After an intense year of remote teaching, virtual schooling, and living life in semi-isolation we decided to drop everything and go! Although we traveled a couple of times in the past 6 months, with all going on in our lives, it still felt like an eternity. Our family set off to explore the beautiful country of Costa Rica and it did not disappoint. We lived it up exploring Rain Forrest hotels, chasing waterfalls, hiking, boating, and volcano tours while coming face to face with sloths, vipers and we even crossed the border to Nicaragua, to set off our Summer vacation. Let’s dive in, I want to share some of our travel hacks and deets with you. Download our Costa Rica Travel Itinerary for specific details on properties, prices, tours, etc. Any questions don’t forget to send me an email. I love to hear from my travel besties.
We took a late flight into San Jose and stayed overnight at a local hotel (Details in our Costa Rica Travel Itinerary. Our suite was spacious, clean, and had a nice view of the city with mountain backdrops. We had an all-inclusive option of a buffet breakfast (Costa Rican style), which was very tasty, definitely not your typical hotel food. After breakfast, we ventured out to San Jose, by walking to the Jade Museum. Let's just say, it was a great exercise, it took about 40 minutes (we took a taxi back). The city appeared to be quiet compared to most big cities, but we have COVID to thank for that. For the shopping areas and museum district, there was a bit more foot traffic, buses and taxis present with obvious police presence as well. The locals were very friendly. Spanish is the main language, however, many were fluent in English or knew enough to communicate with us.
MIKADO NATURAL LODGE
The Mikado Natural Lodge is 4 hours away from San Jose. The closest airport is Liberia Airport, but we changed our itinerary after already booking our flights to San Jose, and decided to plan our experiences around it to explore Costa Rica to the fullest. Mikado Natural Lodge is off the beaten path but well worth it. It is a 6 cottage boutique hotel on a spacious property with well-manicured grounds, nestled in the rain forest. Once we arrived at the property we were greeted by one of the owners and host (Lolo) with the most friendly and welcoming energy. She escorted us to our room where we walked down a white graveled walkway, across a wooden bridge, and onto a verandah that made you feel like you were in a modern treehouse, with the most amazing views of the surrounding rain forest. The room was spacious and clean with 2 walls of windows that were open to bringing the outdoors in making you feel one with nature. The bathroom's design made us feel like we were having an outdoor shower yet protected from the elements one would typically find in the rain forest. We all enjoyed the pool. The meals were delicious, made fresh by the owner, and perfectly plated.
*Masks were required to be worn in all shared spaces.
ALL INCLUSIVE GOLF & SPA RESORT
After a few days at Mikado, we relocated to an all-inclusive family-friendly golf and spa resort located on Costa Rica’s North Pacific Riviera. The resort is secluded and offers an ideal balance of escape and local capture. The food was great with over 8 restaurants, a host of activities, and 24/7 room service. The resort offers plenty of activities ranging from water sports to tours and nightly shows. Our favorite part was THE FAMILY section, exclusively for families with children.
The Resort offers the best of both worlds with the pamper and luxury of an all-inclusive stay, however, when you walk off the property and onto the public beach, the locals offer everything you do not get on the hotel such as horseback riding along the beach (at your own risk), massages (at your own risk), and small souvenirs.
*Masks were required to be work in all spaces with friendly reminders, as needed from staff members.
HIGHLIGHTS
NICARAGUA: We booked a day trip/tour to Nicaragua which was a 2-hour drive. It included a traditional breakfast and lunch at local restaurants with tours of the following,
A Volcanic Crater Lake.
An active volcano where we were able to stand by and hear its rumblings.
A Colonial town and 9th oldest city in Latin America After visiting a local Chocolate factory, we toured the town via horse and carriage learning more about Its history.
We enjoyed a boat ride in Lake Nicaragua and stopped off at an island called “Monkey Island” to feed the monkeys who lived there.
COSTA RICA
We hiked through the rain forest and saw the turquoise water at Rio Celeste waterfall, truly a natural wonder.
We were fortunate to see a few species of sloths, and frogs. We even saw a viper.
We came, we saw, we conquered! We felt safe while doing so, and we will be back for more. Our goal was to see as much of the country as we could in 1 week and for the first time, only traveling with carry on luggage. Yup! We did that!!!
Returning Back to the U.S. – Expect the Unexpected
To think we traveled the world without any hiccups only to have issues upon our return is classic. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10pm, then got pushed back to 11pm. Upon checking in it was further delayed to 4am!!! The flight didn’t leave until 4:35am and we were stuck at the airport the ENTIRE time. Now of course I was upset, because had we known we could have booked another night at the hotel. However, this travel momma always plans and has her essentials. Alcohol wipes, Air cot , beach towels and our Frequent Flyer travel blankets saved the day. We stayed as comfortable as we could. When we arrived home, our first call was to Jet Blue. After explaining our inconvenience we were credited for each of us which covered the cost of our return trip!
Tip: www.airhelp.com assists with getting credits back from airlines due to delayed or canceled flights. They charge a small fee if the credit is awarded.
Looking forward to the next blog, if you have any questions let me know. If you travel and stay at any of these resorts don’t forget to tag @remytakesflight (IG) in your pictures.
Download our Costa Rica Travel Itinerary, today!