We had a great time in Costa Rica!

Meyerhardt Vacation December 17th - 24th, 2011

We started the trip by flying from Newark directly to San jose-an easy jaunt. We stayed the first night at the Vista De Valle which is a great place 20 minutes from the airport that's on a former coffee plantation-with incredible views over the valley (hence the name)

The hotel has several individual jungle huts that have nice beds, a great balcony w a hammock, a kitchenette, and an extra bed and space for our boys in the one we chose, the Tea House. They also have a great pool and Jacuzzi, a pool-side bar, and two amazing hikes right on the premises--one goes down the hill to a gorgeous waterfall and the other is the Creek Walk which was perfect for our 6,8 year old boys.

We ate at the open air restaurant-and enjoyed typical food (and pasta for the kids!) and left the following morning. We then went to Manuel Antonio which I set up on my own as you know I HIGHLY recommend Tulemar/Buena Vista Bungalows and Villas. It was the best location, great concierge for each room, private beach, boogie boarding and kayaking right there, monkeys out your door-really memorable. I also had 3 amazing meals in Quepos

Then-we flew courtesy of you on Nature Air to La Fortuna. We had a driver meet our plane and take us to the Mountain Paradise Hotel-which we LOVED. We had a large-huge actually-room which was #402 and came with a room w king size bed, large flat screen tv, amazing stone shower built into the walls of the cottage, and a separate kitchenette, with a second bedroom with two queen sized beds and a second huge TV We also enjoyed our own hot tub which is the size of a regular swimming pool.

The staff at the hotel was wonderful-we especially looked forward to the main pool and swim up bar which was the meeting spot for all of the hotel guests after the daily excursions. WE ate poolside and had delicious tropical drinks and hung out there for hours every afternoon.

Our tours could not have been better, or easier. We were always greeted by kind bilingual drivers and guides and had the greatest time.

Our first tour was the afternoon we arrived=when we had the pleasure of spending 4 hours at The Springs resort and hot Springs. We loved the 20 + pools with medicinal volcanic elements (bicarbonate, chloride, etc) and natural heat from run-off. We also loved the Monkey Slide which the kids were on literally until 9 pm!!

The following am, We were supposed to go WW Rafting but the river swells from the rain precluded this. No problem for Lynn Bateman who had us on an INCREDIBLE horsebackriding tour in about 20 minutes! We enjoyed this maybe the most-as it was led by Marvin who was phenomenal, included a ton of beautiful views, animal spottings, and had the bonus of accompaniment by 3 local children who joined us on the ride The boys LOVED this-and cant'wait to ride again!!

WE also had a phenomenal experience Zip Lining(Arenal Mundo Aventura) definitely the best Zip line operation in La Fortuna from what we heard. We enjoyed 11 varying lines including one that was 980 meters long, over the gorgeous canopies of the treetops surrounding Arenal. We had wonderful guides, felt totally secure, and can't wait to do this again!!

Our last experience was the Hanging Bridges. This was again a fun morning-with an easy 2 hour walk on several bridges over waterfalls and in the midst of the real rain forest. Our guide, Alberto, was very knowledgeable and showed us the Howler Monkeys and many types of plants and insects in the forest.

Sadly, that was our last excursion and we were then heading home via a 2 hour car trip )also very educational and enjoyable) through the mountains and a flight home from San Jose

We cannot WAIT to return!!!