Hola! We have made several trips to Costa Rica and have to say that no trip would have been complete without a stay at La Posada. Mike, Jonathan, Estaban and the entire staff there do everything they can to make your stay comfortable and warm. From the breakfast served out on the patio to their themed food nights, everything is done with a homey feel and style that makes you think you are with family. They have, in fact, become like family to us. Whether staying in the bungalows as we did, or in the larger Casa or Villa, every one of your needs is met.
Jonathan, Marco and Estaban can all help you book tours, find local restaurants and beaches as well as hosting their dinner nights. Good food!
The hotel is located right next to the entrance of Manuel Antonio National Park and we have done the tour once. You can purchase your tickets through the hotel as well as booking any other excursions you might be interested in. Just ask the guys! There is always a table with brochures of all the area events and excursions. There is so much to see and do in this area besides admiring the obvious abundance of wildlife, some of which comes right to your door. No worries, nothing I have seen has ever been aggressive-only beautiful. 🙂
And this lovely guy below gave us an extended photos session as he sunned himself next to the pool.
Isn’t he beautiful? We have since seen a much larger version of this guy, still as magnificent.
And who wouldn’t want to sun themselves next to this lovely pool?
And the monkeys, both Capuchin and Squirrel, have come through the hotel pool area on their way to and from the beach. Great photo ops folks.
Of course one must actually leave the hotel to get to the beach. If you go to your left from the entrance as you leave the hotel, you will find yourself at the National Park entrance, but going to the right will take you up one of the roads that lead you to sand, surf and the heart of Manuel Antonio. All along the road are hotels and hostels, all with restaurants and bars that cater to walk in patrons as well as their guests. One of our favorite stops is Costa Linda, a little hostel that is always full of surfers and young people who are there to enjoy the beach. The restaurant is casual and serves typical Costa Rican food as well as burgers, breakfast and other specialties. My husband’s current favorite is the Chicken Curry. yum. For more info on Costa Linda, visit the website at http://www.costalinda-backpackers.com
If you leave the hotel and go straight across the road, there is a gravel pathway which will also take you to the beach and past some street vendors who have everything from handmade souvenirs and clothing to jewelry. Some of these things we have noticed tend to escalate in price during the “high season” and over the holidays, so if you are seeking the best bargains, you may want to go into Quepos where there are at least a dozen little shops where you can find most of these items and a few more! But do go visit the vendors. We have made some nice friends down there.
Which finally gets us to the beach! See what a short walk it was? I could live at the beach. Well, I spend better than half my time there at this point. This is one of the main entrances, although you can get onto the beach all along the Manuel Antonio/Quepos road. There are lots of vendors on the beach as well, some selling drinks and others, handmade wares. Be sure you know your money exchange for not all speak English. There is always fresh Pipa water to drink. Another of my husband’s favorites.
You can find something to drink if you never want to leave your lounging chair and umbrella, which can be rented for the day, usually no more than 5,000 colones, or $10 American. For your hand delivered drinks, you will pay a bit more but if its hot enough and you are frozen in time, you can always count on Butch!
There are parasailing, banana boat rides, surf lessons and horseback riding excursions available on the beach. I did a great parasail afternoon that was amazing. More on that later. Look for the rainbow colored sail. These guys are amazing.
When you finish at the beach you can head across the street to the Marlin or to our personal favorite upstairs, El Sol. These folks also own the supermarket, Super Joseth where you can find most things you would need on your vacation. Not the best bargain prices but for the convenience and variety, we love it. And, hey, they deliver, as do most places in Costa Rica!
We can’t leave La Posada without our Dos Locos night. Every week, the owner Mike invites any guests who would care to come along, to join him and the other guys at Dos Locos, a Mexican restaurant in Quepos. Just a short ride away, it is a fun, easy end to a day of hot excursions and busy schedules. Lots of margaritas and good beer, the food is yummy and the band is great. There are several venues that play but our nights happened to be the guys pictured here, who play classic rock, always a plus for us. On our night we ended up leaving there and going with the “youngsters” up to Bamboo Jam where we spent the rest of the evening listening to music, drinking and dancing. We closed the place down. Fun times. The best part is the chance to sit down with other guests from the hotel and find out more about the people sharing our planet that we might not have had the chance to know and may never meet up with again. Thanks, Mike, for all you do!
For more info on Dos Locos you can visit http://www.quepolandia.com, a local magazine which features ads, stories and interesting facts about this area. Come on down and see BenJammin’ and the Howlers! You’ll be glad you did.
As a PS, Mike is one of the primary reasons we chose to live in this area of Costa Rica. We consider him the Goodwill Ambassador for Manuel Antonio/Quepos.
