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Our Trip - August 6-15 2011
We just returned from Costa Rica last night. We had a great time and wanted to share some thoughts before we forgot. We had GREAT weather. Very little rain and when it did rain, it was during a meal or at night. The only time rain impacted our activities was during the zip line and we just had to wait for it to stop. There were six of us altogether - my husband and I and our 17, 15, 13, and 10 year old children
At the first hotel, we arrived one day early and definitely would recommend this in order to get acclimated to time change and rest from traveling before starting the tour. For an extra activity, we went snorkeling with a man named Aldofo who approached us on the beach. He charged $20 for the each of us. He brought us out for two hours. He went snorkeling with us and showed us many different types of fish. He dove down and brought up starfish and puffer fish for us to hold. He then brought us to a beautiful beach that we rested and swam at. My husband and I have been snorkeling many times in the Caribbean but this was the best yet!! I know other people went on a jet ski tour and others did an ATV tour into the mountains. Everyone had only good things to say about these extra activities. The trip to Hacienda Guachipelin was great. Half of us went tubing and the other half went horseback riding to the waterfalls. We felt both activities were very safe and the water being high was not an issue. I would highly recommend bringing Keens or water shoes for this day. They are required for the tubing and you will definitely need them for the waterfall swim. The swim has a rocky bottom and you also need to climb down a metal rung staircase to get into the lagoon. Our horseback guide was Oscar and he was phenomenal!! He took several pictures for us on the ride and swimming. He also showed us many different types of foliage on the ride. The food at the hotel was not that great and there is not much else to do except the beach and the pool. It gets dark at 6-6:30pm. Definitely bring some cards or small activity for in the evening. We had about 10 boys in our tour group who ended up playing Texas Hold Em several nights in the tour and used beans or cut up straws as chips. They say you can drink the water at this hotel. I did the first day and payed for it for the next 24 hours. We were careful after that to only drink bottled water. You have to ask for the bottled water in the restaurant at this hotel but it was standard at all the others.
The travel day to Tilijari was great. It was a long trip but broken up by several stops. The lunch at Las Lajas was delicious. The tilapia was amazing and extremely fresh. Four of us went ziplining and it was awesome. Definitely use bug spray for this!! Tilijari Hotel is one of the best. It has many different activities for the kids - basketball courts, tennis courts, soccer fields, pool, pool table, butterfly garden. The food here was extremely good.
The float trip the next day was one of the highlights for our kids on this trip. After half way through, they turned the boats into wet and dry boats. The wet boats then began a massive water fight on the river. Apparently, this water fight was one of the wildest ones in the history of this tour but as I said was the favorite of all activities for my kids. Again we were very lucky in that it started to rain only after we reached the coach bus. That afternoon, the same guides who were with us on the river (they also work at the hotel) played a soccer game with most of the kids in our tour group. This was another highlight of their trip. The favorite guides were Pedro and Bernie - watch out for them if you are on a wet boat during the water fight!!
Tortuguero was wonderful. Bug spray all the time!! We saw several turtles either nesting or coming in and out of the water. They are not strict about the black clothing. I had gone out and purchased items just for this night. There were people in shorts. As long as it's not white, you are ok. Use bug spray for this night!! Bring the small flashlights for this night that came in the kids Tauck backpacks. Do NOT bring extremely bright flashlights. Some people had those and the guides were telling them not to use them as they were getting flashed towards the water and then scaring the turtles. One note is that all wildlife tours are by boat in Tortuguero. I had thought we would be doing some hiking to see the wildlife but that is not the case. You do not go walking around in the forest.
Other notes: Bring many plastic bags with you for wet clothes. Things do not dry well there and you are also packing and moving very often. Bring as much quick dry clothes as you can and bring extra. We did use the laundry service at Tilijari but it is not inexpensive. We did bring a wet bag but did not use it. Tauck will supply you with plastic bags if needed. They are very good about supplying water bottles as well. We had them on the coach and during all boat rides. I would bring some bars/snacks for when kids need a little something to carry them over. At Intercontinental, it is much cooler so bring clothes for that. There is no free wifi at the Intercontinental - even in the lobby. We were really surprised since they did have it in Tortuguero. Also, pay the exit tax at the hotel. You will pay an extra surcharge but it is worth it to not have to stand in yet another line at the airport. For anyone flying American Airlines, there is an AA desk across the street from the hotel in the mall. We had a hard time finding it as it is not on the store locator map in the mall. It is near the Lacoste store. Also, the concierge at the hotel will print out boarding passes for any airline if you ask her. We were told it would take 3 hours to get to the airport and through security. We did it in one hour. There was no traffic and when we arrived at the airport a baggage handler loaded up our bags and then brought us to the front of the line. We of course tipped him since I think he just had a side agreement with some of the airline workers. I have to add that our flight was cancelled and we had to stay the night. The next day, it took us two hours to get through security. We took lots of cash with us as someone else had posted many places did not take credit cards. We found that to not be true. Every place we shopped took credit cards - even in Tortugero Village.
Hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, ask!!
At the first hotel, we arrived one day early and definitely would recommend this in order to get acclimated to time change and rest from traveling before starting the tour. For an extra activity, we went snorkeling with a man named Aldofo who approached us on the beach. He charged $20 for the each of us. He brought us out for two hours. He went snorkeling with us and showed us many different types of fish. He dove down and brought up starfish and puffer fish for us to hold. He then brought us to a beautiful beach that we rested and swam at. My husband and I have been snorkeling many times in the Caribbean but this was the best yet!! I know other people went on a jet ski tour and others did an ATV tour into the mountains. Everyone had only good things to say about these extra activities. The trip to Hacienda Guachipelin was great. Half of us went tubing and the other half went horseback riding to the waterfalls. We felt both activities were very safe and the water being high was not an issue. I would highly recommend bringing Keens or water shoes for this day. They are required for the tubing and you will definitely need them for the waterfall swim. The swim has a rocky bottom and you also need to climb down a metal rung staircase to get into the lagoon. Our horseback guide was Oscar and he was phenomenal!! He took several pictures for us on the ride and swimming. He also showed us many different types of foliage on the ride. The food at the hotel was not that great and there is not much else to do except the beach and the pool. It gets dark at 6-6:30pm. Definitely bring some cards or small activity for in the evening. We had about 10 boys in our tour group who ended up playing Texas Hold Em several nights in the tour and used beans or cut up straws as chips. They say you can drink the water at this hotel. I did the first day and payed for it for the next 24 hours. We were careful after that to only drink bottled water. You have to ask for the bottled water in the restaurant at this hotel but it was standard at all the others.
The travel day to Tilijari was great. It was a long trip but broken up by several stops. The lunch at Las Lajas was delicious. The tilapia was amazing and extremely fresh. Four of us went ziplining and it was awesome. Definitely use bug spray for this!! Tilijari Hotel is one of the best. It has many different activities for the kids - basketball courts, tennis courts, soccer fields, pool, pool table, butterfly garden. The food here was extremely good.
The float trip the next day was one of the highlights for our kids on this trip. After half way through, they turned the boats into wet and dry boats. The wet boats then began a massive water fight on the river. Apparently, this water fight was one of the wildest ones in the history of this tour but as I said was the favorite of all activities for my kids. Again we were very lucky in that it started to rain only after we reached the coach bus. That afternoon, the same guides who were with us on the river (they also work at the hotel) played a soccer game with most of the kids in our tour group. This was another highlight of their trip. The favorite guides were Pedro and Bernie - watch out for them if you are on a wet boat during the water fight!!
Tortuguero was wonderful. Bug spray all the time!! We saw several turtles either nesting or coming in and out of the water. They are not strict about the black clothing. I had gone out and purchased items just for this night. There were people in shorts. As long as it's not white, you are ok. Use bug spray for this night!! Bring the small flashlights for this night that came in the kids Tauck backpacks. Do NOT bring extremely bright flashlights. Some people had those and the guides were telling them not to use them as they were getting flashed towards the water and then scaring the turtles. One note is that all wildlife tours are by boat in Tortuguero. I had thought we would be doing some hiking to see the wildlife but that is not the case. You do not go walking around in the forest.
Other notes: Bring many plastic bags with you for wet clothes. Things do not dry well there and you are also packing and moving very often. Bring as much quick dry clothes as you can and bring extra. We did use the laundry service at Tilijari but it is not inexpensive. We did bring a wet bag but did not use it. Tauck will supply you with plastic bags if needed. They are very good about supplying water bottles as well. We had them on the coach and during all boat rides. I would bring some bars/snacks for when kids need a little something to carry them over. At Intercontinental, it is much cooler so bring clothes for that. There is no free wifi at the Intercontinental - even in the lobby. We were really surprised since they did have it in Tortuguero. Also, pay the exit tax at the hotel. You will pay an extra surcharge but it is worth it to not have to stand in yet another line at the airport. For anyone flying American Airlines, there is an AA desk across the street from the hotel in the mall. We had a hard time finding it as it is not on the store locator map in the mall. It is near the Lacoste store. Also, the concierge at the hotel will print out boarding passes for any airline if you ask her. We were told it would take 3 hours to get to the airport and through security. We did it in one hour. There was no traffic and when we arrived at the airport a baggage handler loaded up our bags and then brought us to the front of the line. We of course tipped him since I think he just had a side agreement with some of the airline workers. I have to add that our flight was cancelled and we had to stay the night. The next day, it took us two hours to get through security. We took lots of cash with us as someone else had posted many places did not take credit cards. We found that to not be true. Every place we shopped took credit cards - even in Tortugero Village.
Hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, ask!!
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