volcanogirl

Hi, guys - has anyone stayed at the Pacuare Lodge or know much about it? We did white water rafting for the first time this trip and loved it. Thought the Pacuare Lodge might be fun to try next trip but haven't heard much about it. Would love to hear any thought you have - thanks!

hipvirgochick

It looked very nice from the outside when we rafted by, but so did Rios Tropicales. Since Pacuare Lodge was $477 for a one night trip as a single, that was a deal breaker for me. Also, keep in mind you do the same length of river on the one day as the two...I think I'd rather just do two day trips in a row!

volcanogirl

Whoa, that's the cost? I thought it would be pretty affordable. I don't think they even have electricity. I'll check out Rios Tropicales too.

EdPhoto

My wife and I did the 2 day Pacuare Lodge raft trip last year and it was great. We stayed in one of the river-view cabins. The food was excellent and so was the service. The cabins were complete rustic elegance, with comfortable king bed, beautiful bathroom and outdoor shower. There is no electricity and lighting at night is by candles. The cost is on the high side, but it is worth it - like Peace Lodge is.

volcanogirl

Thanks, Ed - it does sound pretty wonderful. Did you guys do any activities once you reached the lodge or just relax?

Eressea

Hey vgirl - the cost is pretty high considering that CR has so many choices for all kinds of budgets. So the first time I stayed at Pacuare Lodge was luck, my friend and I stumbled upon it during the planning stage and being strapped for time, we chose them along with Aventuras Naturales for our trip. (AV administers PL.) The second time I deliberately chose them having had such a great time the first time.

You do get a rather big break when there are two of you to split the cost as opposed to traveling solo as I did the second time I stayed. My 2 day solo package cost $421 and included pick up and drop off from HDC, brekkie/lunch/dinner for day 1, brekkie & lunch for day 2, 2 days rafting (or rather, half day or 4 miles for day 1and full day or 18 miles for day 2), and overnight stay at the lodge. They also take you on a couple of hikes to waterfalls both days.

Optional activities at the lodge include massage, zipline tour, bird spotting tour, horseback riding tour, and a visit to the Cabecar village near the property. The zipline, massage and bird tours can be done in a couple of hours but I believe the horseback riding and Cabecar village visit are all day affairs. Advance reservations are recommended for the massage, horseback and Cabecar tours as the guides don't normally stay onsite.

Food at the lodge was excellent the both times I stayed there. Especially the desserts. The zipline tour was a lot of fun because we had a tiny group of people so we didn't have to wait for long stretches between thrills and we got to know our guide pretty well (he was also our rafting guide). Our rafting guide was also excellent and I was lucky to get him again on my second trip. The lodge manager Wilman and his staff were so incredibly accommodating and genuinely friendly; I wanted for nothing.

While I've rafted with PL/AV and RT, I've only stayed at PL so I can't comment as to how RT's lodge compares with PL but AV has finally updated their web site with more pictures and you can see for yourself the differences between garden, river, bungalows and the newer jungle and linda vista view bungalows http://www.pacuarelodge.com/ They've built several new bungalows and upgraded some of the existing ones - my garden view bungalow from my first visit was being turned into a river view during my second - but I've only stayed in the garden view so far and I had plenty of room.

I hope you do eventually decide to stay there one day - and before they get any bigger - and pricier. Eek!

volcanogirl

E, thanks for all these great details. I should have known you stayed there; you're our resident rafting expert! I think it looks great. I'm not against splurging on a vacation if I think it will be a great memorable experience and worth the cost. Sounds like you really thought it was wonderful and worth it.