From Coast to Coast in Costa Rica

One of the advantages of arranging Wildland Adventures nature tours of Costa Rica, from my office in Costa Rica, is that I can venture out on long weekends to check out all the places I send our guests. In May, I took extra time off to make an inspection of two regions: The Southern Pacific Coast (Part I), and the Southern Caribbean Coast (Part II). I visited two of my favorite hotels on the south Pacific Coast: Arenal del Mar in Manuel Antonio, and one of my all time favorite lodges in Costa Rica, La Paloma Lodge in the Osa Peninsula. I also went to explore the South Caribbean Coast around Cahuita National Park including a new sea turtle conservation project and turtle nesting tour.

Manual Antonio National Park
Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most accessible and beautiful rain forest reserves in Cost Rica. I book it often for our Costa Rica tours, especially for families and honeymooners to enjoy the white-sand beaches and easy hikes through the rain forest teeming with wildlife such as iguanas, monkeys, Three-toed sloth and many colorful birds including scarlet macaws. This time I went to check out the select group of accommodations we use in this area.

Arenas del Mar Hotel

I specifically went here to check out the new Arenas del Mar Hotel which has become one of our most highly recommended beach properties in Manuel Antonio National Park, not only for its architecture and lovely setting, but also because it is well run by an experienced group of sustainable tourism and luxury ecolodge managers. Terry Jampol, the owner who also runs the exceptionally exquisite and eclectic Finca Rosa Blanca, is a great cook so I know she is working to create a delectable menu of fresh, tropical cuisine.

Like most of the hotels in Manuel Antonio it is located up on a cliff, but this is also one of the last, most secluded accommodations at the end of the road. You enter the property at a welcome pavilion where they invite you into a sitting area, providing a drink and moist towels. From here they take guests into the luxurious tropical grounds on a 6-passenger electric cart up the mountain to the reception area.

Arenas del Mar belongs to the Small Distinctive Hotels of Costa Rica, which include many of our other favorites of Costa Rica you can see on our website:

The distinctive Arenas del Mar hotel is perfect for families with its 16 ocean-view apartments, each with two bedrooms and three full bathrooms. All rooms are equipped with ceiling fans, air conditioning, flat screen cable televisions, wired internet access, telephones, mini-bars, coffee makers, safe deposit boxes, luggage racks, irons and ironing boards. The private hot tub on the deck of the apartment is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy spectacular Pacific sunsets. All guest rooms offer spectacular views of the Manuel Antonio National Park, the Pacific Ocean and the tropical rainforest. The great advantage of the guest rooms at Arenas Del Mar is that they are located on secluded beach. The hotel has access to two unparalleled beaches, Playa Espadillas and Playitas Beach.

What can I say? I keep loving it!! Until now I've normally sold three nights here, but I realized that four nights is so much better; after 2 full-day trips, you want to have a free day to just rest and relax in this tropical paradise.

I loved the rooms and Ranchos, surrounded by jungle, very clean, secluded and with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. The food, the service, the orientation Nicole gives to the customers (she is a great host), the staff in general, the tours, boats, the classic Land Rovers that pick you up at the airstrip, the guides, the gardens, everything was perfect. It's really important for guests to understand they are going into a very remote rain forest environment, and two important things to bring are binoculars for the day time and flashlights for the night. Also people with walking difficulties should be advised that just like in Lapa Rios, there are lots of stairs to get to the rooms, restaurant, dock, town, etc.

La Paloma generates its own electricity, the power never went off during my stay. People usually go to bed early, the bar is normally closed by 10 p.m. There is a nice, small swimming pool surrounded by jungle. The beach (Cocalito) is very private and only a 5-minute walk from the rooms. There are boogie boards for those who are not strong swimmers--it is good for swimming, but there are not lifeguards on duty. It is perfect to sit under the shade on one of the comfortable chairs and read, take a nap or just relax.

I loved the fact that the Deluxe and Sunset Ranchos have an outdoor shower open to the forest, I was taking a shower under a tropical thunder storm! Staying at this luxury rainforest lodge you know you are just another creature of the forest; I had a friendly gecko and a colorful moth join me. It is very unlikely to get bugs of the biting kind; mosquitoes exist, but I did the night walk without insect repellent and I was surprised I came back to my casita without a single bite!

The windows of the rooms are not screened, they are sliding glass and the views are amazing, from the room it is possible to see a lot of wildlife: monkeys, sloth, scarlet macaws, toucans and lot of other birds, I also saw a blue morpho and lots of other colorful butterflies.

The food is very good, from jumbo shrimp to filet mignon, fresh caught fish, vegetarian options, etc; dinners were always accompanied by a glass of wine and breakfast and lunches with plenty of fresh tropical juices.

It is easy to walk to the little town. The locals play volleyball at the beach to collect funds for the school, you pay $1 and you can participate on the games, it is a lot of fun! This is done regularly, weather permitting.

The two principal tours of the area are by boat to Cano Island and Corcovado National Park. The boat ride to each of these places takes about 1 hour. During the boat transfer it is really easy to see dolphins and it is also common to see whales sometimes with their babies. I got to see the spotted dolphins, which I have not seen before.

Cao Island
Besides the whale and dolphin spotting on the boat, we went out to Cano Island for snorkeling, although on occasion such as when I was there, it wasn't good visibility (it rained the day before) although I got to see lots of King Angel fish and bicolor parrot fish. Swimming at the island is fine, but small kids need to stay close to the shore since after a few steps it gets very deep, there are some tidal pools with rich marine life as well. Gustavo was also the guide and he was great; he can spend more than 3 minutes under water! We hike on the island, as well, which is fairly flat with the exception of the first 20 minutes of steep uphill walking at the beginning. The island was used as an Indian cemetery in pre-Columbian times and you can see a couple of stone spheres here.

Corcovado National Park
This is a beautiful tour into the beaches and coastal rain forest of the Corcovado. The boat arrives in front of the Park Ranger Station where there is an office, public restrooms, an outdoor shower and storage area. We took a 4-hour hike in the morning and after lunch walked about 2 hours to the waterfall and took a dip in the swimming holes, although guests can hike as much or as little as they like. Return time to the lodge is about 3 p.m. Gustavo was the guide and he was great to spot wildlife.

The Bug Lady
This is an amazing tour conducted by a resident naturalist from the lodge for those who appreciate the little wonders of creatures that come out at night. Every insect, spider, etc. has a great story. Can you believe that the thread of the golden Orb weaver spider is stronger than steel? It is actually being studied for future development in industrial use and the US army is interested in creating material that would be as soft as any t-shirt but bullet proof! Lots of weird looking creatures were found, all amazing!

Corcovado Zip Line canopy tour
Excellent for first timers, it goes through secondary and primary rainforest, this is the first zip-line where you can actually see quite a bit of wildlife: on the way to the canopy we saw lots of scarlet macaws, a toucan, a sparrow hawk, and a spider monkey jumping from branch to branch, also several colorful birds and an agouti. We saw lots of butterflies, too.

They now have horses so guests can ride in the forest and on the beach. Kayaking on the gently flowing Agujitas River is great and it is included for free. There are lots of chances to see crocodiles by the dock all the time, they are 9-feett long but not aggressive. They have been there for years and caused no problem, but don't be tempted to feed them!

Regarding the seasonality of whales and dolphins, here's a guide to what you can see throughout the year:

January	Common: Spotted dolphins, Humpback whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins
February	Common: Spotted dolphins, Humpback whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins
March	Common: Spotted dolphins, Humpback whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins
April	Common: Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales Occasional: Humpback whales, Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas
May	Common: Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
June	Common: Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins, Occasional: Humpback Whales, Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
July	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
August	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
September	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
October	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Roughtooth Dolphins Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
November	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Roughtooth Dolphins Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales
December	Common: Humpback Whales, Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Pseudo Orcas, Roughtooth Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Pilot Whales Occasional: Orcas, Sei Whales, Brydes Whales, Rissos Dolphins, Beaked Whales

Wildland was invited by the Ocean Conservancy to visit their turtle conservation project here, and I took this opportunity to thoroughly explore new accommodations and nature tours along the South Caribbean coast from Cahuita to Gandoca. The area presents many opportunities for our travelers to experience rainforest and marine wildlife, especially the unforgettable and inspiring night walks to observe nesting sea turtles on the beach; this is a project community-based conservation project we support to protect the critically endangered leatherback sea turtles. As part of our Travelers Conservation Trust initiatives to support sustainable tourism projects, these turtle tours provide a key source of alternative income in the local economy to dissuade poaching and generate funds that expand the conservation efforts in the region.

Our main contact there is Joana Hancock, she is from Portugal and has been in charge of the project for over 5 years. She's a very committed young woman and very professional in what she does. These Costa Rica turtle tours are conducted in Cahuita National Park and the Gandoca Reserve. The best time to see the leatherback turtles is from March to July.

Cahuita National Park is a very diverse habitat for a variety of fauna and flora, and a fun Afro-Caribbean indigenous culture that settled along this coast. Three species of turtles nest in these beaches, the Leatherback turtle, Hawksbill and Green turtles; Cahuita is also the most important hawksbill nesting beach in the country.

I met many local people that you may also encounter on our trips to Costa Rica including Didiher, coordinator of the Weaving for Nature project working to find a useful way to recycle plastic bags (that otherwise end up on the sea and kill the turtles and other marine life). Some items they create with recycled plastic bags include purses, re-useable shopping bags, laptop bags, water holders, rugs, and more.

Pablo Porras is an excellent local birder who monitors the Raptor Migration along the Mesoamerican land corridor. He took us to the Kekoldi Rainforest Reserve where a little lodge was just built for bird count volunteers, but we can use their platform for observation.

Among the wide range of accommodations in this area now, the two properties I visited that we highly recommend are Samasati Nature Retreat and Almonds and Corals.

Samasati Nature Retreat
Samasati Nature Retreat consists of nine Caribbean-style thatched-roof bungalows nestled into lovely tropical gardens. Built with precious woods exquisitely polished, all have private bathrooms with hot water and spacious verandas overlooking the jungle and the sea. Some have lofts, enabling use as a suite, with the bed upstairs and living room downstairs, to accommodate three to four people. I would recommend this hotel for couples and people looking for a hotel in the jungle with a laid-back atmosphere for relaxation, reading and meditation. It is not recommended for people with difficulty walking (too many stairs). It is situated in a 250-acre biological reserve on a hill top overlooking the ocean. It is 4 miles from the beach so one would need a driver/guide to move around. It takes about 10 minutes from the entrance of the reserve to reach the reception area in a 4x4! They only serve healthy, vegetarian meals, and can cook fresh fish upon request at additional cost. They offer spa treatments, yoga, and eco tours such as horseback riding, sea and river kayaking, waterfall trekking, a shaman tour, hiking in the Kekoldi indigenous reserve and Cahuita National Park, bird watching, surfing lessons and a rainforest canopy adventure.

Hotel Almonds and Corals
Located in beautiful, palm-fringed tropical coast of Gandoca Manzanillo, we've been using this hotel for many years and the rooms have been recently remodeled. There are 24 bungalows among dense forest, each built on a stilt platform providing nice ventilation. A few steps away walking through wooden walkways is the golden sand beach, beautiful! The walkways connect the rooms, the large eating and lounge area and the beach. We didn't try the restaurant and heard it is one of the best in the area, but I doubt it will be better than Maxis, a local restaurant!!

It is rare to find a place that has been designed, built and run by Costa Rican owners. Owner Aurora Gomez personally started a recycling and trash collection service for the entire area. Her design ability, spunk and commitment are impressive along with her humor. Her husband Marco is a doctor turned field naturalist, who takes a great deal of time teaching their guests about the native flora and fauna, mostly out on their nature trail, where they have created habitats for guests to see poison dart frogs, butterflies and iguana. There is a row of hammocks under a palm canopy at their beach to spend time napping and reading. This is a place I recommend those guests interested in a jungle experience with a little bit of luxury!

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