Costa Rica is a Great Vacation Destination Costa Rica
Hampton Inn San Jose Airport: The beginning and end to our Costa Rican adventure Hampton Inn & Suites, San Jose, Costa Rica The Hampton Inn by the San Jose airport was not the type of hotel I imagine...
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My husband and I went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. We visited in July, which is considered the rainy season. We flew directly from Atlanta to Liberia in about three to three and one half hours. When we arrived in Liberia, we stepped out of the airplane at the mostly outdoor airport. We picked up our luggage and met our driver the hotel sent for us.
We spent the four days of our vacation near Tamarindo. Tamarindo is a surf town with some resorts, hotels, shopping and restaurants. It is on the west coast of Costa Rica, along the Pacific Ocean. Our hotel was about twenty minutes away from the beach, on a mountaintop. We were so glad we went during the rainy season because it was so green and beautiful. We heard that during the dry season everything is brown. For being the rainy season, it only rained during the night while we were there. The thunderstorms sounded fierce. The thunder echoed through the mountains and valleys. It was really beautiful, but also a little scary because they were strong storms. The sunsets are were also something to see. The colors were so beautiful, I took so many pictures.
The food in Costa Rica was delicious. We had fresh juices for breakfast, along with the typical Costa Rican dish, rice and beans. We were told rice and beans were the staple in every home. There was always fresh fruit available. The coffee was so good, rich and dark. I found it was often served with brown sugar. I tried plantains for the first time, which I found out I really like. Our hotel said we could drink the water there, because it was purified. We did, but after a few days I didn’t feel so well, so I switched to bottled water. My husband was fine though. Every restaurant we went to was delicious, they were all outside with a roof over top. We visited a really cool surf hangout on the beach. I don’t even know if the place had a name, but it had a big, huge pig that wandered around looking for food, whenever it wasn’t sleeping. The food and drinks were really good there. There were alot of hammocks hanging around. Hammocks are very popular in Costa Rica.
As far as driving in Costa Rica, we didn’t do any. We had our hotel driver shuttle us around. The roads are not in very good condition. The main roads were okay, but the back roads were bumpy, full of holes and sometimes washed out during a storm. I rarely saw road signs. If we had decided to go on our own, I don’t know how we would have known where we were going. But friends of ours, who went on a separate trip to Costa Rica had rented an SUV and seemed to be okay, although they witnessed a wreck which killed a horse.
Horses and cows just seem to wander around. We saw a real cowboy. My husband saw a puma. There were alot of lizards, geckos, and tree frogs. While we were on the zip line, I was at the tree top and was standing by a baby boa constrictor. That was a little unnerving. There were howler monkeys everywhere. It was really neat just to go for walks and watch the monkeys. The zip line was the place where we saw the most monkeys. It was neat to be up at their level. We saw alot of beautiful birds too.
The people we interacted with were all very nice. We didn’t stay out too late or wander around too much at night. I wasn’t sure how safe we would be to wander away too much on our own. There were alot of people just gathered around in groups and riding around in the back of trucks.
The beaches were beautiful, the water temperature seemed just right. The ocean water where we were was clean, but not clear. The shells we collected looked like shells you would buy at a souvenir shop. I have never found perfect shells like that at a beach. We saw little hermit crabs walking around on the beach.
As far as the language, alot of people spoke English. My Spanish was a pretty rusty, but we seemed to get around just fine. The shopping was good, the prices at shops and restaurants were about the same as here, and sometimes cheaper. Teak is very popular there, and more affordable. I made sure to bring home some coffee beans for friends and family and for ourselves too.
We had a great time in Costa Rica, it was so beautiful. I really hope it does not get too overbuilt as it seems to be becoming a popular tourist destination. We definitely hope to revisit. We hope to bring our kids there someday. We would definitely stay longer, and visit more areas. I would love to see the volcano and soak in the hot springs.
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