Costa Rica 2018
Costa Rica in 2018 was without a doubt a highlight of our travels so far. For all of us it was our first trip to Central America, it was hot, humid and sweaty in most places but the scenery was unbelievable and the wildlife amazing.
So here it is, our whistle stop tour of Costa Rica!
La Fortuna, Arenal and surrounding areas!
After a quick sleep in San Jose we picked up our hire car for the month, a quick mention to the
fantastic Vamos Car Rental, great service. The car wasn't the newest but it did the job and they were about $400 cheaper than the highly rated Adobe (Adobe did arrive with a car for us even though we'd cancelled, it was brand new and a free upgrade on our booking, if we could have afforded the extra $400 the vehicle was top notch).
The drive over to La Fortuna was a real eye opener for what our month was to bring, a two lane road through the mountains, twists, turns, narrow bits, rickety bridges and slow lorries. To drive successfully in Costa Rica you have to be confident and brave and stick to daylight hours.
Anyway, enough of the babble, you want to see the pictures. The famous Arenal volcano, Bogarin Trail wildlife, Kalambu hot springs and water park, La Fortuna waterfall - we had a great 3 night stay in La Fortuna and could and maybe should have stayed longer.
After a quick sleep in San Jose we picked up our hire car for the month, a quick mention to the
fantastic Vamos Car Rental, great service. The car wasn't the newest but it did the job and they were about $400 cheaper than the highly rated Adobe (Adobe did arrive with a car for us even though we'd cancelled, it was brand new and a free upgrade on our booking, if we could have afforded the extra $400 the vehicle was top notch).
The drive over to La Fortuna was a real eye opener for what our month was to bring, a two lane road through the mountains, twists, turns, narrow bits, rickety bridges and slow lorries. To drive successfully in Costa Rica you have to be confident and brave and stick to daylight hours.
Anyway, enough of the babble, you want to see the pictures. The famous Arenal volcano, Bogarin Trail wildlife, Kalambu hot springs and water park, La Fortuna waterfall - we had a great 3 night stay in La Fortuna and could and maybe should have stayed longer.
After an action packed arrival in Costa Rica we made the long drive (4 hours) to Jaco on the Pacific coast. With a reputation as a bit of a party town we were a little nervous about Jaco but wanted an established town to chill in for a while. Though we've no doubt there is a party to be had in Jaco if you go looking for it, it was hardly Vegas or San Antonio! There were several bars and some evidence of hostess girls working some bars but there was an easy solution, we chose where we went carefully and weren't subjected to any hassle, crime, prostitution, drugs or drunkenness.
We had a great hotel near the beach, spent 6 days eating some amazing food in some great restaurants and relaxing. Jaco was somewhere we really enjoyed and people shouldn't be put off by it's unfounded reputation. Here's some of our best bits.
We had a great hotel near the beach, spent 6 days eating some amazing food in some great restaurants and relaxing. Jaco was somewhere we really enjoyed and people shouldn't be put off by it's unfounded reputation. Here's some of our best bits.
Next we headed Southwards to the town of Quepos, home of the most famous National Park in Costa Rica. Known for being a setting for Jurassic Park filming and supposedly one of the best places to see sloths and wildlife we had high expectations.
Thankfully we stayed on the road between Quepos and the National Park, the town was ok, around the park was very touristy and Americanised. I need to say that I have nothing against America, well apart from Trump, but the American way of holidaying or vacationing just isn't my cup of tea. Everything needs to be there on a plate, instant, quick, tick list visits. After speaking at length with some fellow visitors I now realise that this is because of the appallingly poor holiday allowances given to US workers. The unfortunate consequence of this for everyone else is that wherever Americans find popular the local take advantage of this need for convenience and quickness and bump up the prices, in the case of Manuel Antonia NP they even charge entrance fees in US$! The ATM's there dispense $$$ alongside CR pesos as well. Of course the peso to $ rates given are appalling in many cases. This leads to prices spiralling to levels way above their true level.
Anyway enough of the economics and on to the park. A wonderful piece of nature, full of wildlife and some amazing scenery. Spoiled a little by the high number of visitors with little or no respect for each other, the environment or the animals. Worth a visit, just don't hang around too long and try and get there outside of US holiday times. A full day in the park was fantastic but we saw as much wildlife in the gardens of the villa/hotel we stayed in, where a troop of howler monkeys regularly visited and the resident agouti was adorable.
Enjoy our snapshots!
Thankfully we stayed on the road between Quepos and the National Park, the town was ok, around the park was very touristy and Americanised. I need to say that I have nothing against America, well apart from Trump, but the American way of holidaying or vacationing just isn't my cup of tea. Everything needs to be there on a plate, instant, quick, tick list visits. After speaking at length with some fellow visitors I now realise that this is because of the appallingly poor holiday allowances given to US workers. The unfortunate consequence of this for everyone else is that wherever Americans find popular the local take advantage of this need for convenience and quickness and bump up the prices, in the case of Manuel Antonia NP they even charge entrance fees in US$! The ATM's there dispense $$$ alongside CR pesos as well. Of course the peso to $ rates given are appalling in many cases. This leads to prices spiralling to levels way above their true level.
Anyway enough of the economics and on to the park. A wonderful piece of nature, full of wildlife and some amazing scenery. Spoiled a little by the high number of visitors with little or no respect for each other, the environment or the animals. Worth a visit, just don't hang around too long and try and get there outside of US holiday times. A full day in the park was fantastic but we saw as much wildlife in the gardens of the villa/hotel we stayed in, where a troop of howler monkeys regularly visited and the resident agouti was adorable.
Enjoy our snapshots!
After Manuel Antonio we took the decision to drive the longer more scenic route to our next stop of Turrialba, up in the central mountains of Costa Rica. The endless climb was both exhilarating, terrifying and amazingly beautiful. Six hours in the car was a tough ask to drive in a single day but we made it, just before darkness fell! We were all looking forward to Turrialba for another attempt at white water rafting and it was a natural point to break our journey from Pacific to Carribean coast. A side note on Turrialba, Betico Mata, now on the hill as you come into town not in the town centre any longer is a great place to eat, though it's opening hours aren't easily understood. However, getting anything else to eat in town is pretty hit and miss, more miss! We managed one pizza meal that was ok alongside the single worst meal we've ever eaten in our lives in a Chinese restaurant in the centre of town. I've rarely left food but this case was the exception, almost inedible.
Tortuguero was out next stop, after a bit of a drive out of the mountains and a couple of hours in a boat. The 10,000 colones for the 4 of us with luggage was a bargain for the boat trip. The 15,000 fee for parking the car was a little less so.
We had booked 2 nights in Tortuguero, with plans for a night hike to see the leatherback turtles laying their eggs and an early trip on a canoe to see some wildlife. Tortuguero was a great little place, hot and sweaty and very humid. Despite being on the Caribbean Sea the surf is very rough and there are bull sharks in the water so it isn't safe for more than a quick splash in the shallows. Without a/c in the room (nowhere has it!) we thought 2 nights was long enough. Had a blast on the canoe trip and loved seeing the turtle laying it's eggs, an amazing and emotional experience. Unfortunately cameras aren't allowed on the beach during the turtle nesting so we didn't get to record our late night, rain soaked exploits. We did have a surprise guest on our second morning, a cute baby boa constrictor has curled up to sleep against our bedroom door. We saw lots of birds, lizards, caiman and some smaller river turtles and enjoyed the visit.
We had booked 2 nights in Tortuguero, with plans for a night hike to see the leatherback turtles laying their eggs and an early trip on a canoe to see some wildlife. Tortuguero was a great little place, hot and sweaty and very humid. Despite being on the Caribbean Sea the surf is very rough and there are bull sharks in the water so it isn't safe for more than a quick splash in the shallows. Without a/c in the room (nowhere has it!) we thought 2 nights was long enough. Had a blast on the canoe trip and loved seeing the turtle laying it's eggs, an amazing and emotional experience. Unfortunately cameras aren't allowed on the beach during the turtle nesting so we didn't get to record our late night, rain soaked exploits. We did have a surprise guest on our second morning, a cute baby boa constrictor has curled up to sleep against our bedroom door. We saw lots of birds, lizards, caiman and some smaller river turtles and enjoyed the visit.
Cahuita was sweeter!
After returning to the car by boat we had a drive to the southern Caribbean coast to negotiate. On the route we passed close to the port of Limon, where hundreds of lorries pass through each day delivering bananas and pineapples for export. The huge container depots were a sight to behold. More entertaining was the banana train we were stopped by while driving through the plantations.
We spend 5 nights in the fantastic 3 Bamboo Eco Lodge, again no a/c but the airy breeze and well insulated property stayed cool and comfortable. There were resident poison arrow frogs on the paths, a fantastic pool area and a huge homemade BBQ. We loved trekking through Cahuita National Park in the rain, visiting nearby Puerto Viejo and beyond to see the fantastic unspoilt coastline, including an abandoned yacht!
A highlight of the whole trip came at the Jaguar Rescue Centre, we paid extra for a private tour after closing and it was well worth it. The bundles of sloth babies, friendly monkeys and attentive deer were all lovely. The collection of snakes impressive. The huge crocodile a little scary. Well worth the entrance, the educational talk given by the resident British volunteers was interesting and informative.
A perfect place to chill out and get into a state of pure relaxation. Check out the highlights below.
After returning to the car by boat we had a drive to the southern Caribbean coast to negotiate. On the route we passed close to the port of Limon, where hundreds of lorries pass through each day delivering bananas and pineapples for export. The huge container depots were a sight to behold. More entertaining was the banana train we were stopped by while driving through the plantations.
We spend 5 nights in the fantastic 3 Bamboo Eco Lodge, again no a/c but the airy breeze and well insulated property stayed cool and comfortable. There were resident poison arrow frogs on the paths, a fantastic pool area and a huge homemade BBQ. We loved trekking through Cahuita National Park in the rain, visiting nearby Puerto Viejo and beyond to see the fantastic unspoilt coastline, including an abandoned yacht!
A highlight of the whole trip came at the Jaguar Rescue Centre, we paid extra for a private tour after closing and it was well worth it. The bundles of sloth babies, friendly monkeys and attentive deer were all lovely. The collection of snakes impressive. The huge crocodile a little scary. Well worth the entrance, the educational talk given by the resident British volunteers was interesting and informative.
A perfect place to chill out and get into a state of pure relaxation. Check out the highlights below.
I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of our trip to Costa Rica? If you have any questions don't hesitate to email - [email protected]