Author: Dahlia

Mosquito’s in Costa Rica

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I am always asked ‘how bad are the mosquitos in Costa Rica’? They are not that bad most of the year here is Santa Teresa, with May and October being the worst. If you can get some Citronella Joss Sticks and bring them with you or some oil and burn at dawn and dusk. This is the only time they come out. What we do is get into this habit when we get up or when we are having a sunset drink. Best repellant here – Family Off Lotion….but my favourite suggestion is to get some citronella essential oil from the pharmacy, put it in a small spray bottle mixed with ylang ylang and put on ankles and wrists……doubles up as tropical perfume too!

A few tips whilst you are here in the Jungle

At night walking around, wear flip-flops.

Have a torch handy for night walks or wake ups in the night.

Shake out towels.

If shoes have been outside check before putting them on.

 

p.s  There is nothing here that kills, but best stay away from brown snakes.

 

Fancy taking the long & adventurous way to Santa Teresa?

If you fancy making your way down to the Peninsula by car, then contact Alamo and your car will be at the airport waiting for you and ask for a GPS thingy too. www.alamocostarica.com

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Driving here from San Jose

You will need to head for highway 27 out of San Jose towards Oritina and keep going straight (1.5 hours)

Head for the ferry at Puntarenas. Here are the ferry times:

Once across the bay (1 hour), you are on the Nicoya Peninsula arriving into Paquera. From here head to Tambor( 20 minutes), then Cobano (30 minutes). Go straight across the cross roads at Cobano and then a little while later (5 minutes) take the left toward Mal Pais / Santa Teresa. When you get to the sea (25 minutes), take a right and follow the main and only street till you reach your villa / hotel.

Contine reading →

Flying from San Jose to Tambor airport

Once you land in Costa Rica you either drive from Liberia (approx 4hrs) to get to us, drive the 5ish hours from San Jose or fly from San Jose to Tambor airport and then catch a 40 minute cab (or car rental meets you at Tambor)– we hugely recommend taking the last option.

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Internal flights

From San Jose to Tambor airport are about 30 mins long and there are two carriers that operate here.

Nature Air – www.natureair.com (this leaves from a different airport to the international one, so take this into account)

Sansa Air – www.flysansa.com (this leaves from the international airport)

Both cost around $100pp each way and they only allow a certain baggage allowance. Anything thereafter is costly and no surf boards.

Alternatively, if there are a group of between 5 and 11 of you flying together, it works out cheaper (and more rock ‘n roll) to charter a flight with one of our preferred private charter partners. Get in touch with me for this option and I can arrange everything for you.

Want to ban plastics from your life?

This website offers great products to help get rid of the usual and convenient plastic alternative: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/boutique/

 

I have two kids and need containers….the metal ones on here are a great option.

Easy peasy ways to banish plastic from your life

 

The Oceans are turning into a plastic soup. Did you know that every piece of plastic ever made is still in existence today. They are becoming part of daily life here in Santa Teresa, washing up on the beaches as a constant reminder of their longevity. Plastic bags, straws, bottles, utensils, lids, cups and so many others offer a small convenience but remain forever. More than this, they get ingested by the fish in the oceans that we then eat. According to Surfrider’s recent study an estimated 12,000 tons of plastic a year is being ingested into the fish of the west coast of the USA. Plastics, or more importantly, single use plastics need to be removed and refused from our lives as opposed to simply being reused.

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Here are 12 ways for you to take plastics out of your daily life. These little individual steps make a global impact.

Contine reading →

Bioluminescent phytoplankton

I have always wanted to see the UV stuff that sometimes happens in the sea, (I didn’t know it was actually called bioluminescent phytoplankton and is a plankton). I have seen it in films, even Disney films but never up close until last week. It is an awesome sight to go down to Hermosa beach at night, there is no light except the UV waves crashing on the beach. When you walk in the water it glows around your feet and my children played in magic sparkly sea dust and loved it. Put it on your top 100 things to see before you die!

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Santa Teresa beach is No 1 again

 

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I think you should come and see what all the fuss is about.  Click here for more info on the best beach in Central America according to Trip Advisor’s travellers choice poll…..