The place we chose for our 2 night stay was Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Spa & Hotel. This is a beautiful boutique hotel nested over 75 acres of land in the middle of the cloud forest. Just one hour away from San Jose, Costa Rica. The San Ramon area is beautiful, as I mentioned before it is part of the cost Rican cloud forest. In the afternoon you feel as if you were in a different world. It gets really cloudy. On the other hand if you wake up early in the morning you will enjoy a breathtaking clear blue sky.

The hotel offers a wide range of Spa treatments, a restaurant where you will find traditional Costa Rican food and hiking trails. This makes it the perfect place for a romantic honeymoon or an exciting family vacation. It also offers 35 comfortable casitas and 5 honeymoon casitas.

There were so many things I loved about this hotel but the one I loved the most was their dairy farm. Here you get the opportunity to learn how to milk a cow and there is a delicious and rewarding glass of fresh milk cow after that wonderful experience. We stayed in a luxurious cabin. It was cozy and spacious and had a huge shower. I also spent a lot of time just touring the trails of the property.

As I could see this place attracts a lot of families, that’s because this is a very kid friendly hotel, but also because San Ramon is a great place to explore a whole new world. This turned out to be a great mini family vacation and I’ll definitely go back to explore the San Ramon’s cloud forest.

Note: Bring lots of warm clothes, it gets really cold at night.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Let’s not get hung up in the negatives before we begin. We should think and become more analytical. Let’s take a look at the for and against register on how we could visit costa rica on a budget or make a plan to start saving money to travel and have the opportunity to see a place such as costa rica. and consider them one by one.

Well, the truth that I believe in is that if you ever do want to accomplish something in this lifetime, you must not just hang around the house drinking cool aid and thinking that it will come from the sky. It won’t. If you have a dream then you must spring into action asap and start trying and studying the possibilities so that you can then start putting that possibility into some sort of action plan.

If you look at it objectively, you will realize that traveling to Costa Rica or buying into some Travel Vacation Package going anywhere in the world is up to you. It is not as difficult as you think and if you start moving towards realizing that dream, there are steps that you can start taking today that will make that dream closer and closer to being reality. What is it that attracts you to a place, where do you want to go? How bad do you want to go there?

Third and lastly, you will definately get the satisfaction of being able to say you have been there. Be it a vacation in Costa Rica, Brazil or just good old Florida, take the time to enjoy yourself and the best that life has to offer. . Which is going to result in a feeling of greater self realization and pleasure like you have never felt before. And, furthermore, added to that, you you will be ready to go back to the rat race with much more vitality and a new tan to boot!

Once you have had time to review the reasons, and consider them, you’ll find that a very good case can be made in support of visiting costa rica or taking a vacation to an exotic world destination..

What do you say? If the reasons you have come up with are not good enough to make you move yourself off the couch and into an airplane destined to Costa Rica, then I don’t know what will.

For more infoon Hotels in Costa Rica, visit our Costa Rica Vacations website at http://www.costaricatravelpoints.com

This is a pulsating cultural capital of Costa Rica that is full of museums, theaters, delicious international restaurants, and great shopping. Many travelers make this their home base for day trips to some of the country’s most popular attractions: Volcano Poas and Irazu, coffee planation tours, nature parks and a lot more.

Whenever I visit San Jose I like to stay in Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Inn. It is a luxurious boutique hotel located in the middle of Heredia’s cloud forest in Costa Rica. The hotel offers two luxurious master suites and eleven spacious and well decorated junior suites. All of their rooms include a jacuzzi, a mini bar and private verandas overlooking Costa Rica’s Central Valley. It is perfect for a romantic getaway of a family vacation.

An outstanding characteristic of this hotel was the staff was because they are not only nice. They are also very thoughtful and helpful. We stayed here for a couple of nights and it was a great way to spend a long family weekend. I wish I could have stayed longer

Our Room had a living room and a private patio but what I loved the most was the huge and beautiful bathroom. What was so fantastic about the rooms is the fact that even if we stayed in one of the smallest rooms of the hotel is was still very spacious and comfortable.

And the grounds are beautiful. Whenever I wasn’t exploring the city I spent a lot of time exploring it as my son ran around. Also the restaurant offers so much more than delicious food. There is an amazing view of the nearby San Jose City.

It is definitely a great place to visit if you are in the Central Valley because it is close to Alajuela, Escazu, Grecia and Santa Ana.

Marina K. Villatoro, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She has traveled all over these areas with her family and now she loves to organize vacations to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip! Check here for free reprint licence: Reasons To Visit San Jose, Costa Rica.

2. Hanging bridges Tour: In them you get one of the most spectacular views of the area. These tours take place in the forest and take you along trails and huge bridges over the forest.

3. Sky Tram: This is what I like to call the relaxed version of the canopy tour. In it you will travel along the forest canopy sitting in gondolas. This allows you to see animals hiding in the trees.

4. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve: This is a great place to for going in a hiking tour. Here you can explore the cloud forest and learn about its flora and fauna.

5. The San Luis Waterfall: This is a beautiful waterfall located in private property. For a small entrance fee you can enjoy hike through the forest to the waterfall.

6. Horseback Riding: The most common horseback riding tour of the Monteverde area is the one that takes you to the San Luis Waterfall. This is a very scenic and relaxing tour.

7. Orchid Garden: Right now they have more than 450 different species including the smallest orchid in the world. This is a project that has one of the biggest orchid collections in Costa Rica.

8. Visit ti the Frog Pond: They have over 25 frog species, including the famous Red Eyed Frog. This is a small zoo for frogs but they also have some other reptiles. Kids love it here

9. Take a Trip to the Serpentarium: In it you will find snakes, vipers, lizards, frogs and all sorts of reptiles. As you can see this is a reptile only zoo.

10. Insectarium: This is a great place for insect lovers. Here you will find thousands of different species. This is also the place where a great collection of insects is located called The Jewels of Costa Rica.

11. Don Juan Coffee tour: Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about how coffee is made. It is a tour along an authentic coffee farm where excellent coffee is harvested and processed.

12. The Bat Jungle Exhibit: Here you will be able to see and learn about these beautiful yet misunderstood creatures. In the exhibit there are more that 40 live bats of 7 different species.

13. Hummingbird Gallery: It is home to mere than 100 hummingbirds from 14 different species of these fast flying birds. It is located right next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She has traveled here extensively. Now loves organizing vacations to this amazing part of the world, having first hand experience of all the places with her family. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

For me this hotel was so great the it deserves an honorific mention. What’s great about it is that it’s very private, there are only 10 villas and a villa exclusive for honeymoons spread over 7 acres of land. This assures that if you take your family there they won’t bother anyone.

When we visited this fabulous place we stayed at the hotel only for a couple of nights but I wish I had more time. This place was wonderful and I didn’t want to leave. We asked for the closes room to the beach and luckily for me it was available. This was perfect because I love the sounds of the sea. The room over all was beautiful with air conditioner and a wonderful tropical decoration. But the bathroom was something else. It was an open-air bathroom.

Some Friends had told me some wonderful things about the food here so I couldn’t wait to try it. The food at FB was pricey, but top-notch. Lots of fresh seafood and the best sushi we’ve ever had.

This place also offers a beautiful swimming pool, a spa and yoga classes.

But the hotel wasn’t the only great thing about our trip to the Nicoya Peninsula. We also went on a couple of fantastic tours. The first day we went on a super exciting canopy tour where we got the opportunity to see so much wildlife, it was great. The next day we went on a super relaxing and fun horseback ride. The horses were beautiful and the scenery was even better.

I had a great time here and would highly recommend the Nicoya Peninsula to any traveler that wants to visit Costa Rica.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. Having first hand experience of all the places with her family, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Right after that we started our walk up through an easy trail to the crater of the volcano. This relaxing walk took only ten minutes. And again the walk was very scenic. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the crater was when I saw it. It has turquoise blue gurgling steam and occasionally it burped sulfurous mud and sprayed hot steamy water high into the sky. I was so glad we got there early because the clouds were starting to obstruct the view of the crater s we started our way back.

Back at the visitor’s center we were so excited that we wanted more. So we decided to go in one more hiking trip. This time we started walking up another trail which leads to the old, beautiful and extinct crater. Nowadays it’s filled with jade colored water. The way up is a trail between a high altitude rainforest where I had a great time looking for some wildlife.

On the way back we stopped at Freda Fresas for lunch. This Costa Rican restaurant serves dishes with all kinds of fresh produce from the region. We decided to order the Casado. It is the most typical lunch there is in Costa Rica. I was quite surprised when I first saw it, it consisted of rice and black bean, picadillo, fried plantains, farmers cheese with corn tortillas and chicken in a tomato sauce. And for desert I asked for a cake called “tres leches” or three milk cake and a cup of hot Costa Rican cappuccino.

This is a great day trip for anyone, so if you are in San Jose or Alajuela you can’t miss this adventure.

Marina K. Villatoro, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She has traveled all over these areas with her family and now she loves to organize vacations to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip! Free reprint avaialable from: Poas Volcano National Park – Costa Rica.

The name of our captain and guide for this adventure was Cory and he has had over 15 years experience fishing, has taken out professional fishermen and showed them the best times of their lives, yet I feel his job is a lot easier when he’s out with fellow fishermen, rather newbies such as us. Anyway he made our first fishing experience so fun, that my husband is already making plans for another one.

Our in shore adventure started with a 20 minute boat ride to the middle of Golfo Dulce. Once we anchored the boat Cory was kind enough to prepare all the rods. And oh my god! when the first bite happened the adrenaline that started to flow through us was hard to describe. I couldn’t believe that in my first fishing trip two bites came at once. I was so grad that Cory was with us, because he directed me to one while my husband was struggled with the other.

After a long and hard fight my husband, with Cory’s help, lifted out a beutiful Jack Cravel that weighed no less than twenty pounds and was breathing almost as hard as my husband. Meanwhile I was still on the other side of the boat fighting for my life with a fish that was dragging me all over the place. It was pulling so hard I was ready to throw myself over, or at least the rod. Finally after the excitement of the Jack Cravel fainted and the fish was released back to sea, all attention turned to me. Cory expertly took the rod from me and handed it over to my husband who managed to reel in a gorgeous fifty pound Rooster-fish.

But that’s not all. The best part of the trip for me was on the way back to the pier, right as the sun began to set over the Osa Peninsula. We were intercepted by a friendly group of dolphins. We had the time of our lives as the dolphins danced and jumped out of the water leading us straight to home.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

And it is a beautiful Caribbean style hotel. I was completely impressed when I first walked in to this hotel. The reason? The pictures I had seen from it in the internet weren’t false and fixed up, everything looked the same and even better. The place was beautifully landscaped with a tropical garden and plenty of open spaces. But let me tell you what this beautiful hotel is all about:

It consists on a series of free standing rancho-style casitas made out of wood that are sold in packages with tours and meals. I have to admit that this wasn’t exactly something I was thrilled about but I was so wrong. Me and my family had a great time doing the tours that our package offered. We even decided to go in some extra ones.But the most outstanding this about this hotel is that it is in the best location a hotel could be in. To understand what I’m talking about picture yourself being in a hotel that is between the beach and the rain forest and really close to endangered sea turtles nesting sites. I still can’t believe it.

To understand what I’m talking about picture yourself being in a hotel that is between the beach and the rain forest and really close to endangered sea turtles nesting sites. I still can’t believe it. This place is simply perfect for vacations, it doesn’t matter if you are coming with friends, with family. Even honeymooners are 100% welcome here because as I found out being there they have a special honeymoon room. I can only imagine what a honeymoon here would be like!

To sum it all there is to say about this place is that I absolutely love it, the rooms, the gardens the food and the staff are great. Specially the food, it was delicious and the portions were big. So don’t you dare to skip this place on your Costa Rican Vacation, I’m sure you will love it.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. Having first hand experience of all the places with her family, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

After doing a lot of research we decided that we were going to get there by Nature Air. Nature air is an ecological airline here Costa Rica. At first I was a bit worried about flying in these small prop planes but when we were on mid flight I brought myself to look out the window, the view was simply gorgeous. The tiny airport we landed in wasn’t great but it was ok.

The trip was a great adventure. First we jumped on the back of a pick up truck and after a long ride of bouncing up and down a dirt road that took around 40 minutes, we found the place we were staying in.

Our accommodations were just steps away from the beach but away from the main town of Puerto Jimenez. This was a grat opportunity for us to relax and forget about the rest of the world. So instead of trying to get to the town we decided to visit the Corcovado National Park. We had our time limited in the park but luckily we were able to see a lot of wildlife such as monkeys, iguanas and many colorful birds. And let me tell you what the National Geographic calls Corcovado National Park is tru this is definitely the “most biologically intense place on Earth”.

Just one word of advice for you adventurous travelers if you do go to the Osa Peninsula avoid the rainy season. If you don’t you will be stuck along muddy and flooded roads. It is also a good idea to always travel by air to save time.

Marina K. Villatoro, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She has traveled all over these areas with her family and now she loves to organize vacations to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip! Free reprint avaialable from: Getting To The Osa Peninsula.

They mainly eat small fish, frogs and aquatic arthropods, but may take any invertebrate or vertebrate prey they can catch, including such animals like leeches and mice. The Green Heron is relatively small their adult body length is about 44 cm. The oldest know wild green heron was a banded bird that was captured when it was almost 8 years old. Yet there is very little information on lifespan in these birds.

The clutch is usually 2-5, rarely up to 8 bluish-white glossy eggs. After the last egg has been laid, both parents incubate for about 19-25 days until hatching, and feed the young birds. The young sometimes start to leave the nest at 16 days of age, but definitely leave until 30-35 days old. During courtship, the male makes noisy wing beats and calls in flight, and sometimes calls to the female before landing again. This species is most active during dusk and dawn, if anything these birds are nocturnal rather than diurnal, preferring to retreat to sheltered areas in daytime.

Human activities have had their effect on these guys. It is known that green herons were sometimes hunted for food. But the most impact is caused by fish hatcheries that kill green herons to prevent them eating their young fish.

Green herons live as far north as southern Canada and as far south as northern South America. Most populations are migratory.

Marina K. Villatoro, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She has traveled all over these areas with her family and now she loves to organize vacations to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!