www.CostaRicaTicas.com

My recent holiday trip was great for a lot of reasons - but foremost among them was the chance to finally get out of the gulch and try some other types of activities with my novia. This included a trip to the Irazu volcano, checking out outlying areas of San Jose like Curridibat and Tres Rios as possible future places to live, the street fair in Zapote, a night of bowling at a "disco" bowling alley, seeing "King Kong" at the mulitplex, and best of all, a return trip to the Carribean.

If you're looking for the ultimate relaxing tropical beach experience, I can't recommend the beaches south of Puerto Viejo highly enough. We spent two nights at Almonds and Corals, a really cool hotel where the rooms are actually large tents situated on wooden platforms above the ground. It's in the middle of the forest, but within 100 yards of a beautiful isolated beach between Punta Uva and Manzanillo. By the way, be careful wading too far out into the ocean - I ignored the signs the first day and really had to paddle my ass off to get out of a rip tide and make it back into shore okay.

The hotel also features a nice outdoor jacuzzi and bar area with pool table and games. At $120 a night including meals, it's a bit on the pricey side (and the food is nothing to write home about), but still worth it for the location and uniqueness of the setting. Hearing howler monkeys at 4am in the morning is a sound you'll never forget.

We were fortunate enough to have gorgeous sunny weather during the whole stay. We managed to do a little biking and hiking down in Manzanillo, but otherwise pretty much stayed put - not even bothering to check out the nightlife in Puerto Viejo. With more time, it would have been fun to try some kayaking, snorkeling and ATV touring, all readily available. Nevertheless, after several trips to both the Pacific and the Carribean sides, I have to say I far prefer the Carribean for the natural beauty and relaxed atmosphere.

Interbus at $29 per person each way is a great way to get out there. Actual travel time from San Jose was about five hours, though getting back took longer because of the additional pick-ups.

GR,
Thanks for the info. I've talked to several other people who have said similar things about the East side of the country, along the coast. I've never been to the Carribean side, but it's on my 'to-do' list. Now, I'll definitely have to check it out.
Thanks again,
Mikey-B

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