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After a 7-year break, we went back to Costa Rica during the holiday season and we had a wonderful time. After visiting the Caribbean side in 2012, we decided to try the Pacific coast this time, more precisely the less travelled Osa Peninsula.   We wanted to visit Corcovado which I believe is the biggest and least visited National Park. There are 2 ways to get into the park itself: from Carate in the South (walking 3 miles into it) or from Drake Bay (via boat). We ended splitting and staying at both ends:  Luna Lodge  in the South and  Pirate Cove   at Drake Bay.  The logistics of the overall trip was tricky. It’s 6-ish hours drive from San Jose to Carate. On the way there (post red eye), we stopped at Ballena Beach for a night. Ballena Beach is on a lot of guide books, although I personally didn't feel it was worth a stop. But we thought we would need a break by then, so it was as good a place to spend the night as any other. Unfortunately, given the short...

We had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica and I want to share some of the highlights with you. We visited in late September-early October, which is usually considered to be the rainy season in Costa Rica. After some research, we determined that the East Coast of Costa Rica was going to be our best bet at this time of year. And we were not disappointed. We arrived in the evening, after a long day of travel, so we decided to spend the first night in the capital, San Jose. While we wanted to visit Costa Rica for the nature, we were glad we got to see the capital and some of the local culture. Before heading to the East coast, we spent our first morning visiting the city center, checking out the old building, watching street musicians and getting our first taste of Costa Rican fauna: the butterfly museum. It was an exciting experience for the kids. So many butterflies! In the afternoon, we left the city and headed to the South-East corner of Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo. It was a nice first stop o...