mark
12-28-2008, 02:17 PM
This is just a general report on my Costa Rica trip. The cost was 860.00 per person plus 500.00 air travel. The flight seemed to go on forever going there and short going home. The airport in San Jose was VERY nice and easy to process through. Customs lines were long but fast. We stayed the first night in San Jose at the El Rodeo Hotel which was very nice. The city was interesting but with too many people, too much crime. We attempted shopping in the central market but the police told us to leave in fear for us! I suppose that is true of most big cities anywhere in the world.
Monteverde: We stayed at the Trapp Family lodge just outside of the gate to the park. The food there was expensive but the location was perfect. The cloud forest there had the largest population of hummingbirds that I have EVER seen and I spent 4 hour sitting and shooting all around me. I actually got tired of it if you can believe that! There were both Red-eye and Gold-eye tree frogs everywhere. The town of Monteverde was only a few miles away and a great destination for shopping and photography.
Tortuguero: We stayed at the Mawamba Lodge. This was without question the NICEST hotel complex that I have EVER stayed in! It was beautiful, with stunning service and food! All meals were included and I would have liked to stay longer than the 2 days I did! They had fewer hummingbirds but different ones! There was a ton of colorful Tangiers and lots of lizards including hundreds of the Jesus Lizards! They also had a Red-eyed Tree Frog farm! They were everywhere and I just loved them. Add to that the black volcanic sand beaches and you will be in love! There were tons of poison dart tree frogs here, you just had to walk around on the jungle trails listening for them then you could find them!
Then....
Arenal Volcano: Stayed in some big name resort that I hated. It was much too spread out and there was massive walking involved. It was too expensive to eat and the volcano was rained in. BUT there were lots of hummingbirds and tangiers so it was productive. Walk around the resort with your camera, the birds and flowers are amazing! The hot springs were VERY nice and if you get there make sure that you take a dip in them. The town of La Fortuna was close and a good destination on its own! When we left for Tortuguero, we took a bus around to the back of the volcano then a boat across the lake to hook up for another bus ride (5 hours thru the mountains). If your are terrified of heights, dont look out the windows. On the lake we got the best view of the volcano! Smoke, ash and rocks flying! Very Nice!
Selvatura: Near Monteverde, nice but disappointing for photography. The sky walk was interesting but difficult. All I saw here was a good assortment of mushrooms, a few hummingbirds and a few howler monkeys which were too far away for good pictures.
La Paz near Poas Volcano. Nice place to stay, beautiful gardens, disappointing hummingbirds, but for tangiers.... WOW! Mostly a tourist trap but well worth seeing especially the 5 waterfalls. They have some GREAT gardens and wildlife collections.
We had private buses with drivers and guides for the trip. They were always on time and very comfortable. The roads are BAD 80% of the time which meant that the drives were long. BUT the good side of that is seeing the countryside which was amazing! The drivers stopped when something neat went by so the long drives were VERY worth it!
I would go back to Costa Rica in a second! I would also consider moving there and making an association with a tour company to do photographic tours and seminars. A VERY nice country that is very friendly and caring of its tourists! I could see visiting there every year. It is very affordable to do so and there would be an endless supply of things to see and places to visit!
Monteverde: We stayed at the Trapp Family lodge just outside of the gate to the park. The food there was expensive but the location was perfect. The cloud forest there had the largest population of hummingbirds that I have EVER seen and I spent 4 hour sitting and shooting all around me. I actually got tired of it if you can believe that! There were both Red-eye and Gold-eye tree frogs everywhere. The town of Monteverde was only a few miles away and a great destination for shopping and photography.
Tortuguero: We stayed at the Mawamba Lodge. This was without question the NICEST hotel complex that I have EVER stayed in! It was beautiful, with stunning service and food! All meals were included and I would have liked to stay longer than the 2 days I did! They had fewer hummingbirds but different ones! There was a ton of colorful Tangiers and lots of lizards including hundreds of the Jesus Lizards! They also had a Red-eyed Tree Frog farm! They were everywhere and I just loved them. Add to that the black volcanic sand beaches and you will be in love! There were tons of poison dart tree frogs here, you just had to walk around on the jungle trails listening for them then you could find them!
Then....
Arenal Volcano: Stayed in some big name resort that I hated. It was much too spread out and there was massive walking involved. It was too expensive to eat and the volcano was rained in. BUT there were lots of hummingbirds and tangiers so it was productive. Walk around the resort with your camera, the birds and flowers are amazing! The hot springs were VERY nice and if you get there make sure that you take a dip in them. The town of La Fortuna was close and a good destination on its own! When we left for Tortuguero, we took a bus around to the back of the volcano then a boat across the lake to hook up for another bus ride (5 hours thru the mountains). If your are terrified of heights, dont look out the windows. On the lake we got the best view of the volcano! Smoke, ash and rocks flying! Very Nice!
Selvatura: Near Monteverde, nice but disappointing for photography. The sky walk was interesting but difficult. All I saw here was a good assortment of mushrooms, a few hummingbirds and a few howler monkeys which were too far away for good pictures.
La Paz near Poas Volcano. Nice place to stay, beautiful gardens, disappointing hummingbirds, but for tangiers.... WOW! Mostly a tourist trap but well worth seeing especially the 5 waterfalls. They have some GREAT gardens and wildlife collections.
We had private buses with drivers and guides for the trip. They were always on time and very comfortable. The roads are BAD 80% of the time which meant that the drives were long. BUT the good side of that is seeing the countryside which was amazing! The drivers stopped when something neat went by so the long drives were VERY worth it!
I would go back to Costa Rica in a second! I would also consider moving there and making an association with a tour company to do photographic tours and seminars. A VERY nice country that is very friendly and caring of its tourists! I could see visiting there every year. It is very affordable to do so and there would be an endless supply of things to see and places to visit!