Costa Rica, here we come!!!

ScreaminSeahawk · January 2010

Thanks for all of the help on here over the last month or so... Fiji came in a close 2nd for us, but we ended up choosing the "Villas Hermosas" Resort in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

(http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g635538-d944571-Reviews-Villas_Hermosas-Santa_Teresa_Province_of_Puntarenas.html)!

My fiance and I can't wait for surfing lessons and the chance to surf every morning on our "own" beach (there are only 4 villas at the entire resort and it's so secluded that no outsiders come there). The flights, rooms, and excursions are very cheap and affordable. And one day after we booked, TravelAdvisor.com announced them as the #5 resort for Top Service in Central/South America -- which is always awesome to hear!

I do want to mention that we almost booked a resort in Fiji, and if you are thinking of booking there, be sure to call our travel agent -- Renee or Annie Marie at www.unforgettablehoneymoons.com . They were super helpful and found some amazing deals to Fiji. We just stumbled onto this place in Costa Rica a few days ago and were blown away (since the flights are cheaper with CR being closer, we will have a little extra $$ for excursions and food), so we just worked with them directly instead. BUT we are looking to work with UH again for maybe a couples trip to Fiji in the next few years. That would be sweet

!

Best of luck to everyone doing their honeymoon research... If anyone has any questions about Fiji resorts (I researched them for about a month and there are some really cool ones) or this Villas Hermosas that we chose, feel free to ask.

ScreaminSeahawk · January 2010

Thanks for all of the help on here over the last month or so... Fiji came in a close 2nd for us, but we ended up choosing the "Villas Hermosas" Resort in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

(http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g635538-d944571-Reviews-Villas_Hermosas-Santa_Teresa_Province_of_Puntarenas.html)!

My fiance and I can't wait for surfing lessons and the chance to surf every morning on our "own" beach (there are only 4 villas at the entire resort and it's so secluded that no outsiders come there). The flights, rooms, and excursions are very cheap and affordable. And one day after we booked, TravelAdvisor.com announced them as the #5 resort for Top Service in Central/South America -- which is always awesome to hear!

I do want to mention that we almost booked a resort in Fiji, and if you are thinking of booking there, be sure to call our travel agent -- Renee or Annie Marie at www.unforgettablehoneymoons.com . They were super helpful and found some amazing deals to Fiji. We just stumbled onto this place in Costa Rica a few days ago and were blown away (since the flights are cheaper with CR being closer, we will have a little extra $$ for excursions and food), so we just worked with them directly instead. BUT we are looking to work with UH again for maybe a couples trip to Fiji in the next few years. That would be sweet

!

Best of luck to everyone doing their honeymoon research... If anyone has any questions about Fiji resorts (I researched them for about a month and there are some really cool ones) or this Villas Hermosas that we chose, feel free to ask.

Lindze75 · January 2010

Congrats! When are you going? We have been looking into Costa Rica but it will be the Green Season when we would go so we keep waivering. I see that breakfast is included at Villa Hermosa; do you have any info on how far you go for your other meals or cost on food there?

Also, we would love to go to Figi but thought it would be out of our budget, did you fiind some places that weren't ridiculously more than CR? We have a HM budget of $4000...any info would be great since we need to get on it and are so indecisive!! TIA!

ScreaminSeahawk · January 2010

Thanks Lindze... Congrats to you too! We are getting married on June 19th and then leaving 2 days later for our honeymoon. And we actually have the same budget as you two.

We were looking for mainly all-inclusive places since we wanted to not worry about how much money we were spending -- but we couldn't find any all-inclusive places that were secluded and blew us away. We didn't want to be at a Sandals with 500+ people; this was more up our alley with around 20 max. Now one of my main questions I e-mailed the owners (Brad & Tara, reservations@villashermosas.com) is how far away were the restaurants. This is the answer that I got:

"As for restaurants, the last count was 59 restaurants in our town, all along a 10 km-stretch (6.21 miles). Prices range anywhere between $5 local “sodas” to $30 entrees at FlorBlanca and everywhere in between. The closest two are within 500 yards. There is also pizza delivery and another restaurant that delivers home cooking. Still, highly recommend renting wheels (you drive on the right hand side here J)." The closest liquor store is 2.5 km away (~1.55 miles).

If you read any of the TA reviews, you will see how many people talk up both the included breakfast that Tara makes for you (all you can eat) and the 5-star/4-course dinner (that they can set up with this amazing chef, that is the only pricey thing I saw there ~$90 each... we might do this once).

We are planning on flying from NC to San Jose, Costa Rica to Tambor, Costa Rica. For two of us, I the total for 2 RT tix is around $1350 ($1000 cheaper than Fiji

). We also found 4x4 rentals on the US Budget website (www.budget.com) for $150 for a 7-day rental. Don't go to the Costa Rican one -- they are twice as expensive.

Some other prices I got from both Tara and reviews on TA are:

1. Surfing - $40/2 hr lesson (including a 24hr board rental), or $10/day rental without a lesson. *I think we'll be doing this every day!

2. Snorkeling - They have free snorkels and masks that they will lend out. Now they don't have the most amazing snorkeling area of the ocean, right at the resort (like in Fiji), but they have an excursion out to a nice area and a tidal pool near by that can "trap some interesting things until the tide comes back in".

3. Boogie Boards - $8/day

4. Yoga Classes - $10/day, nearby and apparently the girl on TA talking about it LOVED it! (you won't see me doing that, lol)

5. Complimentary - central a/c, free wireless internet, Serta pillow-top beds in all rooms, full kitchens with full stoves, satellite TV and DVD players with complimentary movie rentals, even some beer and food in the "Honor System" fridge.

6. Other excursions (I remember I saw these prices to be MUCH cheaper than I saw in the Carribean and Fiji, but I can't find them at the moment): zipline (canopy) tour, fishing trips, adventure tours on ATV's (this seems to be several people's favorite excursion).

7. Tara is looking into kayaking for us since we recently got into it... She thinks there is still a place locally that takes groups out.

*What I think is REALLY COOL is that Brad and Tara sit down with their guests (if they want) to go over cool things to do in the area and will make calls to set it all up for them! If that's not service, then I don't know what is...

I highly recommend that you check out their FAQ website at: https://www.villashermosas.com/faq.html . Or just e-mail Tara... We have already e-mailed back and forth 5 times in the last 3 days and she has been SUPER helpful! They actually offered us the 2-room family room for the honeymoon room price ($175/night instead of $225/night), since the HM room was not available when we wanted to go. But I don't mind since the 2-bedroom has an amazing bathroom and shower. All I can say is giggity

.

As for Fiji, I worked with UnforgettableHoneymoons. They were very helpful for about 2 weeks narrowing down places for us to fit our adventurous pallet. The best places I found (food/travel included, ~$4300-$4600 for 5-7 nights) - Uprising Beach Resort, Rydges Hideaway, Navini Island Resort and Nanuya Island.

The Fiji destinations were just out of our price range (when you threw the price of the food in there), so we decided to look elsewhere and thought we'd save money for Fiji for maybe an anniversary or couples trip, years from now.

Man, am I still typing? Sorry for the run-on info, but I think when I find places/things I like & enjoy then I'm all about talking them up. I just bought an 8 GB SD card for my digital camera, so I plan on taking about 10,000 pics and lots of video of this place. So if it is as really as amazing as it sounds, I can help get the word out.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help with, I love to help (I'm an event coordinator for sporting events, so I enjoy this stuff already

).

Minimax052910 · January 2010

Oh gosh how exciting! When are you going??? My FI and I are planning on going to Costa Rica as well, but we haven't booked yet! We're looking at Occidental Grand Papagayo, but not sure if it's smart move....if you happen to go soon, then I want to hear all about it in case we decide to go there too! We're getting married on May 29th and leaving for honeymoon on May 31.

ScreaminSeahawk · January 2010

Minimax, I really like the pics of your resort! Have you checked it out on TripAdvisor yet? There are mixed reviews for some reason... I haven't read them in detail, but if you do and it still fits what you are looking for, then I'd say to go for it. We're leaving for Costa Rica on June 21st and are just counting down the days now. I think we have 148 days to go! I hope everything works out for you.

Costa Rica, here we come!!!

Re: Costa Rica, here we come!!!

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