Costa Rica, January 2008

We took a direct Continental flight round trip from Newark to San Jose and were lucky enough to go in first class!  It was great.  It’s too bad we can’t travel like that all the time.  We used a family-owned private transportation company, Arenal Destination, to take us around the country.  This was the third time we used Arenal Destination and we highly recommend them.  They are friendly, courteous and have reasonable prices.  The driver stops along the way if you would like to take pictures or take a peek at the huge crocodiles at the Rio Tarcoles River! You can contact Natalia and Fabio at www.arenaldestination.com or info@arenaldestination.com

This time we decided to stay in the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area for the whole trip.  Our first stop was Costa Verde http://www.costaverde.com/  I recommend this hotel if you are looking for a simple hotel with basic amenities.  The best thing about this hotel is the view.  Luckily, our room had a huge porch and we sat outside often and just enjoyed it.  Another great thing about Costa Verde is the location.  It’s in the middle of the rainforest so you are pretty much guaranteed to spot some monkeys and sloths.  Also, there are great restaurants within walking distance – Anaconda (inside Costa Verde, La Cantina (across the street) and El Avion (up the street).  We tried all of them and were pleased.

We had some free time so we decided to do another zipline trip.  I forgot how much fun it is.  It’s definitely something to try while in Costa Rica.  And yes, we did another fishing trip.  This was a good one because my husband finally caught some sailfish.  He never caught one before so he was really happy.

Sharon@EasyEscapesTravel.com