Will & Lorri's Guidebook
Food scene
El Avion is the restaurant most tourists want to see. It's very large. Super cool. Their website is good and the menu is available.
https://www.elavion.net/
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El Avion
El Avion is the restaurant most tourists want to see. It's very large. Super cool. Their website is good and the menu is available.
https://www.elavion.net/
We really like El Arado's food. It's highly rated. The restaurant is a little off the beaten path which means you need to make one turn off of the main road. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g309274-d2258089-Reviews-El_Arado_Restaurant-Manuel_Antonio_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
Restaurante el Arado
Calle ViejaWe really like El Arado's food. It's highly rated. The restaurant is a little off the beaten path which means you need to make one turn off of the main road. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g309274-d2258089-Reviews-El_Arado_Restaurant-Manuel_Antonio_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
Our new favorite place to eat is Ape’s. Ape Eclectic Social Bar. No website but you can check out Trip Advisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g309274-d19494113-Reviews-Ape_Eclectic_Social_Bar-Manuel_Antonio_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
Ape Eclectic Social Bar
Our new favorite place to eat is Ape’s. Ape Eclectic Social Bar. No website but you can check out Trip Advisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g309274-d19494113-Reviews-Ape_Eclectic_Social_Bar-Manuel_Antonio_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
El Lagarto BBQ is our old favorite place. (Ape is new, guess we’re a little fickle) It’s a stunning restaurant with a gorgeous sunset view. http://www.ellagartobbq.com/
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El Lagarto
El Lagarto BBQ is our old favorite place. (Ape is new, guess we’re a little fickle) It’s a stunning restaurant with a gorgeous sunset view. http://www.ellagartobbq.com/
David is better at recommending restaurants at the Marina. I love the atmosphere and the view. We like the Double Hook restaurant. For other restaurants at the Marina https://marinapezvela.com/
Double Hook Sports Bar
David is better at recommending restaurants at the Marina. I love the atmosphere and the view. We like the Double Hook restaurant. For other restaurants at the Marina https://marinapezvela.com/
Vegan: (We are not vegan but one of our guests included this in her review)
"Really enjoyed two meals at La Luna. A little pricey compared to some of the local places but offered wonderful vegan/vegetarian options for my vegan son and his girlfriend."
La Luna Restaurant
Vegan: (We are not vegan but one of our guests included this in her review)
"Really enjoyed two meals at La Luna. A little pricey compared to some of the local places but offered wonderful vegan/vegetarian options for my vegan son and his girlfriend."
Café Milagro is a great place for coffee and breakfast!
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Café Milagro Coffee Roasters
Café Milagro is a great place for coffee and breakfast!
Emilio's Cafe has great coffee and dessert. We like to get their very reasonably priced desserts to go.
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Emilio's Cafe
Emilio's Cafe has great coffee and dessert. We like to get their very reasonably priced desserts to go.
This Pali Grocery Store store was built in 2020 and is right down the road from Finca Se Ve Bien.
Pali is owned by Walmart. You’ll have to park on the road if their small parking lot is filled. Good for a quick shop for staples. Leaving the Finca go left. It is down the road on the right hand side. Maybe a 5 minute drive from our place.
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Palí
Calle 5This Pali Grocery Store store was built in 2020 and is right down the road from Finca Se Ve Bien.
Pali is owned by Walmart. You’ll have to park on the road if their small parking lot is filled. Good for a quick shop for staples. Leaving the Finca go left. It is down the road on the right hand side. Maybe a 5 minute drive from our place.
BM Grocery store is not owned by Walmart. It is probably the cleanest grocery store in the area. Great parking. If you are going to do a lot of grocery shopping I would recommend the BM. Nope, I'm not kidding. They definitely cater to English speaking tourists but didn't do there homework for the name of the store. They have several clerks that speak English that can help you. I'm assuming you don't have anyone who speaks Spanish. Maybe you do :) 10 minutes from our place.
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Super Mercados BM
BM Grocery store is not owned by Walmart. It is probably the cleanest grocery store in the area. Great parking. If you are going to do a lot of grocery shopping I would recommend the BM. Nope, I'm not kidding. They definitely cater to English speaking tourists but didn't do there homework for the name of the store. They have several clerks that speak English that can help you. I'm assuming you don't have anyone who speaks Spanish. Maybe you do :) 10 minutes from our place.
An easy drive and good parking. It has a lot of stuff including alcohol and beer. David likes this store. When leaving the Finca go right and go into town. You will see a Farmacia and Pali grocery store on your right. Two seconds later on the left is Mini-Price. Look for the smallish sign. Parking is on the left side of the building. Around 8 minutes from our place.
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Mini price Store
An easy drive and good parking. It has a lot of stuff including alcohol and beer. David likes this store. When leaving the Finca go right and go into town. You will see a Farmacia and Pali grocery store on your right. Two seconds later on the left is Mini-Price. Look for the smallish sign. Parking is on the left side of the building. Around 8 minutes from our place.
For the Grill:
Meat: We recommend Henry's Butcher shop which is about a six minute drive from our place. If interested, let David know and he'll provide directions. Henry's also has some fruits and vegetables. We also recommend Costa Rican yellowish sweet potatoes.
Centro De Carnes Henry
For the Grill:
Meat: We recommend Henry's Butcher shop which is about a six minute drive from our place. If interested, let David know and he'll provide directions. Henry's also has some fruits and vegetables. We also recommend Costa Rican yellowish sweet potatoes.
For the grill: Fish
Fresh fish, so good! If there was no traffic it would be 20 seconds from the Quepos sign; same side of the street. It's just past the restaurant and has about three parking spaces in front of it. It's small so keep your eyes peeled. Tuna, we cook on the grill. Look up directions. You don't want to overcook it. Dorado (Mahi Mahi) is our favorite, so incredibly good. I put a frying pan on the grill burner and cook it in brown butter.
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Quepos
For the grill: Fish
Fresh fish, so good! If there was no traffic it would be 20 seconds from the Quepos sign; same side of the street. It's just past the restaurant and has about three parking spaces in front of it. It's small so keep your eyes peeled. Tuna, we cook on the grill. Look up directions. You don't want to overcook it. Dorado (Mahi Mahi) is our favorite, so incredibly good. I put a frying pan on the grill burner and cook it in brown butter.
Farmer's Market
Quepos has a quaint farmer's market Friday and Saturdays until noon. Check with David for the current location and times.
You can see reviews and pictures:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g309289-d1806830-Reviews-Farmers_Fair_Ferias_del_Agricultor-Quepos_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
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Farmers Market
Farmer's Market
Quepos has a quaint farmer's market Friday and Saturdays until noon. Check with David for the current location and times.
You can see reviews and pictures:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g309289-d1806830-Reviews-Farmers_Fair_Ferias_del_Agricultor-Quepos_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
Sightseeing
This is one of our favorite tours. It is the only tour we have repeated more than twice.
https://catamaranadventurescr.com/
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Ocean King Catamaran Adventures Manuel Antonio
Paseo del MarThis is one of our favorite tours. It is the only tour we have repeated more than twice.
https://catamaranadventurescr.com/
We love the Rainmaker Tour https://www.rainmakercostarica.org/
Rainmaker was featured on the TV show Amazing Race (season 8 episode 6). It has many suspension bridges and absolutely breathtaking views.
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Rainmaker
Red Vial Cantonal 100We love the Rainmaker Tour https://www.rainmakercostarica.org/
Rainmaker was featured on the TV show Amazing Race (season 8 episode 6). It has many suspension bridges and absolutely breathtaking views.
David can book tours for you. He also recommends using a guide for Manuel Antonio Park. They will point out things you normally would not see. The guide would get your tickets. If you go on your own, get there early to be sure you get in.
Wildlife Manuel Beach & Park
https://manuelantoniopark.com/
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Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio
David can book tours for you. He also recommends using a guide for Manuel Antonio Park. They will point out things you normally would not see. The guide would get your tickets. If you go on your own, get there early to be sure you get in.
Wildlife Manuel Beach & Park
https://manuelantoniopark.com/
Children’s Activities
For children eight and older we recommend Manual Antonio Park (if they are interested in nature), the Ocean King Catamaran and Rainmaker with suspended bridges. The Night Walk at Si Como No is good if the kids enjoy animals.
Ziplining and horseback riding usually have a minimum age requirement of five.
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Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge
Children’s Activities
For children eight and older we recommend Manual Antonio Park (if they are interested in nature), the Ocean King Catamaran and Rainmaker with suspended bridges. The Night Walk at Si Como No is good if the kids enjoy animals.
Ziplining and horseback riding usually have a minimum age requirement of five.
We toured these waterfalls in 2021. There were two beautiful falls. If you are not up for hiking in the heat, there is a pleasant (reasonably priced) open-air truck that drives you to a place that is a pretty easy walk to the falls. ***Consider the advice they provide for footwear***
http://nauyacawaterfallscostarica.com/
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Nauyaca Waterfalls
Dominical - San Isidro PZWe toured these waterfalls in 2021. There were two beautiful falls. If you are not up for hiking in the heat, there is a pleasant (reasonably priced) open-air truck that drives you to a place that is a pretty easy walk to the falls. ***Consider the advice they provide for footwear***
http://nauyacawaterfallscostarica.com/
Porady dla podróżnych
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Return Flight (This also helps with choosing flight times)
For your return flight, we recommend leaving our place 6 hours prior to departure. You'll then spend about 2 hours waiting for your flight but allows for traffic, car rental return, flat tire or leisurely lunch etc.
We personally like a flight around a 2:00pm and leave the house at 8:00am.
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Cell Reception
Unless you have T-Mobile or an international phone plan you will not have internet connection traveling in Costa Rica. I'm not sure all T-Mobile plans have coverage in Costa Rica so check with them. Ours does. These are your options:
- Your car rental may include a sim card
- You can buy a sim card with data at the airport
- Rely on restaurants for internet (You will need to ask them for a password)
- Store the directions to our place somewhere that doesn't require internet.
- It’s an option, adding international calling/messaging to your plan can be expensive.
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Renting a car
We recommend renting a car from the airport with a company name you recognize (Adobe, Alamo, Enterprise etc). Be aware the rates they advertise usually don’t include the insurance you need to have. This can greatly increase the price of the rental. You can Google: SJO car rental in terminal. Check their reviews. Our driveway is steep. You need a car with good clearance or you can park at the top of the lot and walk down. Some guests have recommended: https://mytanfeet.com/ (partnered with Adobe).
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Private Shuttle
For private shuttles we recommend Ricardo (speaks English). It's $150 plus suggested $20 for tip. You can book on line at https://www.manuelantonioshuttles.com/ or message him at: +506 8860 8331. It is the same price for two as it is for four. Include in your message how many passengers and your airline itinerary including flight number. The shuttle picks you up and drops you off at the house whatever time you need it, day or night. We have used them many times. You then would either rent a car locally or taxi around.
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Taxi
The taxi driver we recommend for the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area is Ronald. He is the husband of our housekeeper. He speaks just a little English but enough to pick you up and drop you off at your destination. You would contact him using WhatsApp +506 8306 3488. David can help you with contacting him.
This is a review from Kari who rented during April 2019:
“…We decided to not rent a car and got around just fine with a taxi service they recommended. ..."
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Short flight from SJO Airport
This information is updated once a year.
You can fly from SJO to Quepos. The Quepos airport is about 10 minutes from our place. About a $10 cab ride. The flight is short, about 25 minutes.
Here are four Costa Rican airlines that fly from SJO to Quepos.
Sansa Airline https://flysansa.com/
Costa Rica Green Airlines https://costaricagreenair.com/en/
Carmona Airlines http://www.carmonair.com/
Skyway Airlines https://skywaycr.com/
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Location for Casa En La Colina
Google Plus Code:
CVW3+X2 Quepos, Puntarenas Province Costa Rica
Or enter: Casa en la Colima, Finca Se Bien, Barrio Imaculada Puntarenas Costa Rica.
Home coordinates: 9°26'50.9"N 84°08'50.6"W
Jak zaoszczędzić
Costa Rica: Currency, Exchanging Money, And Tipping
I use the free download Currency Plus for money conversion.
A good article from March 5, 2020:
Money Matters: Currency, Exchanging Money, And Tipping In Costa Rica
https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/money-costa-rica/
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Netflix in Costa Rica
Directions for the remote controls to navigate Netflix are on our website under "Tips".
https://colinacasa.weebly.com/
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Casa En La Colina dimensions
Our house dimensions are: (Yep, I’ve been asked. Actually I think it is a great question!)
Common Area (kitchen and living room)
10' 4" x 21' 4"
King Bedroom
15' 6" x 9' 6"
King Bathroom
9' 6" x 5' 6"
Queen Bedroom
15' 4" x 9'6"
Queen Bathroom
9' 6" x 5' 6"
Outdoor Covered Dining Area
23' 6" x 14'
Sunning Deck
34' x 14'
Additional spaces:
There is a closet off the queen bedroom for suitcases. There is an outdoor half bath to use when swimming. Also, a large covered carport to keep you dry coming into the house.
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Weather
Manuel Antonio and Quepos are on the Central Pacific Coast. Enter this article into your browser and you will find specific weather patterns for each month of the year:
Costa Rica Weather Patterns - Pacific and Caribbean Coasts James Kaiser