Flight:
British Airways 777 (admittedly a tired aircraft) London Gatwick to San Jose, Costa Rica. Flights go at 11.20 every Saturday and Wednesday. Flight time is eleven hours, and best of all it is a direct flight.
The return flight leaves around 17.30 on the Wedensday and Saturday, and arrives in Gatwick at 11.00 the next day.
The time difference in Costa Rica is seven hours behind British Summer Time, and six hours behind GMT.
Hotels & Lodges:
Grano de Oro - Website here
This was very much a stop over visit, and we never really gave the property a chance as on arrival we went straight to the room where were stayed up for a while and then fell asleep. We were picked up early in the morning, so had breakfast which was nice, and that was all.
I would assume this is a good placed hotel to explore San Jose
Naturalista Rancho - Website here
Set in its own grounds and private reserve there are trails around the area, but I would recommend doing so with a guide. Birding is difficult in the forest, and having someone who knows the calls etc is invaluable. There is a deck area with hummingbird feeders which provide plenty of opportunity to get close to these wonderful birds. Feeding stations also attract toucans and tanagers
The rooms are basic, and like a lot of cloud forest locations, light in the rooms is at a premium. The climate is typical rain forest, with rain, but the temperatures are acceptable and a T-shirt of shirt is completely OK
Meals are inclusive, drinks, wine and beers are on an honesty basis you settle when you leave, and they do not take credit cards
There are three main meals, breakfast lunch and dinner and they are all fantastic, dining is communal all on one table which enhances the experience.
The staff were lovely, ready to help at all times. We had a guide, his name Carlie, it was a shame that our tour was cut short by the weather as he was very good.
Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge - Website here
The property is located at an altitude of 2,600 metres in the village of San Gerardo de Dota. The accommodation consists of bungalows scattered along the hill side, with the furthest about 800 metres from the reception and restaurant. This is OK in daylight and going downhill, but after dark and walking up hill at altitude is a complete challenge. The rooms were very nice with ethanol fires and under floor heating in the bathroom. We were lucky in being able to get a bungalow relatively close to the restaurant
The restaurant is very good, the food was excellent and the staff very supportive and friendly
We took two tours and the guide Michael was excellent
Aside from the tours there is not much to do here without a vehicle. There is a lovely café up the hill called Miriam's, but this is closed on a Monday. In hindsight I think we would have forgiven a night here for an extra one at Naturalista, or Kura
Arenas Del Mar - Website here
Located just outside Manuel Antonio National Park, this property is one of the only locations with beach access in the area. We had a room with a sea view, but this was mostly obscured, that said though the room was excellent
The rooms are spread out in buildings set in a forest reserve. It is very hilly, and the property provide transport in the form of electric gold carts to move you around. We thought to start with we would not use this, but in the end we found it invaluable.
There are two beaches, one you can walk easily to, and the other that requires a transfer. Facilities such as body boarding and surf boards are provided.
Once again the food was lovely, and the staff very friendly and helpful. We took one tour, and the guide Mauricio was brilliant, very dedicated to his job and very well informed.
Lapa Rios Lodge - Website here
This was a wonderful location, set on the side of the hill, close to Corcovado National Park. You have to transfer to a 4x4 vehicle in Puerto Jimenez as the final 15 kilometres to Lapa Rios is along a road riddled with pot holes, steep climbs and rivers crossing the road.
Again meals are inclusive, you have to pay for all drinks aside from coffee and tea. The restaurant is the focal point of the property with an observation deck looking out over the ocean. The rooms are individual bungalows with completely open sides covered in mesh. Each has its own deck with outside rain shower. Some rooms are set in amongst the rain forest, while others have ocean views across the Gulfo Dulce. We stayed in room eight and this had wonderful views, room seven had similar views and both of these are probably the rooms to get.
The staff were very friendly, and we determined to look after you, even down to one of our drivers that was finding new birds for us as he took us to our pick up!
We took two tours, one the early morning bird watch was inclusive, and a chance to see different habitat, the other tour was a whale watch, which because we didn't have our own car was pricey, but in the end worth it as we had some amazing experiences.
An absolutely wonderful location and property, we would definitely return here one day
Kura Design Villas - Website here
We were here last year and loved the place. Everything about it is relaxing, and everything is down to the detail that the owners and staff put into it.
We were thrilled to get such a lovely welcome back, and were treated very well. The room was amazing, and in hindsight I think both of us wished we had at least one more night here.
The food was excellent, and everything was completely as we remembered, we will be back.
Our bookings were handled through Travelbag here in the United Kingdom, they working with Travel Excellence in Costa Rica. All the pick ups and transfers were on time, and aside form our diversion on the journey from Puerto Jimenez to Uvita which was completely outside their control, all were completed without any problems.
The trip provided me with 50 new birds in a total of 172. Of this total there were 22 species of hummingbirds of which 9 were lifers.
Bird List:
Top birds for me were, all the hummingbirds, the Sunbittern, and the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
The full list is here, with lifers marked in bold.
No comments:
Post a Comment