Ann helped us plan our ten day vacation to  Costa Rica.  She saved us a lot of wasted time trying to piece our trip together from info off the internet.  She knew the distances between the destinations we wanted to visit and advised and helped us rent a 4×4 vehicle.  We had a unique experience at “Xinia’s Costa Rica Vacation Homestay B&B  near the San Jose International Airport in a pretty mountain view  Costa Rican neighborhood.  She cooked a Costa Rican dinner of Arroz con Pollo -rice with chicken,  the main dish for special occasions.  We enjoyed getting to see how a real Costa Rican family lives. We spent one afternoon with Xinia walking  around the  central park of  Alajuela “people watching,”  We visited the colorful central market,  bustling with locals buying fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, fresh flowers, and even a real live baby pig.

We traveled in our  Suzuki Jimmy to Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, and further south to Uvita Beach and Marino Ballena National Park, but did not see whales since  January is not whale season.

Highlights of our vacation were zip line in Arenal and  hiking to the Blue River in North Central Costa Rica.   Also we loved the Hummingbird Gallery in Monteverde,  viento fresco waterfalls on road to Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio National Park where we went kayaking and snorkeling.

We recommend renting a vehicle if you want to be mobile and see a lot of the countryside. Roads were good most of the way, except up to Monteverde, but that was part of the adventure.

We would like to visit Costa Rica again and see all those places we didn’t have time for on this trip, maybe go further south to the Osa Peninsula.
We are happy we called Ann to help us design our itinerary. She saved us a lot of time and frustration.   Thanks again Ann,  Irina    contact Ann   www.costaricalearn.com