Costa Rica - Drake Bay/Bahia Paraiso/Marenco

I just returned from the Barbados to Costa Rica cruise through the Panama Canal. It was great. Long review in progress, but I wanted to give those on upcoming Costa Rica cruises a heads-up on on the Drake Bay, also known as Bahia Paraiso, also known as Marenco port of call. This port of call was our only stop in Costa Rica for our cruise.

The Drake Bay port of call is at the Marenco private reserve. There is no dock so the ship uses its Zodiaks to get passengers ashore in a wet beach landing. Figure you will get wet up to your knees. The water in the area is very choppy. From what I heard we were there on a pretty calm day, and believe me, I'd hate to see a normal or rough day.

There are three excursions offered through Windstar for Drake Bay. We took the Nature Walk at $89 per person. It was interesting, our guide was very knowledgeable about the birds and plants in the area, but his English was not very good and he was uncomfortable about deviating from his set spiel. The path is very muddy but well maintained. You can easily do the path on your own, without a guide. It leads to a nice overlook of the bay. I'm glad I took the excursion but don't think it was worth the money.

We heard from people on the snorkel excursion to Cano Island that they were extremely disappointed. It was a very expensive excursion and they weren't able to do any snorkeling due to the choppiness of the water. The trip on a boat (they had to take a Zodiak from the Wind Star to the boat) out to the island was a white knuckler.

People on the horseback riding excursion had a good time. The horses are small. They went along the beach and ended up going through a waterfall and getting soaked.

Flying out of San Jose, Costa Rica be aware that there is a $26 exit tax per person. You pay before proceeding to baggage check-in. As you enter the airport have your spouse or family gather with the luggage a little out of the way of the entrance and send one representative with all the passports and the money to the tax counter to the right as you enter. They take Visa but my card didn't work for some reason so we had to scrounge and round up enough cash. They have a bank outlet and ATM's but we didn't want to pay the fees, so I recommend you set aside the money with your travel documents.

The used the Windstar contracted transportation from the ship to the airport in San Jose. It was in a nice air conditioned bus. There was a representative of the transport company (Swiss Travel or something like that) who narrated most of the 2 hour trip. There was a stop about mid-way for a potty-break (decent clean bathrooms) and shopping. We bought coffee there (I had heard that Cafe Britt brand is good so that's what we got) Prices were $7.00 for a 12 ounce bag. The store took dollars. There were also t-shirts and local crafts. In retrospect we should have held off buying stuff as the airport had a very nice gift shop and several Cafe Britt outlets. There the coffee was $6.00 a 12 ounce bag and they have a special of buy 5, get the 6th free, so net cost is $5.00. Also a better selection than the little road-side stop.

Be glad to answer any questions. I hope to have a review of the cruise and the ship by this coming weekend.

Jackie

Just caught this -- great info, thanks! I'll be sure to be dressed appropriately for any wet landings. :)

I'm disappointed to hear that the Cano snorkeling was not good, as I was considering that excursion. The horseback riding on the beach sounds like it might be a great alternative -- getting soaked in a waterfall while on a horse sounds downright dreamy!

We visited this port a week after Jackie. The horseback riding was cancelled, as they did not get the minimum 15 people to sign up. However, I wanted to ride, so I spoke with Javier at the little restaurant/bar. He didn't think he could help me because he couldn't raise the stable on his radio.

A couple of hours later, a man showed up on a horse, which he agreed to rent me for an hour for $10.00. (I was never quite sure whether Javier called him or not.) The horse was very placid, and we followed the path through the jungle along the beach. It was cheap and delightful!

The snorkel and scuba were also cancelled due to rough conditions at sea.

Don't miss the family of white faced monkeys living in the manzana de agua (water apple) tree behind the restaurant. They're a riot! By the way, the hammocks on the beach aren't too bad, either.

Beth

ps see my review Windstar review 12/27-1/7

Also, we used Coach Costa Rica for our transportation to the airport in Puerto Caldera. They told us because we were on a cruise we did not have to pay the departure tax, thus saving us $26 pp got the four of us!!!!

Beth

Hmmm...I wonder if we will have to pay. We'll be on the cruise, but we're also spending a few days with our friends who live there, and are providing all of our ground transportation. I guess we'll find out!

Also, we used Coach Costa Rica for our transportation to the airport in Puerto Caldera. They told us because we were on a cruise we did not have to pay the departure tax, thus saving us $26 pp got the four of us!!!!

 

 

Beth

That's interesting. They made a lot of money off of us then. The busload of people from our cruise all had to pay the departure tax. Oh well, can't ask for a refund.

We were told to go to the counter on the left, entering the terminal, instead of the one on the right. After a 10 minute wait, we were off to the ticket counter.

Beth

I'm sure our friends who live there will be able to give us any hot tips for doing things right down there. And I'll be sure to post anything useful on here when I get back!

LeeAnne