This is the final part of my travel log, where I leave my take-aways and recommendations if you are planning on traveling to Costa Rica. Sorry for this being so late, but you know me 😁 All lists of things I enjoyed are in order of when we did them.

Monteverde/Santa Elena Area

Hotel Arco Iris- An absolutely beautiful location set back from the main road. All the buildings are cute, outside and in, and the staff is very friendly. The man who ran the front desk set us up with most of the tours we took, and the hotel had access to many more. The breakfast buffet table was very yummy as well. Would definitely recommend it.

Restaurants I Liked:

Taco Taco- tasty food. A little loud and slow, but I imagine it'd be good for the party crowd.

Sabor Tico- Quick, easy, and tasty. It's pretty accessible for American tastes. A lot of things come with french fries! It's not on the main triangle area, you have to walk up the hill a bit to  the Plaza Monteverde. 

Gutso- Italian food, mostly pizza. Not busy at all when we arrived, but got busier as we left.

The Treehouse- fun atmosphere. I'm sure it's even cooler when it's not raining. They did have good American food (eg. steak, chicken), and the wait was not bad. The band was a good volume as well. We thought it would be a lot louder and blaring in our ears, but it was fun!

Experiences I Enjoyed:

Zip lining- Personally, it's a lot of fun! It's a great way to get a little excitement and see the forest from another viewpoint, and it doesn't hurt the forests that much. All that's being built is a few platforms on the trees and stringing lines between them, plus some footpaths. We took The Original Canopy Tour, which I enjoyed a lot. (besides the Tarzan swing, haha. Its just not my thing!) The employees were very friendly and helped out a lot. They also took very high quality images which they sold to us for around an additional $25. The OCT has several zip lines, a Tarzan swing, one rappelling site, and a hollow tree to climb up. If you just want zip lines, or to add more onto your package, there are all sorts of companies around that should serve all your desires.

Monteverde Reserve- This is just one of the many natural forest reserves in the area. We chose this one because of the guided tours they offer. And, believe me, if you want to see wildlife, you should get a guide! If we didn't have our guide we probably wouldn't have seen any of the animals that we saw. The guides have excellent telescopes that are probably made for animal/bird watching, and they simply know so much! If I remember right, this reserve has only one or two hanging bridges, so if you are looking for the view from above, I'd recommend Selvatura Park. There is also a "hummingbird garden," where there are several bird feeders. The hummingbirds feel very comfortable to hang out there and drink from the feeders- a couple times they would whiz right past my ear!

Selvatura Park- As I just mentioned, this natural reserve specializes in hanging bridges. (I believe that they also have a zip lining tour, but we didn't take it) They have a good variety of some that are short and pass right by gigantic leaves, and others where you are actually looking down at the tops of trees! The park is composed of one long path, and at the end are several signs directing you to an art exhibit.

Other:

I felt totally fine wearing jeans. They can even be useful to keep out the bugs. The weather can be quite nice and cool. 

I thought there were supposed to be mosquitoes, but I didn't notice them! Maybe we just went in the low-mosquito season?

Sámara Area

Casa la Chora- Since our Scotland trip, I have always thought it was nice to be able to have an apartment to rent. You get your own kitchen, so you can actually prepare some meals instead of having to go out for everything, and there's more room to spread out. Casa la Chora is definitely a good choice for the Sámara area- there's also a swimming pool! The building was well maintained, and the service people were easy and friendly. I think Sámara is a pretty small town and almost everything is in walking distance of each other, but there is a shortcut just across the road of the complex that takes you directly to the beach. Would also recommend staying here. 

Restaurants I Liked:

Sheriff- A cute spot right on the beach. A wide variety of tasty food, and lots of it comes on one plate - I hope you're hungry!

Mama Gui- Very good dessert! 😋 A small indoor seating area, though, it probably would've been nice to sit outside. I wasn't a huge fan of the undercooked style of cooking meat (I think I had the grilled tuna) but the veggies and potatoes were good. Fast service.

La Dolce Vita- A really nice spot to sit, relax, and get something cold to drink.  They have a nice shaded area and comfortable chairs/cushions. 

Experiences I Enjoyed:

Surfing- I say, if you're in Costa Rica, you have to go surfing (especially if you live in a place with cold beaches like I do!). It is hard, but it's worth it when you get the feel of it and can "ride the wave!" We went to the Leo's Surf School. Our teacher was really fun, and the embodiment of what I would call a surfer dude. 😄 They provided all the equipment, even waterproof shirts to block the sun.  After we tok a lesson I believe we could even borrow a board for a few hours at a time for the rest of the trip. Please take care of yourself, though, it is very physically exhausting. 

Snorkeling- I had never been before this time, and it was a bit hard to get used to. We realized afterwards that it would've been a good idea to practice wearing the mask (making sure that it didn't leak or fog up) in the pool at our hotel. It was fairly enjoyable after I figured it out, but there was just not a whole lot to see in the waters of Sámara: a bunch of small fish, some rocks, and a little coral which was fairly dull in color. Apparently some of the people saw a turtle and a pufferfish. I am told that the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica and the Caribbean have a lot more interesting snorkeling areas. Maybe I was just tired from surfing, but it just wasn't my thing.

Turtle Tour- If you don't mind a long drive, the turtle tour is definitely the thing to do! Can't remember the name of our tour company, but our guides were very informative and answered questions well. The beach was very crowded with humans, not only turtles and birds, so I wouldn't call it a quiet, peaceful outing. The black sand beach was very interesting and beautiful, though. 

Other:

IT IS VERY HOT. I was wearing sports shorts, swim shorts, or occasionally loose, cotton shorts the entire time- even my jeans shorts felt too sweaty. 

Bring lots of sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses to keep yourself safe! If you can find it, bring coral safe sunscreen, the locals will be happy. Normal sunscreen contains chemicals that wash off when you go swimming and pollute the water.

Liberia Area

Hotel Boyeros- Hotel Boyeros is not your Best Western hotel. It is where the locals would stay if they were going on a vacation, and a much cheaper hotel. The rooms are not as fancy and might feel a little run down, but it serves its purpose well. The garden/pool area is pretty and a good place to hang out. The lunch/dinner restaurant is on the same side of the building as the highway, so it can be a bit loud. The food is good though, especially the breakfast restaurant/buffet! In short, it's certainly not fancy, but it is a good hotel.

Restaurants I Liked:

Cafe Liberia- In a cute part of town within walking distance from our hotel. The building used to be a Spanish Colonial home, and if you go in the back, you can still see the courtyard! A wider variety of tasty food. 

Other:

Liberia doesn't have a whole lot to do, but it's the only place near the Pacific coast with an airport. We only stayed for two nights (one on the trip into Costa Rica, one on the trip out), and we didn't feel like we missed a lot. 

And that's what I've got! If you have any questions feel free to comment. I might add more things as I remember them. Again, sorry for the lateness 😂

See y'all later!
-Carina