A week in Costa Rica

If you have been dreaming of walking on a hanging bridge in a dense lush rainforest like Jurassic Park, it’s time for you to book a trip to Costa Rica! After two failed attempts in 2018, I finally managed to make it to Costa Rica in 2019. I have never ever visited a place which is as dense and green as Costa Rica! This country has everything. It has mountains, cloud forests, beaches and 67 volcanoes! If you are a wildlife lover, you will particularly love Costa Rica. I have never seen such colourful and unique birds, frogs and butterflies anywhere else in the world before. I spent time in San Jose, Monteverde in the highlands and in Arenal. I should also mention that the best coffee I have ever had is in Costa Rica. If you are a coffee lover like me, you will totally relish the coffee here.

When to visit

The best time to visit the country is between mid-December and the end of April (the dry season). This season is the most popular but also the most expensive time to visit.

One day in San Jose

San Jose isn’t particularly the most attractive capital city I have been to but it’s where most international flights land in Costa Rica. I wouldn’t recommend spending more than two nights in San Jose given you can cover all the major sights in one full day. Having said that, the city does have a great café culture and the attractions, listed below, which are definitely worth seeing:

Caféoteca

I started my day in San Jose with breakfast and coffee at Cafeoteca – ordered their mini fruits plate with yoghurt and honey (C 2,500) and cappuccino (C2,000). I had heard great reviews about this place online and decided to check it out. The coffee here exceeded my expectations – it tasted fresh, as if it had just been roasted and grounded! Just how I had imagined Costa Rican coffee to be – smooth! The cafe is located in a neighbourhood in Calle 31 avenue in central San Jose. I don’t know why but I love the cafes tucked in neighbourhoods, they give you a good feel of the day to day life of the people and are more authentic (plus no tourists apart from me). Oh yes, they have 23 kinds of beans from all over Costa Rica – probably a good place to buy some for friends and family back home as well. I bought the Venecia beans with honey flavour (miel in Spanish) just because I love the taste and smell of honey. One bag of beans is around USD 18.

The National Theatre

The National Theatre should definitely be on your list if you are in San Jose! Although a bit weathered from the outside, the interiors are stunning with a collection of bronze chandeliers, paintings, gold work and marble statues brought from Europe. The English tour is every hour and costs $10. Two interesting things I learnt about the theatre:

1) It was funded by imposing a tax on coffee plantation owners

2) The stage can be manually raised to meet the floor when special events are held. The theatre has a restaurant as well – I had a chicken salad in the restaurant was okay though the peppermint lemonade was very refreshing!

Spirogyra Butterfly Garden

Spirogyra Butterfly Garden is a small yet enchanting place to escape from the hustle and bustle of San Jose! If you are a nature lover and like butterflies, then do come here. The entrance fee was USD 7. The staff there are very friendly and will answer any questions you might have about this place. There are butterflies flying everywhere! I’ve never seen butterflies in so many shapes and colours. I took lots of pictures and videos of them flying around. I also didn’t realise that these butterflies are mango lovers like me. The staff here keep cut mangoes in their feeding plates at different spots in the garden. There is a small turtle pond as well in the garden.

Three nights in Monteverde

Monteverde is undoubtedly my favourite out of all the places I visited Costa Rica. Known for its cloud forests, Monteverde is home to one of the most diverse habitats in the world. A cloud forest is essentially a rainforest at a higher elevation. As the name suggests, you do get to see clouds at certain times, especially when walking on the hanging bridges of the forests. I spent three nights in Monteverde during which I covered the places listed below.

How to get there

The majority of the lodges are able to arrange for a shuttle transfer from your hotel in San Jose. Monteverde Lodge & Gardens arranged for my transfer from my hotel in San Jose for USD 54. It takes about 4 hours by shuttle from San Jose.

Accommodation

I spent three nights in Monteverde Lodge & Gardens. It’s a gorgeous lodge with beautiful gardens featuring short trails overlooking the vegetation in Monteverde. The lodge is tucked in lush greenery and there is splendid wildlife around you. The grounds are definitely the highlight – You will see cute coatis and agotis strolling in the gardens. The lodge has a beautiful butterfly garden with plenty of giant blue morpho butterflies which further added to my experience. I enjoyed the meals here during my stay, especially the breakfast with its gorgeous spread of exotic fruits. You have beautiful views of the gardens from the restaurant while eating– I even spotted white faced monkeys jumping one from tree to tree one morning which was a bonus!

Location: The town is located 10 minutes walking distance from the town of Santa Elena and 20 minutes drive from Monteverde Cloud Forest & Selvatura Park. The front desk can help with arranging taxis if required.

Day 1

El Trapiche – Coffee and Sugarcane Tour

My lodge helped me to arrange a tour around family-run plantation with very knowledgable and experienced tour guides. The estate is quite big and has both coffee and sugarcane plantations. The tour itself costs USD 33. They do 2 tours on a daily basis (10 am and 3 pm) and can arrange to pick up from your hotel. Highly recommend it if you are interested in knowing more about the processes behind producing coffee, sugar and chocolate. You also get to try coffee, chocolate, sugarcane candy and a local root vegetable as part of the tour! Oh yes, you can also sit on the bright and colourful Costa Rican Oxcart and get a picture if you wish. It was used in earlier days to transport coffee beans and sugarcane from the Central Valley to the Pacific coast. Now it’s only used on special occasions.

Day 2

Selvatura Park

I felt like an ant walking on a giant broccoli! Spread over 850 hectares, Selvatura has 8 suspension bridges suspended over the forest canopy. Even though it was terrifying at times, walking over multiple suspension bridges in the middle of the clouds was super fun! The views of the lush dense vegetation below were spectacular. The hustle and bustle of London makes you forget how soul soothing the chirping of birds can be.

Thanks to my brilliant tour guide Marcos, we spotted the three-wattled bell bird which does sound like a bell! We also came across a male hummingbird hidden in a bush singing solo in search for a lover. The hummingbird garden at the entrance was really enjoyable. I saw almost 5-6 species. Woah! They were literally on a sugar rush- I wish I had as much energy as them. They can hover around, move left to right, right to left, forwards and backwards too. My favourite one was the magenta-throated woodstar – one of the smallest yet the most energetic.

Day 3

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Monteverde is gorgeous! It doesn’t have multiple hanging bridges like Selvatura but it is buzzing with biodiversity. Thanks to my tour guide Marcos, I was able to spot two male quetzals, one female quetzal, a toucanet and a baby side-striped palm-pit viper! Those who have been to Costa Rica know that it’s part of everyone’s checklist to have actually seen a male quetzal and a toucanet. The viper, which is rarely visible during the day, was really a bonus for me! The park’s entrance fee is USD 22. There are hummingbird feeders next to the cafe but if you have been to Selvatura, they aren’t that exciting given they attract fewer hummingbirds. Make sure you have coffee at the cloud forest cafe after your walk. I love the way they make it!

Tour guide: I would highly recommend a private tour of Selvatura Park and Monteverde Cloud Forest with Marcos from “Pasion Costa Rica”.

Pasion Costa Rica arrange tours for other trails in the area as well, such as Santa Elena reserve, Curi Cancha and Aguti reserve. Marcos is a thoughtful, knowledgeable and engaging tour guide. I cannot recommend him enough for those who want to know and understand the area more intimately.

He will listen to what you want to do and see then suggest the right places and trails to increase your chances to do and see those things. He is passionate about the forest and loves teaching others about the wonderful birds, mammals and reptiles, which I saw thanks to him. I got to see quetzals, a bellbird, an emerald toucanet, hummingbirds, a side-striped palm pit viper, lots of birds and flora. Booking the tour was very easy! His wife Susu did an excellent job with the bookings and was always very prompt with my queries.

Monteverde Butterfly Garden

This is probably the biggest butterfly garden I saw in Costa Rica. If you like butterflies and have an hour to spare, you should definitely come here. The guides are extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The garden has a wide variety of butterfly species and it’s easy to get some good photos.

The entrance fee is USD 15.

Three nights in Arenal

How to get there

There are shuttles between San Jose and Arenal, which your lodge should be able to arrange. Monteverde Lodge arranged for my shuttle transfer between Monteverde and Lost Iguana resort in Arenal. The shuttle takes 1.5 hours to get to Lake Arenal followed by a 45 min boat ride then a 20 min shuttle to the lodge. The boat ride was enjoyable with Arenal Volcano constantly in sight ahead of us. The driver also pointed out a Caiman to me on the way (it’s part of the same family as the alligator or crocodile).

Accommodation

I stayed at the Lost Iguana resort & spa for three nights. The lodge is built authentically in a lush green rainforest setting with views of Mount Arenal from every room. Waking up to see Mount Arenal with lush greenery at its base and clouds hovering at its top and birds chirping in the background was one of the highlights of my week in Costa Rica. The lodge has its own hiking trail although I didn’t get a chance to explore it. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. The lodge has a spa, a pool and a restaurant where you get stunning views of the volcano. The food was decent but not as good as at Monteverde Lodge. The staff at the front desk are very helpful and can help with arranging day tours. Overall, I highly recommend this place as it’s affordable compared to the other lodges in Arenal and the views of Mt. Arenal from every room make it totally worthwhile.

Day 1

La Fortuna Waterfalls

I spent the afternoon at the La Fortuna waterfalls! The climb down was enjoyable as you get to see the lush dense vegetation below and the bird life. The best view of the waterfall is at the viewpoint located at the beginning of the walking trail. The actual waterfall itself is like any other waterfall! (I wasn’t blown away). There is a nice cafe at the entrance although it’s a bit overpriced! I had the watermelon salad which was refreshing in the heat! The entrance to the waterfalls is USD 28 for adults.

Day 2

Sloth tour

My lodge arranged this tour for me. The tour picked me up at 05:30 in the morning! Even although I was on vacation, early mornings had become a routine here in Costa Rica given most nature tours start fairly early. The restaurant opens only at 7 am for breakfast, but you can ask the restaurant to prepare a packed breakfast for you, which you can collect the night before. The tour guide took us to a farm outside La Fortuna where we saw around 5 sloths in total. The sloths place themselves quite high on trees and had to be seen using my guide’s telescope. Did you know that the sloth is the slowest mammal on the planet with its movement averaging 0.24 km/hr.? In addition to sloths, we also spotted toucans, a strawberry poison dart frog and a howler monkey.

Afternoon at Tabacan Thermal Resorts and Spa

I decided to take it easy in the afternoon – I had booked a day pass (USD 85) at the Tabacan Thermal Resort and Spa which included lunch and access to the hot springs at the resort. Tabacan is a five star resort with hot springs. The lunch spread was generous and tasted very good, especially the pan-fried fish!  The hot springs and the gardens surrounding it are beautiful! I felt completely disconnected and relaxed in the hot pools which was well needed after my early morning walk.

Day 3

Mistico Hanging Bridges

Mistico National Park offers a mystical experience over the canopy of the Arenal rainforest! Walking over multiple suspension bridges overlooking the dense lush vegetation was a real treat. The views of Arenal Volcano from the suspension bridges were spectacular even although the cone was partially covered in clouds today! The sound of chirping birds and crickets in the background made the experience soul-soothing. I spotted the below:

1) Mammals: coati, great white-lined Bats, tent-making bat and spider monkeys
2) Birds: Broad-billed motmot, wedge-billed wood creeper and a scaly-breasted hummingbird nest with a baby hummingbird in it
3) Reptiles: Giant banded anole and strawberry-poison dart Frog