Dear NEXT TRAVELER to Costa Rica!
Highlights/Recommendations:
1. La Fortuna
2. Arenal Volcano
3. Arenal Rafting Company
4. ATV through the jungle
5. La Fortuna Waterfall
6. Jaho Beach
7. Ziplining – Vista Los Suenos Adventure Park
8. Princesa De La Luna EcoLodge
9. Costa Rica LDS Temple
For our son’s High School Senior Trip, we took him and a couple of his friends to Costa Rica. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! We were overwhelmed with the beauty and diversity of Costa Rica and the absolute kindness and hospitality of the Costa Rican people. Our son and his friends spoke a very small amount of Spanish from several years of high school Spanish classes and through what they knew and some help from Google translate we were able to communicate for what we needed. I’ll highlight a few communication snafus throughout the post. But even with those few instances, I would absolutely return without hesitation. I have, however strengthened my own Spanish skills, since returning home.
In just the few days we were in Costa Rica, we saw such a diversity of landscapes – jungles, volcanos, waterfalls, rivers and beaches. Such a beautiful place!
We flew out of New Orleans to San Juan, Costa Rica with a layover in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was an early morning start and since we had a limited number of days, we knew we needed to rest on the flights so we could hit the ground ready to go once we landed in Costa Rica. Immigration into Costa Rica didn’t take too long. We landed in Costa Rica at 12:30 pm and arrived at the Adobe Rental Car location by 1:45 (just over an hour). Adobe Rental Car was recommended through another Costa Rica blog: https://mytanfeet.com/. We rented a van since we had 3 tall teenagers BUT we thought we were getting a typical mini-van and we actually rented a VERY large cargo-type van. We had PLENTY of space but there were a few times it was hard to navigate and park. Just be aware of what you are renting. The Adobe Rental Car driver was waiting for us at the exit of the airport. After a quick drive to the rental location we were loaded and off to explore!
Just a short drive from the airport we found the San Jose, Costa Rica LDS Temple. The temple was closed for renovations but one of the foremen, Randall was gracious enough to allow us in the gate and look at the front of the temple. We saw a group of missionaries across the street from the temple and since our son had recently received his mission call to serve in the Minneapolis Minnesota Mission (Spanish speaking) and would be leaving in November, we took it as a tender mercy to meet this group. They led us toward a great local restaurant for lunch, just across from the temple.
After lunch we drove about 2.5 hours to La Fortuna. It was a beautiful drive!
We had booked our first two nights at an eco-lodge in the middle of the jungle. It lived up to its name! It was fantastic but definitely in the middle of the jungle. Princess de la Luna La Fortuna: https://www.princesadelalunaecolodge.com/. We found the eco-lodge through Trip Advisor and for an authentic experience, it was perfect. Within an hour of arriving, the manager and a couple staff prepared us a wonderful local dinner.
After dinner, we were happy to head to our rooms. The rooms were large with plenty of bed options. There was not air conditioning in the rooms, but fans were available and the temperature was mild. The beds were comfortable and we truly felt like we were immersed in the jungle. We crashed early to bed. We were all exhausted and had a fun next day planned.
The manager of the Eco Lodge booked us on an ATV adventure through the jungle. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g309226-d1553128-Reviews-Jaguariders_Fortuna_Arenal-La_Fortuna_de_San_Carlos_Arenal_Volcano_National_Park_.html
The location of the tour was easy to find and the employees were very helpful and made sure we had a wonderful ride on the ATVs. I have only ridden an ATV a handful of times in my life and I was a little apprehensive that I would know how to change gears but our guide was very thorough and made sure I knew exactly what to do and I had no problem on the tour.
We had the best time. At the end of the ATV tour, our guide made sure to point out a sloth that was in the top of one of the trees. We were covered in mud and had the biggest smiles. Great tour!
After our ATV adventure, we found a local pizza restaurant – La Cava Restaurant. The pizza was great. https://lacava.restaurant/. It had started to rain some when we were eating pizza and it was nice to rest from the ATV adventure and see and hear the rain falling in the jungle atmosphere. We decided to explore the city center of La Fortuna.
Our son and friends bought soccer jerseys. My phone screen broke during the ATV adventure and we found a phone repair shop and they quickly fixed it. We also found the nicest man that ran a local ice cream shop. It was delicious and perfect as we dodged the rain drops.
We enjoyed the rest of the evening at the EcoLodge – laying in the hammocks, napping & listening to the light rain failing. The views of the volcano from the hammocks were incredible!
Volcano History – The Arenal Volcano is 5,358 feet tall. In 1968 the Volcano erupted unexpectedly, destroying the small town of Tabacón but has been dormant since 2010.
We were all so excited for our Whitewater Rafting adventure. William, the manager at the Eco Lodge also set up the whitewater rafting adventure for us (have I mentioned yet that he was FANTASTIC?) – Arenal Rafting Company. https://arenalrafting.com/
The meeting place for rafting was easy to find. We waited about 30 minutes for the group to assemble.
We got onto the charter bus and after a scenic drive (with a stop at a local souvenir and produce stand) we were at the river.
After a brief rafting demonstration, the employees helped us get our life jackets and helmets on and into the river we went. The river rapids were perfect! We booked the Class III & IV rapids and they did not disappoint. Our guide made sure we were safe and prepared for the advanced rapids. He went above and beyond to make sure our experience was fantastic.
Towards the end of the rafting, our guide beached our raft and jumped onto the riverbank and succeeded in catching a poison dart frog to show us. I was unbelievably nervous! The last thing I wanted was to happen was for anyone to get stug by a poison dart frog. We survived it and it added to the wildness and unexpected fun of the adventure. Perfect Day!
La Fortuna Waterfall! We were so excited to hike and experience this waterfall. I had seen so many gorgeous pictures of the waterfall and couldn’t believe we were there to see it, feel it and experience it. I had read that there were 500 steps down to the waterfall and I thought it wouldn’t be such a big deal but I quickly learned that IT WAS A BIG DEAL! You need to be in decent shape to do this many steps. Luckily there are plenty of benches and places to stop and rest along the way but allow yourself enough time to make the trek.
The waterfall is 246 feet high. It was absolutely breath-taking! There is a pool just down from the waterfall just has the most beautiful turquoise water and it’s crystal clear. It’s a great swimming area. It’s full of fish and beautiful large rocks. So many people were swimming, relaxing and just enjoying the stunning waterfall and water. We spent an hour or so just enjoying the experience – we knew the hike back up with all those steps was waiting for us and we weren’t in a hurry. PREPARE for the hike but the view and experience is well worth it!
We drove from the Eco Lodge outside La Fortuna to Jaco Beach. We booked a beach view condo for 2 nights https://www.hotels.com/ho714054112/bahia-encantada-h3-g3-jaco-costa-rica/?semcid=HCOM-US.UB.BING.PT-DSA-c-EN.HOTEL&semdtl=a1428547483.b11331510087318657.g1dat-2335019100179488:loc-190.e1c.m126207fea8d331e4a990e184d70260048.r1.c1.j175004.k1142150.d183219689732296.h1b.i1.l1.n1.o1.p1.q1.s1.t1.x1.f1.u1.v1.w1&msclkid=26207fea8d331e4a990e184d70260048 – we found a great deal at $180/night because we were in the off-season. It took us around 5 hours to get there with multiple stops. We arrived after dark and this is where the biggest language snafu happened. The condo security guard only spoke Spanish and took his security guard assignment VERY seriously. I only spoke English and he wasn’t really interested in making the check in process very easy for me. To his credit, I booked the reservation late and we didn’t show up on the listing he had received. Finally using google translate and help from two managers that translated for us, he realized our reservation was real and allowed us in. I vowed then to not come back to Costa Rica until I knew atleast some Spanish. The condo premises and amenities were very nice. The pool area was fantastic. The rooms were really good. All around the condo was construction. It looked even better in the morning when we could see the beautiful water, sand and palm trees.
We spent the morning exploring the main streets of Jaco. Everyone was friendly and we felt safe. Some spoke English, some did not. Some did but didn’t want us to know that. Overall, we felt welcome. We found a great local taco shop, TacoBenos. The owner was awesome and was happy to share local insights. The tacos were excellent!
Beautiful View! This was our son’s first time in the Pacific Ocean.
While we were walking on the beach we started noticing some commotion in the water and people running in and out and finally heard someone say “crocodile.” We laughed – no way! Until, we saw it. THERE WAS A CROCODILE in the OCEAN! We were shocked. Some of the locals explained that a river overflows into the ocean and often crocodiles swim in. We spent an hour or more watching a local group of fisherman try to catch the crocodile. It was wild!
The guys decided they really wanted to zipline through the jungle for their last big Costa Rican experience. We found a recommended company and couldn’t have been happier.
https://vistalossuenosadventurepark.com/ We were one of the last groups for the day and had the best guides. It was awesome to be so high in the trees and the zipline runs were long. Highly recommend!
On the search for El Miro (an abandon mansion with incredible views) https://explanders.com/latin-america-antarctica/costa_rica/the-ruins-of-el-miro/
we found Mirador de Jaco. Sadly we weren’t able to find the entrance to El Miro and after a long day, our group was happy enough to love the views from Mirador de Jaco. It was fun to see so many different groups of people taking pictures. The sunset over the water was incredible.
We were starving after the views of the sunset and were happy to find Marea Alta Restaurant. They had great local food with large quantities and lots of variety. After dinner we walked the streets of Jaco and we could feel a different vibe than earlier in the day. We didn’t feel unsafe on the main road but didn’t feel comfortable venturing beyond the main road and away from larger groups of people. We found some great souvenir shops.
There was one more thing on our Jaco list to do – Tarcoles crocodile bridge. I had read about a bridge where you could see lots of crocodiles in the water. We decided to go there on our way from Jaco to the airport. We arrived at the bridge around 8 am. We parked on the side of the highway and there was only one other family there. Sadly, we only saw 1 crocodile the 30 minutes we were there. We had heard that the best time to visit was in the morning but we were a little disappointed. Even though we didn’t see the dozens of crocodiles we had hoped for – it was still a good experience to see the river and atleast one croc. This post has some more detailed information about the Crocodile Bridge.
https://costaricatravellife.com/costa-rica-crocodile-bridge/#:~:text=Since%20the%20crocodile%20bridge%20is%20located%20on
The drive from Jaco to the San Jose Costa Rica airport took about 2 hours. The roads were good and we actually made it sooner than we planned. The flight out of Costa Rica went well. We made it to Ft. Lauderdale but didn’t get through Customs fast enough and actually missed our flight to New Orleans. We ended up staying the night in Ft. Lauderdale and were so happy when we finally made it back home.
Costa Rica was incredible and we can’t wait to plan another trip back!
Next Traveler 