Costa Rica Blog » Activities

Shopping in Costa Rica

Patrick Brunelle — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:37:57 +0000

So for whatever reason when people visit me in Costa Rica, most of them always want to go to the mall to go shopping. Now don’t get me wrong, I can really enjoy a day out shopping, but in a country like Costa Rica, where there si so much to do and to see I would like to do pretty much anything but go shopping. But for you diehards out there, I decided to show you a little love and write about the top malls in Costa Rica.

Paseo de Las Flores – Heredia
This used to be one of the smallest new malls in the country, but with recent expansion it has become one of the biggest and best malls of the country. Some of the highlights include the country’s biggest gym, a new restaurant section that is actually fun to frequent at night, and lots of parking, which is not always evident in Costa Rica.

Multiplaza – Escazu
This used to be the cream of the crop, but it looks a little aged now. It is located next to the Intercontinental, so it makes for a popular choice among people staying there. Holigans in Multiplaza is one of my favorite spots to catch the game in Costa Rica.

Terra Mall – Cartago
In my opinion this is the most beautiful mall in the country with a gorgeous open air concept near the movie theater. On top of being the nicest, it is also home to the best movie theater in the country, with 2 VIP viewing rooms that even serve beer and crepes. The only drawback to this mall is the distance from San Jose, Heredia and Alajuela. You really need a car to get there.

Mall San Pedro – San Pedro
The first Mega mall of Costa Rica. Now it’s just a plain old regular mall, that is home to quite a lot of vacant shops, which makes it a little depressing shopping there. The food court is nice for a bite to eat, and the large event venue is great when there’s a show to catch, but overall, there is no reason to check this mall out, unless you’re in San Pedro.

Noches Costarricenses

Patrick Brunelle — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:38:45 +0000

This activity os one of my top choices for family and friends that come down to visit who want to cram as much Costa Rican culture, dance and food as they can in one evening. This five hour tours takes place in Parque de Diversiones, and is mostly experienced by non Costa Ricans.

The tour starts in the parking lot where they drive you to the Old Town, and your guide makes a toast to wlecome everyone. When I went they served me what might of been the worst drink I have ever had, so beware.

The majority of the evening is spent in the theater where performances dance and sing all the while teaching you about the history and geography of the culture. They ensure to cover all of the provinces in Costa Rica. My personal favorite was the Limon portion.

Your night concludes over a wonderful traditional meal shared with everyone else who had done the tour. There is a minimum 8px needed for this tour to operate.

Caño Negro Tour

Nelson Sanchez — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:39:42 +0000

The Caño Negro Tour near Arenal Costa Rica is a bird-watchers dream come true. This reserve is located two hours north from the touristic town of La Fortuna. Caño Negro is just south of Nicaragua and from the moment you arrive you realize your somewhere special. You start the tour on a boat, although there is the option of going on a canoe for about three times the price. You guides, experts at spotting animals and birds, will keep you entertained throughout. We strongly suggest bringing your own binoculars, although a set is usually provided by your activity provider. We also suggest asking your guide to take some digital pictures with the binoculars of animals or birds that are too far away to get a shot of.

Safary Float by Kayak

Patrick Brunelle — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:35:16 +0000

This activity one of our favorite activities in the Arenal area. Go kayaking down the Pinas Blancas river and witness the beauty of your surrounding area. On this calm river you will have the chance to see sloths, monkeys, caymans and much more. Another positive for this activity is the fact that it is only 20 minutes from downtown la Fortuna. Most water activities like rafting or Cano negro require you to be in the car for hours, which is tiresome. This activity does not require you to be a pro, as you float downstream the entire time.

Snorkeling (in the Osa Peninsula)

George Ellard — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:55:10 +0000

One thing that Costa Rica may not be very well known for is its sea coral. It was thus to my amazement that I discovered how great this can be when I travelled to the Osa peninsula for the first time and organized a boat trip through a local sea excursion/ tour operator in Drake Bay to go snorkelling at an island not far off the coast called Tortuga Island.

I will admit first of all that, up until this point, I had never seen a coral reef (with the exception of on television of course). Although the guides assured me repeatedly I would enjoy it, seeing as I had not heard Costa Rica was the place to go for these things, I was certainly not expecting much. In truth, I was more looking forward to seeing dolphins swimming in their
natural habitat (also organized through the tour operator for this same trip), than I was to see what I expected would be a fairly pitiful coral reef.

In spite of my reservations and expectations (or lack thereof) about the snorkelling I was very thoroughly impressed with both the price (about $20 USD with a nice lunch included) and the beauty of what could be seen during snorkelling here.

The size of the coral was nonetheless quite impressive at Tortuga . What`s more is that the coral reef was actually not the most enjoyable or memorable part of the experience. For me it was both the crystal clearness of the water that allowed one to truly experience this beautiful coral reef, along with the incredible diversity of coral fish and creatures one could find here, which is another aspect I was really not expecting.

Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable experience. If you`re ever in Drake Bay, whether you`re an experienced snorkeler and/or scuba diver or not, make sure you take a day trip to Tortuga.

Enjoy!

Baldi Hot Springs

Patrick Brunelle — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:47:14 +0000

The only place in all of Costa Rica that I have taken every single person who has visited me are the Baldi Hot Springs. Words will never due justice to this wonderland located in Arenal. Try to think of an Eco Walt Disney World, with a giant active volcano as its backdrop. Imagine a place where the options are limitless and that you will never have enough time to do everything you want to do. Baldi is just that place.

The owner never seems to stop adding to this paradise. At the moment they have 14 different pools to choose from, each of which has a different temperature. This is not set by man however, as the water is taken directly from underground rivers that are heated by the volcano´s lava. Some of the pools are so hot that they can´t be enjoyed by all.

So what should one do when going to Baldi? Try arriving around 4:30pm to be able to enjoy the spectacular sights while the sun is still out. Don´t worry about supper as they serve fabulous food right there. Be prepared for pricey drinks however, as this place is somewhat of a tourist trap. At the moment, the entrance to Baldi is $29 per person, and is definitely worth every penny.

Hanging Bridges – Worth doing?

Nelson Sanchez — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:39:23 +0000

I write this post with the idea of warning those who are looking for action and are thinking about doing the hanging bridges tour in Arenal or Monteverde. Don´t do it! Now, I can understand how someone can enjoy this activity, such as a bird watcher or a complete nature lover, but this tour is only suitable if you fit in one of those two categories. Now the guides are great, and they teach many interesting tidbits, but this causes this tour to be almost dreadfully slow. What made my experience particularly boring was the young couple with their booklet stopping the group every 5 minutes or so to ask a question.

All of the hanging bridges in the country are essentially the same. They include 12 to 28 bridges, each of which tend to be of different altitudes. These bridges do offer spectacular views of the jungle and with the right guide will allow you to see much more than if you were walking down bellow. But expect to walk for at least two hours, again, depending on the guide and group you are with.

Would I do this activity again? No way. Would I recommend it to my aunt who is a particular fan of birds, absolutely. So as always, it all depends on your tastes and what you are looking for on this particular trip.

The Montezuma Waterfall Jump!

Patrick Brunelle — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 17:13:03 +0000

One of Montezuma´s most famous attraction is the large beautiful waterfall just outside of town. The waterfall has a 50 feet drop and is especially popular place for tourists and locals to safely jump into the small river that collects the water from the waterfall. The crazy guy jumping is my friend Josh who is always looking for the enxt crazy thing to do.