rlarson

Me and my girlfriend spent 2 weeks travelling around Costa Rica, we rented a 4x4 at the airport and we went to Arenal, Jaco, Manuel Antonio and finally we decided to explore the South Pacific trying to get away from it all. Volcano Arenal area was very interesting but the volcano was clouded most of the time, we stayed 2 nights at Arenal Observatory Lodge, it was a really nice rustic place and was about 15 min drive from the town of La Fortuna so you need to have a car unless you want to be stuck there.

We proceeded to Jaco and the drive was 3-4 hours, when we got there it was very touristy, built up and had a surfer town feel. This was not what we were after in this holiday, we just wanted to get to see the Rainforests, nature that Costa Rica is so famous for. So after looking at a couple of hotels decided to go further South to Quepos/Manuel Antonio as there is a National Park there. We stayed at Si Como No hotel, it had a great view but the rooms were mouldy and aged and the pool area was great if it wasn’t for the tonnes of children running, screaming and using the slide. Nothing against children but we just wanted to get away from it all. The national park was nice and the beaches of the park were precious. We got to see a sloth, boa constrictor and loads of Iguanas. It is better to have a car in Quepos, but not necessary as they have tones of taxies and a regular bus that passes in front of Si Como no and takes you all the way down to the beach and national park.

rlarson

Next day we drove on a day trip further down South to go to the Marine National Park near Uvita,we stopped by to have a look at Dominical and was not really our vibe. Continued south past Uvita to the Marino Ballena National Park, it was paradise on earth we were the only ones on the beach that morning except a couple of fisherman that went and came. We had a delicious fresh fried fish at a small restaurant called “las Delicias” and really enjoyed it.

On the way back we got talking on how great this area was, the beaches and exactly what we thought we would find in Costa Rica. So we decided that the next day we move here, though its only about a 40 min drive from Quepos we preferred the area. We got looking at some hotels and came across a lodge called Tiki Villas. The owners Cindy and Tom were very friendly and showed us one of their bungalows that was suspended on concrete stilts about 10 mts above the ground. From the moment we were shown the view from the cabin we fell in love with it – it had the wow factor. We made a booking for the next day for 4 nights. What a pity it was towards the end of our vacation as this Lodge, beaches, area, wildlife and nature were just amazing! It made our whole vacations worth while, though this is in retrospect as it was great fun exploring Costa Rica.

I will mention a bit Tiki villas as for us it captured us and was so different from other places we had stayed in Costa Rica. We loved the charm of the rainforest with a modern twist they achieved their objective. It is a small lodge (only 5 cabins) and it had only been open for about a week so we were the only guests, the cabins are very private with a Bali type design double roof that keeps them well ventilated, there is also a infinity pool and open plan terrace common area. The cabin was large with comfortable king-sized bed, a boutique bathroom that had two showers one inside and a separate outside shower allowed you to shower "feeling" like in the jungle. Though the nothing beats the balcony that opens up totally from the cabin with stunning view, we must have spent half our time sitting with a glass of wine watching all kinds of animals (howlers, toucans, capuchin monkeys, iguanas as well as tone of birds). We had a few insects and geckos come in as we left the balconies open but we did not mind and made it part of the experience! Though if you are squeamish for little bugs might not be the place for you, we used repellent and they provided us with a plug in that seemed to do the job for the mosquitoes. The lodge feels secluded and private but was only 300mts from the main road (you will definitively need a 4x4 get up though as the road is steep and a bit rough) and you can walk to Hermosa beach in front (one of our favourite beach in Costa Rica besides the Marine Park), but we always drove. I can not emphasise that having a rent a car with 4x4 is really a must to get around to all the beaches and all the restaurants close by - Tikivillas does not have a restaurant (though they do serve a delicious breakfast). Our favourite restaurants were Exotica, about 20 min drive in Ojochal, pizza la fogata served roast chicken and a nice pizza as well as salads. Uvita is the closest town about 4 miles further south. There are tones of things to do in the area, including a trail through their private rainforest reserve to a stream and swimming hole. We went to Hacienda Baru zip line that was a lot of fun, also Nacuya waterfall on horseback which was definitively an incredible experience. We loved the nature and the peace and were sad to leave the area and get back to reality…

On the way back we stayed in Orosi as our flight was not until the afternoon and wanted to avoid staying in San Jose. I highly recommend Mirador Sanchiri Lodge, it is good value great service and fantastic views of the valley. We will definitively be back to Costa Rica, Uvita area and TikiVillas!

MichelleY

Thanks for the report. Will have to check it out!

qwovadis

Nice report

www.haciendabaru.com great

www.cunadelangel.com was nice also

for me more upscale place to stay

great rooms food pool...on site monkey family visits

pretty cool...

cmerrell

Thanks for the report, rlarson. Sounds like you had a good trip.

rlarson

It was a great trip. We went to Cuna del Angel restaurant, the food was very good but came with a resorts price tag. Great for a special evening.

The places we stayd at in Costa Rica from the trip report:

Orosi - Sanciri lodge: www.sanchiri.com
Uvita - TikiVillas: www.tiki-villas.com
Manuel Antonio - Si como no: www.sicomono.com
Arenal - : www.arenalobservatorylodge.com

worldtraveller1976

Great report, thanks! Uvita area is by far my favorit beach / jungle part of Costa Rica, can't beat it! Will have to check out this place next time I am down, looks like it complements the great variety of different types of hotel & lodge accomodotions in the area.

hipvirgochick

Missed your report as I was on vacation when you posted but appreciate you taking the time to post! It's always interesting reading about other peoples adventures and it sounds like you had a wonderful time.

volcanogirl

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed reading about your adventure!

Houstont

Thanks! Great little find loved TikiVillas and orosi Lodge!

Andrea_loves_travel

I just saw this as there was a new responder. We will definitely have to keep Uvita in mind... as I am organizing a trip for next week!