My trip review page

In keeping with my tradition since our first Costa Rica trip, I have reviewed a few hotels, restaurants, etc. and consolidated them on this page.

Trip Overview:

Excellent!

We rarely went to another country in the same calendar year, but this time we did. Partly this was because I had a mandatory week off between Christmas and New Year's Day, but, more importantly, we really liked Costa Rica on our first trip, so we gladly booked a return trip.

Because of the shorter length of the trip, this time we mainly stayed near the capital city of San Jose, and most of our time was spent at Bosque de Paz Lodge. This worked out nicely -- for the most part we were just relazing at the lodge and enjoying nature, but we had highlighted the trip with two visits to Irazu and Poas volcanoes. Overall it was a well-balanced itinerary.

Detailed reviews of hotels, restaurants, tours and transportation services:

Without further ado I will list my reviews of the airlines, hotels, restaurants, tours and transportation services we have used on this trip.

Trip Planner/Travel Agency

• AnywhereCostaRica.com: Highly Recommended! Again, we used this agency for transportation and tours (we booked hotels ourselves). Everything went smoothly with no surprise; they really take the anxiety of travelling in a foreign country out of the equation, and I would highly recommend them, especially for transportation services. See my detailed Tripadvisor review (this was written after our first trip to Costa Rica) here.

Hotels

• Bosque de Paz in Bajos del Toro: Recommended! Hidden gem in a natural setting, abundant wildlife, including some in your room (read my detailed reviews), recommended, but you should get yourself prepared. See my detailed Tripadvisor review here.
• Hyatt Place in San Jose/Pinares: Recommended! Convenient location and clean rooms at affordable price. See my detailed Tripadvisor review here.
• Aloft Hotel in San Jose/Santa Ana: Highly Recommended! Convenient location and clean rooms at affordable priceSee my detailed Tripadvisor review here.

Restaurants

• Inka Grill restaurant in Lindora/San Jose: Recommended Good ambience, nice presentation of food, but pricey. See my detailed Tripadvisor review here.

Tours, transportation and other services

• Irazu and Poas volcanoes day tours with Expediciones Tropicales: Recommended The tour guides are good, but tours can be a little rushed; recommended for first-time visitors, but you could probably do it yourself. See my detailed Tripadvisor review here.

That's all for the review. For pictures and narratives of each place we visited, please click the thumbnail images below:

Pura Vida!

Click the image below to return to the index page of 2016 Costa Rica 2:



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