By Simran Shah
As the holidays are officially ahead, I would like to share the highly-rated destinations my family and I visited in Costa Rica this past summer in this installment of Great Getaways. On a side note, December – April, the dry season, is the best time for weather, with warm sunshine and blue skies. However, May and June are an excellent time to visit if you want to avoid crowds and see popular sites without large crowds.
Towards the end of June, we embarked on a seven-day trip to Costa Rica, and our first stop was the Los Altos Resort in Manuel Antonio. We stayed at the resort for four days, and our hotel had complimentary breakfast each day, including a “drink” of the day made with local fruit. On our first day, we ate at an Indian Restaurant called Namaste in Manuel Antonio. The food was savory and delicious.
Soon after, we went on a Natural Mangrove Guided Boat Tour, where my family and I enjoyed the monkeys and birds and learned about the importance of mangroves for the ecosystem. At the end of the tour, we had an authentic Costa Rican lunch and were then taken back to our hotel. Overall, the tour was terrific and an excellent experience. In addition, we also went on a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a must-visit as it is one of the most diverse spots in the world. It has over 200 species of birds and over 100 species of animals. On our last few days in Manuel Antonio, we visited The Playa Rocoso beach, had massages and facials at the hotel, and swam at the pool while macaws flew over us. Before we left for our next stop, La Fortuna, we took an empanada cooking class and a guided walking tour of the property, where we saw monkeys, sloths, owls, and many birds.
Our final destination was La Fortuna; we drove from our hotel, Los Altos, for about five hours to the Nayara Tented Camp, where we stayed for three days and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast every morning. When we arrived, we were greeted with refreshing coconut drinks and warm hand towels and were soon taken by golf cart to our hotel room. Our room included a naturally heated spring water plunge pool, and that evening, we went on a guided frog tour around our hotel, where we saw many different species of frogs, including the red-eyed tree frog, which is one of the most famous frogs in Costa Rica with such mesmerizing colors. Dinner at Ayla, a Mediterranean restaurant, did not disappoint. The food was spectacular, and there was even live music.
In the days that followed, we went on a guided hike to the La Fortuna waterfall, visited Sky Adventures, where we went ziplining, walked across hanging bridges on a guided tour, and, at the end, went on the sky tram and took in the spectacular panoramic views of Arenal Volcano and lake. Afterward, we returned to the hotel and dined at the outdoor Mexican restaurant La Terraza, which offered live entertainment.
I recommend the Don Olivo Chocolate Tour for the chocolate lovers, where we learned how to make chocolate and coffee from scratch. We were initially greeted with various fruits to sample, so much so that I would say, “Don't worry about lunch.” We then walked through the farm and were amazed at all the various tropical fruits and spices like vanilla, sugar cane, and cacao trees. We learned about the challenging work of making coffee and chocolate. Soon after, we returned to our hotel and enjoyed the last day in Costa Rica. We relaxed in our hotel's naturally heated spring water pool overlooking the Arenal Volcano.
Overall, I highly recommend going to Manuel Antonio and La Fortuna if you ever visit Costa Rica, as this is a trip my family and I will never forget. Add it to your future travel bucket list and enjoy!
Happy Holidays, and Safe Travels!
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