It’s on the Northern Caribbean coast and known as Costa Rica’s “little Amazon”. You can only arrive by boat or plane. Most people come by boat so part of the adventure is getting there.
I recommend flying into San Jose & leaving for Tortuguero on day two. We stayed in a hotel near the airport on our first evening. The lodges in Tortuguero will pick up from your hotel in San Jose. They have 2-3 night packages that include food and transportation. You can arrange to have a rental car agency meet you at the lunch stop on the last day if you are traveling to other parts of Costa Rica, or the driver will take you back to San Jose. We went back to San Jose where they dropped us off at our airport car rental agency.
On our boat tour, we saw monkeys, caiman, crocodiles, turtles, snakes, iguanas, Jesus lizards, red-eyed tree frogs, dolphins and lots of birds including a pair of toucans flying around our lodge, but the main attraction of Tortuguero National Park is the Turtles. Green Sea Turtles nest on the beaches between July and October. You can see turtles laying their eggs or see eggs hatching. We saw this on our last trip and it was a memory we will never forget.
The second stop on our COSTA RICA adventure: MANUEL ANTONIO🐒
It's located on the Central Pacific Coast... a great stop for your rainforest & beach fix.
•We stayed at Parador Nature Resort and Spa. This was our second stay at this resort and we loved it! It’s sits on a cliff overlooking the pacific and the views are spectacular! We enjoyed the trails at the resort and nearby Playa Biesanz Beach.
•Another unique place to stay is Costa Verde… a vintage 1965 Boeing 727 turned hotel. It’s not everyday a flight attendant finds a plane turned hotel in a jungle🤷♀️!
•For yummy food and views check out El Avion Restaurant in an historic airplane. It’s a Fairchild C-123 and was part of the biggest scandal in the 1980's, the Iran-Contra affair.
•Don’t miss Manuel Antonio National Park. It has nature trails, wildlife and three beautiful beaches. Forbes named it one of the world’s most beautiful parks. You’ll need to buy a timed entry ticket online between 7-4 (closed Tuesdays). I recommend going in the morning, so you can spend the entire day enjoying the beach.
•After leaving Manuel Antonio we went on Jose’s Crocodile🐊 River Tour in Tarcoles. It was fabulous!✨
Next up: Monteverde!🍃☁️
Selvatura Park
The 3rd stop on our Costa Rica adventure was the Monteverde cloud forest! 💭🍃
Monteverde in Spanish means "green mountain" which makes a lot of sense as you arrive to gorgeous rolling green hills surrounded by a hazy mist. We stayed at Jaguarundi Lodge, which is the original site of the first zip line canopy tour in the world.
Don't miss:
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. I've spent a lot of time flying through clouds but to walk through the Cloud Forest is high on my list of cool things I've experienced and the highlight of my trip to Costa Rica. While walking in the clouds, we could hear thunder echoing in the distance through the mountains and birds twittering.
We visited Selvatura Park and purchased the gold package which includes the zip line and suspension bridges. There are 13 cables of various lengths and eight suspension bridges. It was thrilling to go so fast and be so high. Don't miss the Tarzan swing it was a rush!
If you have young children:
On our last visit we went to the Sky Walk. It's a combination of suspension bridges and walking trails. Then we took the Sky Tram high above the canopy. It was fun to see the cloud forest from a different perspective.
I recommend staying at least two nights in Monteverde.
Next stop: Arenal Volcano 🌋
Our 4th & final stop in Costa Rica was Arenal Volcano. People used to flock here for the lava show but the volcano has been quiet since it’s last eruption in 2010. It’s still a popular location for those seeking adventure, wildlife, waterfalls and hot springs.
We stayed at La Mansion Inn on Lake Arenal. It was so beautiful and the restaurant had great food.
Things to do:
•Baldi Hot Springs- Great for families! They have 25 geothermal pools, slides, and amazing views of Arenal Volcano. We loved it!
•Zip-lining- This was the first place we ever zip-lined.
•Arenal Volcano- Hiking.
•Tubing- if your kids are too young for whitewater rafting, consider tubing. We were going to try Arenal River Tubing & Hiking but ran out of time.
•La Fortuna Waterfall- The most visited waterfall in Costa Rica.
•La Fortuna- Souvenirs & food.
•La Paz Waterfall Gardens- After leaving Arenal, we stopped to see beautiful waterfalls on our way back towards the airport. Don’t miss it, it was one of our favorites! They have five waterfalls, hiking trails and an animal sanctuary.
We spent our last evening in a hotel near the San Jose Airport (SJO). We returned our rental car the night before, since we had an early flight the next morning. This was our 4th visit to Costa Rica. We traveled with our friends and their kids which made it so much fun! We always enjoy Costa Rica's Pura Vida!
Link to our last vacation in Coast Rica:
Tortuguero & Puerto Viejo... Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica
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