Hey Y’all! Thanks for checking out my blog! Since this is my first Tuesday post I just wanted to let you know that Tuesdays will be devoted to travel, whether it’s past travels {like today} or future travels {which take lots of planning} it will all be featured here on Tuesdays!
So recently my family took a little vaycay to the beautiful country of Costa Rica {and boy when I say beautiful I mean it!}. We spent about a week there and LOVED every minute of it. So I figured I’d share my experiences with y’all!
Where we stayed
So when my family travels it typically involves some extended family as well, this time our travels included myself, both of my parents, my brother, his wife, their little boy, and my aunt. We knew we would need a big space for all of us so we ended up renting a house. The house was located at Tulemar resort {approximately a 2.5 hour commute from the SJO airport} near Manuel Antonio. The house included 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms and also had a an infinity pool right in the backyard. Our house had a maid who cleaned daily and did our laundry and also a free shuttle for around the resort. It was pretty fantastic! The only downfall of the house was there was only air conditioning in the bedrooms and not anywhere else in the house, which was okay for the time of year we went {it was about 85/90} but if it got any hotter this could be an issue.
The resort itself is located on the ocean which was about a 7 minute walk from the house and within the resort is The Tulemar Sloth Institute {so lots of wildlife including sloths, monkeys, macaws, toucans, ect.}.
What we did
- Sloth walk- this was a nature walk put on by The Tulemar Sloth Insitute {very fun and informative}
- Mangrove Tour- this was a ton of fun! The mangroves are a type of tree that grows in the swampy area of Costa Rica. We saw lots of wildlife, there are also crocodiles in the area. The tour happens on a boat by for the more adventurous type you can also kayak! What was really cool is the owner took us to his house for an authentic Costa Rican meal!
- Welcome Tour- this was an awesome tour that we went on with a local of the area. He brought his jeep and we took a ride through the local towns and got to know some history about the towns as well!
- Waterfall Tour- this we did with the same guy who did the welcome tour. He was super awesome and riding in the jeep was great! He took us to some waterfalls {about an hour or so away} so we could take photos and swim. There was also a cool suspension bridge for the brave at heart. Then on the way home we stopped for a great local Costa Rican meal at a local resturaunt {this was by far the best meal I ate while I was there!}.
- White Water Rafting- so this was not even on my list of things to do and only my father and aunt were going to go but last minute I decided to join them. The rafting was about an hour away and the rapids were class IV and V {for sure only for the adventurous!} and I almost chickened out before we went. However, IT WAS A BLAST! I Highly suggest this while in Costa Rica if you are brave enough, they also got GREAT photos {see below}.
- Shopping– Of course this is a must. Tons of great shops to see. I would also suggest just checking out the local grocery store if you’ve never been to a foreign grocery store before!
- Manuel Antonio National Park- This national park is a must see. The only reason why I put it after shopping is because it was so hot this day it was almost hard to enjoy the national parks. I was a great time though, we saw lots so birds, monkeys, spiders, sloths, ect. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area and the park itself.
Where we ate
- Cafe Milagro- So this was a huge hit with the whole family {which includes vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters}. It was great because we were able to walk to it and the food was good too! We went multiple times for breakfast and a couple times for lunch. Oh and don’t get me started on their COFFEE! This was the best coffee I’ve ever had by far. Some days I would go here two or three times for coffee and iced mochas. Soooooo good!
- La Luna- so this was an interesting place, when you get there you take a shuttle up to the top of a big hill and get dropped off outside the spa and then take an elevator to the resturaunt. Like all of the resturaunts in Costa Rica this one had an Amazing view. It was a very fancy resturaunt but many of the people were dressed casually. Great food, great seafood.
- Victoria’s- so this was also close enough to walk to. They are known for their Italian food as most Costa Rican resturaunts are and it was fantastic. They had great pizza and pasta dishes.
- El Avion- this was probably my favorite resturaunt. Lots of American and Italian dishes to order. Also FANASTIC ICED MOCHAS!! Out in the front of the resturaunt is an old military airplane that you can climb in and check out! Great food, beautiful view, awesome atmosphere!
Overall Experience
Costa Rica was a great place to visit for the whole family! My dad, brother, aunt, and I love hiking and adventures, lots of trails available as well as adventures like white water rafting, there’s also volcanos near by as well. My mom loves animals and just being with the family, we saw tons of wildlife and being in a house versus two or three hotel rooms made it possible to be together. My sister-in-law and I love shopping which there was plenty of that to do with many products from local artists. And my nephew {who’s 6} loves having a pool right in our backyard!!
Overall I’d love to go back to Costa Rica in the future!
Thanks for the read y’all! Stay Caffeinated! — MRE
Life on Coffee 
Leave a comment