kippy6

Any suggestions on a fun place to visit on the way to Liberia? Also would like restaurant recommendations in Liberia for the evening. Thanks!

hsmithcr

You can stop at the intersection for the bridge to the Nicoya Peninsula, the Friendship Bridge (Amistad). There is a great restaurant on the corner -Tres Hermanas. You can't miss it - there's a huge statue of a brahma bull outside. This is about two and a half hours north of the airport. There are many places to stop for snacks or drinks along the way but many of the restaurants are kind of touristy and not authentic and not very good, actually. El Caballo Blanco is an exception to this.

Across the highway from Tres Hermanas, there are a couple of smaller restaurants - one is really just a snack kind of place with sandwiches, etc and the other a "sit down" place that is good but not quite as good as Tres Hermanas. In back of these two restaurants, there is a house where a small group of Scarlet Macaws live. They are not caged but just hang around the house. Great experience and excellent photo op.

Further north, in Canas:
You can take a short detour to the town of Bebedero (turn left at the cemetery) and there arrange for a boat tour on the river through the Palo Verde National Park. Otherwise, just north of Canas, is Las Pumas, a wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation center where you - and your kids! - can see the big jungle cats close up as well as many other animals. A little bit further still - about 300 meters - is the Rio Corobici. Here, you can take a rafting trip - really a float trip - and have either lunch or snack in the restaurant which overlooks the river. They also have a pretty decent souvenir shop you should check out. Lots of informative stuff about Costa Rica as well as some handmade items.

Between Canas and Liberia, just north of Bagaces, you can go to the Llanos del Cortes waterfall. Just keep looking for the sign once you drive through Bagaces - it will be a left turn. This is a beautiful waterfall with a little swimming area and howler monkeys in the trees overhead.

In Liberia, you can eat at El Bramadero, on the corner at the traffic light, or at a restaurant across from the central park - I forget the name but is is something like Paso Real. At the traffic light, turn right and follow this street for about 5 or 6 blocks until you see the park on your left. The restaurant is upstairs in a building across from the park. You can sit on the deck outside and watch life in the park. Of the two, the restaurant by the park is the better. There is another place which advertises itself as a pizza place but they have other things, too. I don't know the name of this one because they just changed owners and changed the name. When you turn right at the traffic light, it will be about 2 blocks or so on the corner on the right.

If you are driving in Liberia, watch out for the one-way streets.