Jose is mainly an industrial city. There are many tours you can do from San Jose, canopy tours, rappelling, city tours to see basilicas, museums and theaters and much more.

Canopy Bed - Pacuare Lodge
We only stayed in San Jose for the night and then we were off to the Pacuare River to go river rafting. It was a 2 hour drive to the river. We stopped at a great local restaurant for breakfast up in the mountains which had a great view of the valley. When we arrived at the river we packed our luggage into dry bags and the guides strapped them down to the raft.
We hopped in a separate raft with our guide for the next three days. We rafted down class 1 and 2 rapids and stopped at a waterfall for a quick swim and continued on our way. We arrived at the Pacuare Lodge were we stayed for 3 days, 2 nights. The lodge was gorgeous, located right on the river was their restaurant and bar where you ate all your meals. Our room was located up in the mountain over looking the river. The
River Rafting - Pacuare River
room was amazing, claw footed bathtub, indoor and outdoor showers, canopy draped king size bed, loungers on the enormous deck complete with a large infinity pool over looking the jungle and the river but it was a hike up the mountain to get to the room but well worth it. The food at the Pacuare Lodge was great, actually amazing considering that there are no roads into the resort and all food has to come by water!!

Rappelling - Arenal Area
We were able to walk 5 minutes with our guide to a waterfall where we were able to swim in the natural pools below it. Another day we were walked to another small river where we were able to slide down the natural rock slides into different pools. There are several different tours you can do at the lodge (rappelling, zip lining and also massages) but just sitting on your deck taking in the sounds around you and the occasional swim in your private pool is an excellent way to spend your afternoon. We rafted again out of the lodge on the third day, on class 3 and 4 rapids. We stopped again at a great waterfall for a quick swim and some pictures in the falls. We also stopped along the river for lunch that day.

Bathroom - Tree House Lodge
We then went to Puerto Viejo, Limon to stay at the Tree House Lodge. This was a truly unique place; we stayed in the Beach Suite. It was an open air design with a large Flintstone like bathroom. The highlight of the washroom was the hot tub that filled up through the mouth of a sea horse, and the shower that was wrapped by a large snake and the water fell from its mouth. The Beach Suite has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, kitchen, living space, lower deck with hammocks and a large deck on the roof. The beach suite was a 2 minute walk from the Caribbean ocean and right on the beach. The beach out front was a natural beach, but just a short walk down the beach was a lovely beach great for swimming and the water was very warm. The town of Puerto Viejo was a little town right on the ocean. There are many small restaurants on the beach and little shops to look through. We stayed at the Tree House Lodge for two nights and then moved on to the next place.

Hot Springs - Tabacon Grand Spa & Resort
We then drove to Arenal to stay at the Tabacon Grand Spa and Resort. The drive was about 5 hours through the country side of Costa Rica. The Tabacon is a gorgeous resort and is most well known for its natural hot springs. The Spa and the hot springs are definitely the highlight of the resort. We were also able to see the Arenal Volcano from our room which was gorgeous. The best time to go in the hot springs in my opinion would be later in the evening as it is very hot during the day and getting into the hot water makes its seem even hotter. The restaurants were very nice and the food was delicious. We did a volcano hike from the Tabacon and it was great, but very HOT. The views are great and it’s a nice way to see some of the wildlife. We also did a canopy tour from Tabacon at Ecoglide.  They have 12 cables and a Tarzan swing, and the Tarzan swing was by far the highlight of the canopy tour. You stand on a platform and the guides hook you up to a rope and you jump and swing up into the tree tops it was great and such a rush, you have to try it if you have the chance. We also did a rappelling tour from Tabacon which was also a lot of fun. We rappelled down four waterfalls and two of them much higher than I imagined they would have been. Our stay at the Tabacon lived up to all our expectations and the hot springs exceeded all my expectations.

Sunset - Borinquen Resort
We then travelled to Rincon de la Vieja where we stayed at the Borinquen Mountain Resort. The grounds at this resort were gorgeous, up on the mountain at the base of an inactive volcano. They had pools, thermal pools, mud baths and a natural steam room. The accommodations again here were great, our own little houses up on the hill. The restaurant had great food and the service was excellent. We did a tubing and horseback riding tour from the Hacienda Gauchipelin. The drive from the Borinquen to the Hacienda was about an hour on a rough road but worth the time for the tour. We had a 45 minute horse back ride to the Rio Negro where we gathered our tubes and floated down the river and the rapids. The scenery was great and well worth it. We spent two nights at this resort and it was a blast.

Beach at the Four Seasons Guanacaste
We then traveled to the Pacific Coast to stay at the Four Seasons Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo. The drive was about an hour and a half to the resort. The Four Seasons was gorgeous and we got upgraded to a 3 bedroom bungalow when we got there!! They have two beaches and 3 pools, which you can see both beaches from the main pool. The restaurants are great and the food is fantastic!! The room we stayed in was gorgeous bigger than any other hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Three bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, indoor and outdoor kitchen, large living room, big Jacuzzi bathtubs and French balconies in every bedroom it was amazing! We were only there for one night and none of us wanted to leave. You could hear howler monkeys from our room at night and early in the morning. It was definitely a treat to stay here!

We flew out of Liberia on United, with a quick layover in Chicago and on to Toronto. The trip was great and I would love to go back. It was great place for the whole family, in fact for people of any age and anyone could enjoy this great country. Give us a call if you are interested in a trip to Costa Rica.
905-623-3182 or by e-mail at sheila.kemp@kemptravel.ca  or erin.kemp@kemptravel.ca