tylerbrown

Does anyone know of good eco-friendly hotel/ lodges in Costa Rica? Preferably at a reasonable price.

Also, has anyone been on Nature Air. If so, how was your experience?

Thanks!

colibri

Tyler,

There are many eco-friendly lodges all over Costa Rica. Do you have any idea of the areas that you are interested in visiting yet such as Monteverde, Arenal, Pacific beach towns, etc.? That would help people to recommend particular lodges in those areas.

We loved Selva Verde over in the Sarapiqui region (Caribbean lowlands), very reasonable price under $100 if I remember. We also like Arco Iris Lodge in Santa Elena/Monteverde, Arenal Paraiso in La Fortuna/Arenal and Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero. All would be considered reasonable with rates of $100 - $125 tops.

I'm sure others can chime in once you give some additional info on your interest. Wherever you go in Costa Rica, you are bound to love it and enjoy!

tylerbrown

Thanks so much. The only other place I was looking at was Tamarindo (on the Pacific side). If you have information for Taramindo that would be awesome.

Also, where there any activities you did that stood out. If so, where?

Brian

I would consider Casa Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula quite eco-friendly. I would say their prices are reasonable considering everything that is included, but "reasonable" is relative.

- Much of the power they use is solar and water power.
- They provide natural and biodegradable soap, shampoo and lotion in the rooms.
- They encourage guests to use bed linens and towels more than one day. The guest can place a card on the bed to tell the housekeeper not to change sheets and towels.
- They recycle much of their waste and give proceeds from recycling to the schools in Sierpe.
- Guides are personally responsible for beverage containers distributed to and used by guests during outings. If they return to the lodge without the same number of containers, they are charged for them. The containers are recycled.

See the following from their website for more details:
http://www.casacorcovado.com/EN/about/policies.php

gannetmusic

The New Key to Costa Rica guidebook has been independently reviewing the 'eco-friendliness' of Costa Rican lodgings for years useing a defined set of criteria.

The results from the latest edition published this year are at www.keytocostarica.com . You will see there are only a few listed for the Guanacaste area.

This guidebook is very good for general CR travel information as well.

cheers

Jerry

colibri

I haven't stayed in Tamarindo, but did take a mangrove boat tour outside of there last year. Saw howler monkeys, caimans, mantra ray and many birds. Others can help you with Tamarindo info.

For other areas, we loved Tortuguero and touring the rivers and canals of the national park, saw an amazing amount of wildlife. Also enjoying hiking at La Selva in Sarapiqui, Cano Negro, Hanging Bridges and Eco-Termales all at Arenal, hiking both Monteverde and Santa Elena reserves. Many areas also offer zipline tours so there are loads of options depending on where your interest lies.

Hope this helps.

cmerrell

I like the link gannetmusic provided. There are lots of places on the website that I've heard good things about. Bosque del Cabo on the Osa peninsula (beloved by so many posters here) is on their list; not surprisingly... Casa Corcovado that Brian mentions, sounds wonderful as well. The Osa is a terrific choice if you want to get off the beaten track a bit.

Colibri offered a lot of other worthy suggestions and has just returned from Costa Rica, so her assessments are based on recent experience.

Both of the domestic air carriers in CR (Nature Air and Sansa) have good track records. I've flown Sansa with no issues, and will traveling on Nature Air in June.

plumboy

FYI: Trip Advisor just released some kind of list of top eco-friendly hotels, and La Cusinga Eco Lodge was on there from CR. Near Uvita on the southern Pacific coast.