PURA VIDA! Costa Rica is calling...

What do you get when you put 15 ladies on a bus together in Costa Rica?

One wild ride!

Our Mode Travel Team had the incredible opportunity to travel to Costa Rica at the beginning of October.

We stayed four nights in the jungle, then moved to the beach for two more nights (or three for some of us).

It was a trip we will never forget.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country with multiple natural attractions. Arenal Volcano is one of their most popular distinguishing features. Rainforests, rivers, wildlife, both black and brown sandy beaches, all make up the beauty that attracts so many visitors each year. There are no shortage of adventures available in any region. If you can plan a split stay between the jungle and the beach areas, DO IT!

The wildlife is extremely abundant. You're staying in THEIR home. Keeping the country as natural as possible for the animals and environment to thrive is something that the locals pride themselves on. Ecotourism provides tourists with wonderful experiences, while also educating the importance of protecting natural resources.

We were blessed with the presence of a female three-toed sloth just hanging out at one of our resorts. It is illegal to touch the wild sloths, but we were standing literally inches away from this gorgeous girl.

Choices were given to us to choose between three different activities - horseback riding, river tubing, or visiting the wildlife sanctuary. Our group split up in order to try all of them. The day ended with laughing so hard that we cried while describing our individual encounters.

Then we headed to the Mistico Park Hanging Bridges, where we treked for two miles and across several bridges with a certified naturalist guide.

Another highlight of our trip was the Safari River Float. We filled three rafts that floated peacefully down a river in the middle of the rainforest. The guides were extremely knowledgeable with random facts about the surrounding trees and spotting animals we might've missed on our own.

But every place has its own pros and cons. While we definitely experienced more pros, there were a handful of cons that I should note. 

Car sickness - If you are staying in the jungle areas, most likely your drive from the airport is going to be 3+ hours on bumpy and hilly roads. Pack some Dramamine, even if you don't normally get sick on car rides. Trust me, it helps! The drive from the jungle to the beach resorts is another 3 hours if you're doing a split stay or an excursion. In order to cut down on driving time, there are helicopter transfers as an alternative option.

Mobility issues - One of our agents had an (almost healed) broken foot and wore a walking boot during our trip. We were amazed at how well she got around! All the resorts we visitied had options for those needing some extra help with mobility, such as golf cart shuttles. Even our excursions had options. However, I would not consider this to be the most mobile friendly country. There can be a LOT of walking up and down hills and steps if you want to get the most out of exploring.

Only a few all-inclusive resorts - Most of the vacation requests we receive for Costa Rica want an all-inclusive resort. This country is NOT the same as Mexico or the Caribbean. While they do have some all-inclusive resorts to choose from, they are all located on or near the beach. Some of the resorts in the jungle will include breakfast, but most don't have any meal inclusions. 

Now to end with a few more pros.

Unique experiences - We don't have rainforests back home. Or wild monkeys or iguanas or sloths roaming around town. Plus so much more to see and do!

Locally sourced food - Fried plantain, ceviche, rice, beans, coffee...most of the food & drinks we had were really good tasting and native to the country.

The views and the friendly people - Everywhere we looked was a picture perfect view. Whether it was the volcano right outside our villa or the ocean from our rooms at an all-inclusive resort. If you are facing a different direction or walking the hanging bridges, then the vast amount of lush trees and flowers were just as stunning. All the local people we met were also very friendly and eager to talk about their country. We felt very safe and eager to learn the whole time.

After falling in love with Costa Rica, we can't wait to send our clients to make their own memories. 

As the locals say, PURA VIDA!

 Leandra