Weddingbee Blog

Sorry it took so long to write my Costa Rica review! I had a lot of catching up to do once I got back, but I’m so excited to tell you all about our trip! Costa Rica is such a gorgeous country with a little something for everyone - it was definitely one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken!

Day 1 - We arrived in San Jose and got through customs in only 15-20 min, so we had some time to kill before boarding our 25 min domestic flight to Quepos. (You can opt to drive or take a bus/cab instead - it takes about 4 hours.) We headed to a little restaurant across the street and had our first of many traditional Costa Rican meals called “casado” meaning “married.” How appropriate! Casado typically consists of white rice, black beans, fried plantains, meat and salad.

Did you notice that I brought my mini tabascos?

That’s our little, little plane.

On the same street as our hotel was Hotel Parador (where we also considered staying) and Hotel Makanda by the Sea (11 luxury villas/studios - the nicest accommodations in the area). While both these hotels offer a lot of privacy, they’re also quite a far uphill walk to the main street.

We’re here! Mariposa means butterfly in espanol. I’ve retained a decent amount of my high school Spanish so I love using it whenever I get the chance!

La Mariposa has the best view in Manuel Antonio. It was a beyond 180 degree view of endless Pacific Ocean wrapping around the hotel. Truly one of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen in my life. You should definitely have lunch at the hotel restaurant, Le Papillon.

View from our balcony of the famous National Park.

When we had dinner at the hotel the first night, the waiter not only spilled a full glass of white wine on me, but broke the glass too… right on my crotch! I had to walk back to our room to change - people prolly thought I pissed my pants. I wasn’t mad, but that should have warranted a free glass of wine at the very least no?

Day 2 - View of the sunrise from our room the next morning.

Floor to ceiling windows.

Time for our tour of Manuel Antonio National Park.

These beaches are within the park which you have to pay to get into, so they’re much less crowded than the nearby public beaches.

It was definitely worth going with a guide. Our guide had majored in ecotourism and was very knowledgable about the native Costa Rican flora and fauna. He spotted camouflaged animals we never would have seen on our own, and his telescope really came in handy!

This iguana picture was actually taken through the telescope.

Picture of bats taken through the telescope.

Woohoo the reason we’re here - to see monos aka monkeys!! Oo-oo-ee-ee-ah-ah! These capuchin monkeys are so cute, smart, and funny!

So many of them seemed to be posing for the cameras. The highlight was watching two monkeys groom each other.

You can even pet one if you wanted to they come so close! But of course you shouldn’t and you should never feed them either.

A 3 toed sloth. We saw lots of these too.

A deer walked right by us!

We saw sooo much wildlife including a toucan that flew away before I could get a picture. The National Park Tour is most definitely a must for any visitor to Manuel Antonio.

Afterwards we had lunch at the famous Cafe Milagro, known for their super dark coffee. I had a mono loco shake!

Then lounged in 1 of 2 infinity pools at our hotel. I’m now a big fan of the swim up bar.

Time for dinner! We headed to another hotel Si Como No (where we also considered staying). This is their adult pool with swimup bar.

I really liked the way Si Como No was designed because it’s built right into the forest. Since it’s close to the National Park, I’ve heard you can see a lot of monkeys right on the grounds.

The Claro Que Si restaurant on the hotel grounds. This is one of the nicer restaurants in the area.

Chicken nachos, fish, ceviche, and strawberry margaritas. Maybe it was just what we ordered, but alas it wasn’t excellent…

To be continued….