Reviews Archives – Page 2 of 6 – Parents with Passports

Tulemar Resort Review

July 1st, 2023admin0 Comments

Much of this trip to Costa Rica was a repeat for me and my husband, but part of the reason I really wanted to go back to Manuel Antonio was so that we could stay at Tulemar Resort. On our first trip our splurge hotel was Nayara Gardens in Arenal, and this time our splurge was Tulemar. Although Tulemar is an award winning luxury resort, I was most attracted to it because of its reputation for abundant wildlife on the property. I had seen so many pictures and videos of sloths hanging from the trees, monkeys playing on the balconies, …

Manuel Antonio Nature Tours Review

June 30th, 2023admin0 Comments

Our private guide for our group in Manuel Antonio was Edwin, the owner of Manuel Antonio Nature Tours. (See my full trip report here.) We met Edwin at the entrance to the park where he guided us through the security screening (no food is allowed to be brought into the park) and showed us the route we were going to take for our hike. Unfortunately for us, the main trail was closed the day we were there so we had to walk along a parallel road (the yellow line on the map below). Despite the slightly less scenic route we …

Rancho Típico Don Juan Review

June 29th, 2023admin0 Comments

My younger son and I had a fantastic day with Randall at Rancho Típico Don Juan. (See my full trip report here.) We were lucky enough to be the only people who were booked that day so we had a private tour. From beginning to end, Randall did a fabulous job hosting us on his ranch. This was so much more than a horseback riding tour. It was equal parts history lesson, nature exploration, and horseback riding adventure. The horses were obviously an integral part of the experience, but they were also largely a means of covering the most ground …

Los Lagos Hotel Review

June 28th, 2023admin0 Comments

We split our time in Costa Rica between Arenal and Manuel Antonio. I knew that we wanted to stay at Tulemar Resort in Manuel Antonio. Since that was going to be our splurge hotel, we were looking for something a little more economical for the Arenal part of our stay. Several members of our group were also interested in hot springs. Since we didn’t necessarily want to spend the money or time for a day pass to one of the fancy hot springs, we decided to look for a resort that had its own hot springs. So with those two …

North Fields Coffee and Chocolate Tour Review

June 27th, 2023admin0 Comments

North Fields is a small family farm that grows both cacao trees and coffee plants. They offer a “farm to cup” tour, where you learn about everything from planting to harvesting to processing both cacao and coffee beans. After several days of more adventurous tours, this was a really nice change of pace. We meandered through the plantation, stopping at different stations to learn about the complex processes involved in making chocolate and coffee. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and well-spoken. The tour was a great opportunity to learn about – and taste! – two of Costa Rica’s most important …

Arenal Canopy Adventure Review

June 26th, 2023admin0 Comments

Overall we enjoyed our morning at the Arenal Canopy Adventure & Tarzan Swing. (See my full trip report here.) The company was very safe and the tour well run. There was a really large group at our tour time (maybe a dozen others in addition to our 11 people) and I was concerned about the wait time on each line. But unlike other zip lining tours I have done, they did not keep the whole group together. They had enough guides that they could continuously move people through the different lines instead of waiting for everyone to catch up on …

Wave Expeditions Review

June 25th, 2023admin0 Comments

We had a fantastic time with Wave Expeditions. We took the Balsa River Class II & III tour, which was roughly 13 km and two hours long. (See my full trip report here.) The guides were really fun but still put safety first. We were given instructions on the bus and then we practiced following all the commands once we got in the raft. Once we got going down the river, it was non-stop excitement. It was much wilder than I expected for class II & III but that just made it more fun. Our guide Warner knew every rock, …

Canoa Aventura Review

June 24th, 2023admin0 Comments

Canoa Aventura is a tour company in the Arenal area of Costa Rica. From hiking to more adventurous activities, they offer a huge variety of tours to fit every age and interest. While they offer many individual activity tours, they seem to specialize in combination tours. Chocolate and waterfalls? Volcano and hot springs? They can do it all. We did a combination tour that included Mistico Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and the Trail of 1968. (Trip reports available by clicking on the links.) We were a group of 16 and had two tour guides and a bus for just …

Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort

April 20th, 2023admin0 Comments

Once we settled on a few days in the Pigeon Forge area and decided on a day in Dollywood, I knew I wanted to stay at the DreamMore Resort. It looked like the nicest place in the area and I liked the idea of a resort where the boys would have access to a nice pool and other amenities after our day of activities. We stayed in a king room with a bunk bed and I loved the arrangement. The boys are old enough and big enough now that we try to get them their own beds whenever possible. A …

Seven Stars Resort & Spa Review

March 19th, 2023admin0 Comments

After our group selected Turks and Caicos for our girls trip, we pretty quickly narrowed in on Grace Bay as the ideal resort location for our stay. We narrowed it down to three or four options, including one splurge – Seven Stars Resort & Spa. Although the price point was definitely higher than we initially planned on, its location and amenities quickly won us over. Seven Stars has three seven-story buildings, two of which are considered ocean-front and the third ocean-view. We were in a first floor oceanfront room in the Alhena Building. I had mixed feelings about being on …