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Posts Tagged ‘costa rica travel’

South Pacfic Region Of Costa Rica

September 20th, 2010 No comments

This region is most commonly known as the Osa Pennsula. Some of the things you will find in it are: the highest mountain in Costa Rica, Mount Chirripo; Pavones, one of the longest left surf breaks in world; and Corcovado National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. You will find the Osa Peninsula extending from Playa Dominical, south to Panama. Nature lovers go crazy here because this is where you can find the largest portion of preserved land in national parks of Costa Rica.

What places can I visit in the Osa Peninsula?

Dominical

This is a laid back town where you will be able to experience walking barefoot or swinging in a hammock in this cool seaside village. This is one of the best places to see whales and dolphins. This is also a popular surf spot but if you want to do it be careful it’s not for beginners.

Drake Bay

This is a secluded spot of Costa Rica popular among nature lovers and eco-tourists. You can only access it by plane or by boat and sometimes by taxi. Don’t be surprised by how remote this place is because locals want to preserve the natural environment of a natural world.

Puerto Jimenez

This is also a secluded place of the Osa Peninsula, Puerto Jimenez. In it you will find dirt roads, well developed tourist infrastructure, luxurious hotels and variety of restaurants.

Pavones

It is famous for its left point break. It is one of the longest surf breaks in the world and is the pride of Pavones. It has been recorded to last up to three minutes on a slow, south swell.

What are the most popular National Parks?

Ballena National Marine Park

This water park is named after the humpback whales that migrate here from August to October and December to April and give a brautiful spectacle. It also welcomes the Olive Ridley turtle as they come ashore to nest along more than nine miles of coast.

Corcovado National Park

It was called by the National Geograhic one of the “most biologically intense places on our planet” and with good reason. It has over 4% of the world’s total plant and animal species. It home to 370 species of birds, 140 species of mammals, 40 species of freshwater fish, 117 species of reptiles & amphibians.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Discovering The Costa Rican Cloud Forest

July 29th, 2010 No comments
Coat of arms of Costa RicaImage via Wikipedia

My husband and I wanted to go on a long weekend with our 6 year old son. We wanted to leave the cities and stress behind but we didn’t want to have a long drive. So we decided to stay in Costa Rica’s Central Valley.

The place we chose for our 2 night stay was Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Spa & Hotel. This is a beautiful boutique hotel nested over 75 acres of land in the middle of the cloud forest. Just one hour away from San Jose, Costa Rica. In the afternoon you feel as if you were in a different world. It gets really cloudy. On the other hand if you wake up early in the morning you will enjoy a breathtaking clear blue sky. That is because the San Ramon area is beautiful, as I mentioned before it is part of the cost Rican cloud forest.

The hotel offers a wide range of Spa treatments, a restaurant where you will find traditional Costa Rican food and hiking trails. It also offers 35 comfortable casitas and 5 honeymoon casitas. This makes it the perfect place for a romantic honeymoon or an exciting family vacation.

There were so many things I loved about this hotel but the one I loved the most was their dairy farm. Here you get the opportunity to learn how to milk a cow and there is a delicious and rewarding glass of fresh milk cow after that wonderful experience. We stayed in a luxurious cabin. It was cozy and spacious and had a huge shower. I also spent a lot of time just touring the trails of the property.

As I could see this place attracts a lot of families, that’s because this is a very kid friendly hotel, but also because San Ramon is a great place to explore a whole new world. This turned out to be a great mini family vacation and I’ll definitely go back to explore the San Ramon’s cloud forest.

Children's Museum, San Jose, Costa RicaImage via Wikipedia

Note: Bring lots of warm clothes, it gets really cold at night.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. Having first hand experience of all the places with her family, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

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Things To Do In Monteverde

July 19th, 2010 No comments

1. Canopy Tour: This is the thing to do in Costa Rica. It is an exciting adventure that will take you along zip lines on the forest’s canopy.

2. Hanging bridges Tour: These tours take place in the forest and take you along trails and huge bridges over the forest. From them you get one of the most spectacular views of the area.

3. Sky Tram Tour: This allows you to see animals hiding in the trees.In it you will travel along the forest canopy sitting in gondolas. This is what I like to call the relaxed version of the canopy tour.

4. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: Here you can explore the cloud forest and learn about its flora and fauna. This is a great place for a relaxing hiking tour. This tour is also famous among birdwatchers

5. The San Luis Waterfall: For a small entrance fee you can enjoy hike through the forest to the waterfall. That is because this is a beautiful waterfall located in private property-

6. Horseback Riding to The Waterfall: This is a very scenic and relaxing tour. The most common horseback riding tour of the Monteverde area is the one that takes you to the San Luis Waterfall.

7. Orchid Garden: This is a project that has one of the biggest orchid collections in Costa Rica. Right now they have more than 450 different species including the smallest orchid in the world.

8. Frog Pond: They have over 25 frog species, including the famous Red Eyed Frog. This is a small zoo for frogs but they also have some other reptiles.

9. Serpentarium: This is a reptile only zoo. In it you will find snakes, vipers, lizards, frogs and all sorts of reptiles.

10. Insectarium: Here you will find thousands of different species. This is also the place where a great collection of insects is located called The Jewels of Costa Rica. This is a great place for insect lovers.

11. Don Juan Coffee tour: Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about how coffee is made. It is a tour along an authentic coffee farm where excellent coffee is harvested and processed.

12. The Bat Jungle Exhibit: In the exhibit there are more that 40 live bats of 7 different species. Here you will be able to see and learn about these beautiful yet misunderstood creatures.

13. Hummingbird Gallery: It is home to mere than 100 hummingbirds from 14 different species of these fast flying birds. It is located right next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Marina K. Villatoro, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She has traveled all over these areas with her family and now she loves to organize vacations to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!