Hit or Miss Tours in Manuel Antonio

The mangrove tour was amazing, but the other tours I went on…not so much. But just because I didn’t enjoy them doesn’t mean other people won’t love them.

Horseback Riding

This horseback expedition will give you the opportunity to enjoy one of the most beautiful landscapes in the area while riding through primary rain forest and alongside waterfalls and a view of the valley. Discover the secrets of the forest and learn about exotic medicinal plants. To top off this unforgettable experience, the group will stop and take a dip in a natural pool, fed by the waterfalls of Quebrada Arroyo. Lunch or dinner is included.

The good:

 I went on this trip with my dad. Our tour guide was an English-speaking native who was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area. He told us all about the local agriculture and plant-life and the way Costa Ricans use certain plants and flowers as herbal remedies. The horses were very calm and well-behaved. I had rode horses and ponies a few times before in my life, so it wasn’t a completely new experience. The scenery was beautiful and the stream that we swam in at the end was very refreshing

The bad:

The drive from our hotel to the horse ranch was VERY long, and to be honest I thought they were taking us to a remote location to kill us or sell us off into slavery. When we got there, the “restaurant” was a bit run down. They gave us some orange juice and some rice and beans. The orange juice was warm. However, the biggest problem for me was the bugs. Apparently my bug spray was not very effective because bugs kept landing all over me. I’m talking gigantic bugs and flies. Bugs are much bigger in Costa Rica. But I must give our guide credit for putting up with me every 2 seconds when I would start screaming.

My dad and I at the restaurant

Villa Vanilla

The Spice Plantation Tour is a half day tour and is available in the morning or afternoon.  You will experience the sights, tastes, and aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, pepper and other tropical spices, essential oil plants, and a wide variety of tropical ornamental plants.

The good:

We had a nice American tour guide who told us all about the plantation and what they grow. He showed us the way that vanilla is grown, cultivated, and processed. He even taught us how to pollinate vanilla flowers. After walking through the plantation, they brought us to a tree house where we got to taste some drinks and cookies prepared from spices on the farm. The tour ended at their “Spice Shoppe”, which is filled with stuff that they grew on the plantation like vanilla beans, cinnamon, pepper, and other spices.

The bad:

It rained the whole day which isn’t really surprising for the rain forest in the middle of the rainy season. Also there were 3 rude Canadian women who were talking the whole time and hogging the tour guide.

Lovely view

Things to do in the Manuel Antonio Area

So I didn’t just go to Costa Rica to sit around by the pool and the beach. I wanted to see what Costa Rica is the most famous for; the nature and wildlife.

Damas Mangrove Tour

This tour takes place at Isla Damas, which is a small island in the vicinity of Quepos. It contains estuaries lined with intricate mangroves. An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Some of the creatures you can find on this island include capuchin monkeys, sloths, iguanas, crocodiles, spectacled caimans, boas, crab-eating raccoons and silky anteaters, as well as crabs and numerous species of birds. Boat and kayak tours are popular excursions for tourists staying the in Quepos and Manuel Antonio areas.

Tour Review

Our tour guide was very friendly and informative, but I was not optimistic when he said that he could not guarantee we would see monkeys that day. In the beginning of the tour we saw some interesting birds and some iguanas, but I was afraid that this was all we would see. Our tour guide said that in order for the monkeys to come out of the trees and close to our boat, he needed to use his ridiculous monkey call, which sounded like GNOC GNOC GNOC. As crazy as he seemed, the monkeys started appearing like magic. They actually climbed onto the boat. As one got close to my mom, she started baby-talking to it and then it hissed at her and showed its fangs. Although it looked as if it was ready to attack, showing their fangs is just a defense mechanism because capuchin monkeys are not violent. Anyway, the tour turned out to be great and I got some amazing monkey pictures. The tour cost $40 and this included lunch at a local restaurant.

Inside the mangrove

A pensive capuchin

Angry capuchin

Determined capuchin

The Canada/New England Cruise

When most people think of a cruise they think of going somewhere sunny and tropical. This is why I was weary about taking a cruise to Canada and New England. I had been on cruises before, but to places like Bermuda and Mexico. I ended up going on the cruise in early September, 2008. They say that fall is the best time to go to the Northeast. Each time my family has gone on a cruise, we have used a different cruise line. Our Celebrity cruise was nice, our Carnival one not so much. I will go off on Carnival another day. This time we chose Princess Cruises.

On this cruise, the ports were Halifax, Nova Scotia, Saint John, New Brunswick, Bar Harbor, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island, and Boston Massachusetts. At the first stop of Halifax, Nova Scotia, we chose the Coastal Drive to Peggy’s Cove excursion. Peggy’s Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Peggy’s cove is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Nova Scotia and is famous for its lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the most-photographed structures in Canada and one of the most recognizable lighthouses in the world.

A picture I took of Peggy's Cove

I picture I took of the lighthouse

Our next stop was Saint John, New Brunswick. This place was probably the coldest of all the places we visited. Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. It is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. For our excursion here, we took a horse-drawn trolley tour. It was fairly interesting.  Saint John is home to the Reversing Falls, where the highest tides in the world reverse the flow of the St. John River. The bay’s tidal action is affected by the funnel shape of the bay and by the phases of the moon.

Next stop: Bar Harbor, Maine. Bar Harbor was pretty awesome. It is a small coastal resort town on Mount Desert Island and has many shops, restaurants, hotels, cottages, and inns. Here, we went on a tour of Acadia National Park which included a lobster bake. Acadia National Park consists of 41,000 acres of rocky coast on Mount Desert Island. In the park you can find granite cliffs side by side with sand and cobblestone beaches. There are glacier-carved mountains with deep lakes in their valleys as well as meadows, marshes, and evergreen forests. Acadia National Park is Maine’s most visited attraction. More than 2 million people a year come to climb (or drive) the miles of 19th century carriage roads leading to the vistas of the island’s mountains.

A picture I took of Acadia National Park

The coolest place at Acadia National Park is probably Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is a small inlet where the waves of the ocean roll into. At the end of the inlet, there is a small cavern where, when a wave arrives, the air and water is forced out like a clap of thunder. Sometimes the water can spout as high as 40 feet!

Even more things to see and do in Costa Rica

Canopy Tour

• Go on a canopy tour. One of the best ways to explore Costa Rica’s rainforests is by a canopy tour. Canopy tours were originally developed by US scientists who were trying to study trees without touching the plant, animal, or insect life on the limbs and trunks. Canopy tours are considered better than hiking tours because the view is unmatched. The rainforests often have dense plant live and the ground can get very dark, making it difficult to see everything clearly. There are many walkways throughout Costa Rica’s forests that have bridges strung across a valley from where you can walk above the rainforest canopy and get an aerial view of the forest below. The most popular form of canopy tour is the kind where platforms are built into the strongest trees and a zip line is strung in between them. This allows tourists to zipline across the forest from tree to tree on these lines with the help of a safety harness.
• Check out the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. The Monteverde Cloud Forest is a very popular ecotourism desination in Costa Rica. With it’s unique cloud canopy, Monteverde is one of the most breathtaking nature reserves in the world. Cloud forests usually receive much less rain in comparison to rainforests. However, since cloud forests are located at a higher altitude, they have more humidity and are therefore cloudier than rainforests. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve covers an area of 26,000 acres and is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and trees, 100 species of mammals, over 400 species of birds, and roughly 1,200 species of amphibians and reptiles. When exlploring the forest, it is likely that you will see a variety of birds and animals including, bellbirds, guans, toucanets, jaguars, pumas, monkeys, and the golden toad, a species of toad that only exists in the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
• Go scuba diving. One of the best ways to get a view of Costa Rica’s underwater marine life is by scuba diving. Scuba diving is extremely popular in Costa Rica at the moment, with many tour groups and travel agencies offering scuba trips and excursions. The water in Costa Rica is ideal throughout the year and perfect to see massive schools of fish and marine life. The most popular scuba diving locations are Playas del Coco, Play Hermosa and Playa Ocotal. If you visit these places, you can see giant manta rays and swim alongside brightly colored tropical fish. Another extrememly popular scuba diving spot is the Isla del Cano, which is said to be the best place to scuba dive in Costa Rica. The Isla del Cano is home to 18 species of coral, 3 species of dolphin and 57 different species of crustaceans.

Monteverde Cloud ForestScuba diver in Manuel Antonio

 

Scuba Diver in Manuel Antonio

These are just SOME of the many things to see and do in Costa Rica. I just decided to talk about the things that I thought looked the most interesting and fun. My next blog will be about a certain cruise that I really underestimated before taking.

Destination of the Week: Costa Rica

The destination of the week is Costa Rica. Partly because I am going there in June and partly because it is just awesome. Costa Rica is located in Central America, and although it covers just 0.1% of the planet’s land mass, it is home to around  of the world’s biodiversity. Basically, if you love nature, Costa Rica is the place to go. The country consists of twenty six national parks spread across the country. Costa Rica is home to many rain forests and tropical dry forests that contain an assortment of birds, monkeys, lizards, snakes, sloths, butterflies, and frogs. Tourists travel here to see some of the rarest wildlife on the planet including Scarlet Macaws, Morpho butterflies, Leatherback turtles, and the tiny Central American squirrel monkey. Many people take canopy tours where they zipline across the forest for incredible views of the jungle beneath them.

Manuel Antonio National Park

Things to see and do in Costa Rica

• Witness active volcanoes such as the Volcan Arenal and Irazu erupt daily. The Northern Lowlands and the Volcan Arenal are considered to be one of the most spectacular regions in the country and one of Costa Rica’s hottest tourist destinations. The Arenal Volcano is one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world and spews molten rocks and ash from its summit on a daily basis. The Irazu Volcano National Park is one of the most frequented parks in Costa Rica. It is home to the Irazu volcano, which is the largest and highest active volcano in Costa Rica and stands at around 11,260 feet. A major attraction of the Irazu Volcano National Park is the Diego de la Haya crater that has a 300 meter green-colored lake in the center of it.
• Go surfing. Costa Rica is known as a top surfing destination. The beaches are clean and rarely crowded. Over the years, Costa Rica has become a favorite surfer hangout, especially for those who want to take on some of the most challenging waves in the world. Costa Rica has warm water year round and over 50 famous surf breaks along its shoreline.
• See Manuel Antonio National Park. Manuel Antonio Park is the most popular national park in Costa Rica as well as the most visited park in the country. The park is home to a large variety of birds and wildlife and has some of the best beaches in the entire country. These beaches offer many water sport activities and are lined with lush green forestation. Swimming conditions on some of the beaches in the park are fantastic, which makes them perfect for snorkeling. Manuel Antonio National Park consists of four beaches; The Espadilla Sur, the Playita, the Manuel Antonio, and the Escondido. Manuel Antonio is the prettiest of all the beaches with white sand and an amazing offshore coral reef. In the park you can see sloths, iguanas, peccaries, armadillos, coatimundis, and scarlet macaws. However, the most popular animals here are the monkeys. The park is also the home of about 350 species of birds as well as a number of lizards and other insects.

The Irazu Volcano

Surfer in Tamarindo