Fodor's Expert Review Finca La Suiza

This simple, remote lodge is in a private reserve atop the Cordillera de Talamanca. Swiss expats Herbert Brullmann and Monika Kohler have converted part of their home into three guest rooms and a dining room with a stone fireplace. The rooms are bright and spacious, with big baths, two single beds, and walls decorated with Monika's nature photos. They open onto a terrace with rocking chairs and a small lawn hemmed by bougainvillea. Monika prepares three-course dinners ($16) with ingredients from the organic garden; they also make sandwiches for hikes within their private reserve. Free for guests ($8 for nonguests), the trails are well marked, have benches for resting, and lead to waterfalls, lookout points, and a patch of cloud forest. Children under 12 aren't allowed on the trails.