The Guilded Iguana in Nosara is a surfer’s paradise that’s perfect for anyone

Billed as the “Surf Hotel,” The Gilded Iguana claims a spot in Nosara’s history as an off-the-grid destination for the international surfing community. It claims the distinction of being the first hotel in Nosara, and the hotel was the first to host live music. Surfers come here for the laid-back vibe and for a chance to hone their skills at Playa Guiones, one of the best beaches in the country. Designed to reflect the hotel’s dedication to the area’s history as a surfer’s mecca, The Gilded Iguana’s appeal lies in its luxurious authenticity.

The hotel adds to the appeal by offering organic produce from its gardens and just-off-the-boat seafood, as well as its eco-friendly sustainability practices. The breakfast and brunch menu has something for every taste. Fusing Mediterranean cuisine with traditional Costa Rican flavors for lunch and dinner, you can dine in the open air, with its casual and lively atmosphere. Whether it’s the catch of the day, creamy lime chicken, or a traditional casado, it’s all fresh and enticingly presented.

In addition to the beauty of Playa Guiones, with its more than 3 miles of white sand and consistent waves, guests can enjoy mountain biking, as well as the world’s longest zipline. That’s not surprising as The Gilded Iguana is in a designated Blue Zone, an area known for wellness, lifestyle, and life longevity.  New this year is the resort’s yoga retreat offering, where you are just steps from the beach, for a peaceful and relaxing workout.  

Maintaining its history as a fixture in the surfing community, the Surf Club and school is a mere 200 meters from the beach. ISA-certified instructors are available for beginners and experts to develop their skills at one of the top surf breaks in the world. Besides surfboards, the club has SUPs, boogie and skim boards, and beaters—a surf-boogie board combo. The club offers daily to annual memberships that include access to the locker room and changing stalls, showers, as well as discounts on surf lessons, at the juice bar and restaurant, mountain bike rentals/tours and in the Iguana Shop.

With a modern take on tropical living, the rooms include a balcony, patio, and an outdoor living area. Designed for comfort, the rooms boast vaulted ceilings, custom artisanal décor elements, and custom furniture in a light-filled and spacious atmosphere. Rooms also include a board storage area, complete with rack. From the economical Surfer Rooms (which sleeps up to 4) to the Surfer Suite (which sleeps up to 6), guests will find a home away from home for their Nosara vacation.

“No shirt, no shoes, Nosara” is so much more than just a local lexicon; it’s a lifestyle. Since 1988, The Gilded Iguana has nurtured a stress-free atmosphere that has attracted people from around the world. Recently renovated, the hotel has only improved on its 30-year charm and it’s a must when you visit Nosara.

Contact us for more information about our historical hotel and the exciting adventure that awaits you on the Nosara Peninsula.

Stylish boutique hotel with Arenal volcano views from every suite

The flower-adorned approach to Arenal Kioro hints at the carefully landscaped 27 acres that set off this luxury boutique hotel and spa. Bounded by two streams, the gardens include a private hot spring. The rainforest of Arenal National Park that adjoins Kioro adds to your sense of seclusion.

Kioro’s outdoor terrace, with pool and several thermal pools, is also where you’ll find Orquídeas, with its casual lunch and themed dinner menu. Bar El Higuerón, at the hot springs, is perfect for evening cocktails, national beers, and non-alcoholic fruit juices.

There are only two suite types: Couples (king-sized bed) or Family (two queens). Cathedral ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, Spanish tile floors, and two balconies add to a sense of open space. Every suite features a view of Arenal Volcano. Wicker furniture, teak accents, and boldly colored accents in the soft furnishings bring a modern feel to the room. An in-room hot tub, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi and a flat-screen TV round out the standard amenities. The suite’s bathroom features double sinks in a natural stone vanity.

Breakfast is included at the hotel’s main restaurant, Heliconias, which offers a wide variety of hot entrees, mostly typical Costa Rican fare. Pancakes or French toast, fresh fruit, pastries, cold cereal, yogurts, as well as an egg station to complete the buffet breakfast offering. Lunch and dinner service are a la carte and more upmarket, offering a full range of dishes. As with the suites, the windows on three sides of the restaurant overlook the rainforest, augmented by flowering heliconias throughout.

Neidin Spa provides guests with full-service massage treatments and more limited scrubs, facials, wraps, and baths. Titokú Hot Springs (a natural spring only 5 minutes away by hotel shuttle) offers more stress reduction and relaxation.

There are several 4.5+ star restaurants in La Fortuna for a change of pace, including:

• Restaurante Don Rufino – local, grass-fed beef, seafood, vegetarian, classic Costa Rican casado, including breakfast
• Soda Mina – traditional Costa Rican fare
• Snapper’s House – fresh seafood
• La Parrilla de María Bonita – wood-fired grill, Lebanese
• La Forchetta Ristorante – flavors of Northern Italy

As a guest at Kioro, Arenal, you can join outdoor tours of area attractions.

Among others, activities include:

• Caňo Negro Wildlife Refuge Boat Tour – boat ride on the Frío River, starting near the border with Nicaragua that travels through the refuge; spot monkeys, sloths, caimans, and birds, as well as rare plant and animal species
• Arenal Hanging Bridges – a 2-mile trail of suspension bridges; views of the volcano and Lake Arenal
• Sky Adventure Park – stunning views of Arenal from the Sky Walk, the Sky Tram, or the Sky Trek zipline; choose one or try them all
• ATV Tour – a wild ride aboard an ATV and a stop for a swim

Arenal Kioro Green Luxury exudes an atmosphere of casual sophistication that ensures comfort and relaxation for newlyweds and families alike. Contact us to find out more.

What you need to know about adulterated alcohol in Costa Rica

The World Health Organization has reported poisoning incidents in more than a half dozen countries worldwide. In Costa Rica, the government has confirmed methanol-related 20 deaths since WHO issued its alert. The Costa Rican government has moved aggressively to find and seize methanol-tainted alcohol since early June in the face of widespread methanol poisoning around the world.

The Health Ministry of Costa Rica issued a sanitary alert July 10, saying several brands may contain methanol. Guaro Montano and Guaro Apache, as well as 5 aguardiente (schnapps) brands: Estrella Roja, Molotov, Sachetto, Barón Rojo, and Timbuka. In addition to the warning against buying or drinking these brands, the government is asking people to report seeing any of these brands for sale at denuncias.drpis@misalud.go.cr while the sanitary alert is in effect.

What you should know

• Costa Rica’s Health Ministry said the methanol poisoning has affected mostly “people with chronic alcohol problems.”
• Currently, Cartago, San José and Limón provinces are the affected areas.
• Nationally, officials have seized the affected brands at distributors and retailers. Wine and liquor that were “unregistered or [that] had expired registrations” have also been seized. Similar raids are occurring nationally. So far, some 38,000 bottles of liquor have been confiscated, according to the Health Ministry.
• As of July 24, liquor licenses will be suspended if any retailer or other establishment are found selling any of the suspect brands.
• If you experience abdominal pain, headache, excessive or an excessively long-lasting “hangover,” or have an episode of incoordination, seek medical treatment immediately.

What the suspected brands of tainted alcohol look like

Be on the lookout for the brands that have been seized and are suspect. Always go for premium, or well known, brand liquors.

So, is it safe for me to drink alcohol in Costa Rica?

The short answer is yes but let us explain. Reputable restaurants, liquor retailers, grocery stores, and bars depend on consumer confidence in their services. They certainly take seriously the government’s warning and the resultant enforcement efforts because they depend on your patronage. Costa Rican officials are acting proactively to safeguard the supply chain.

That said, there are precautions you can take:

• Patronize top restaurants and ask for premium brands.
• Drink beer and wine instead and avoid the brand names listed above.
• If your drink tastes or smells “funny,” don’t drink it.
• You can buy duty-free alcohol in airport arrivals before leaving the airport. If you want to buy alcohol, shop at a reputable grocery store or liquor retailer.

As with any product, be wary of claims made about any brand name you don’t know. Don’t hesitate to ask your server or retailer about what you’re buying. Reputable sellers have a vested interest in ensuring your satisfaction and good health. The hoteliers of Distinctive Hotels have spent time and money on the reputation of their hotels. They want you to have confidence in their properties and feel safe during your stay in Costa Rica. If you have concerns about your upcoming visit, don’t hesitate to reach out today.

From flutterbys to creepers, check out these 5 interesting insects that make their home in Costa Rica

Whether creepy crawlers are your thing or not, you have to admit that Costa Rica has an astonishing array of fascinating insects that are a delight to catch sight of. While nobody knows exactly how many different species of insects there are in Costa Rica, some claim that the number hovers around 300,000. In reality, though, it’s almost impossible to track and new bugs are being discovered all the time.

If you want to be picky, all bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. The difference is in the mouth shape, and that may be a difference without a distinction to folks like you and me. Whatever you want to call them, there are definitely a lot of cool insect species in Costa Rica.

We think these 5 Costa Rica insects are fascinating either because of their beauty or their behavior.

The butterflies found in Costa Rica make up 90% of all butterflies found in Central America, so there’s no better place to visit if you love these delicate, gorgeously colored flying insects. There are a number of really awesome butterfly observatories in Costa Rica where you can see a dizzying number of flitting and flying beauties, including Blue Morphos, Glasswingeds, or Orange Tigers. Their educational exhibits give information about the butterfly life cycle, as well as a display of chrysalises from which the butterflies eventually emerge.

Leafcutter ants—called zompopas in Costa Rica—are really fungi farmers. They carry the pieces of leaf to the nest to use as a growing medium. What’s interesting is that all that fungus emits the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide on a scale to match anaerobic manure lagoons found at milk farms. You can identify them by the trail of leaf-carrying ants.

Stick insects look exactly like their name implies. Their coloration may be brown, green, or mixed. By day, they blend into their environment by becoming sticklike, mostly motionless but moving as the plant they’re affixed to moves. At night, they forage and mate. Juanpalos, as they’re known in Costa Rica, are found in the dry tropical savannahs of Guanacaste, Rincón de la Vieja, and Santa Rosa National Parks.

Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are really beetles. In Costa Rica, you’re likely to see them just about anywhere. Their bioluminescence is the result of a chemical reaction. Color and flash patterns depend on species and gender, mostly for mating purposes. Short-lived, most fireflies never eat after the larval stage.

The long, upwardly curving horns of the Hercules Beetle have earned it its more descriptive name: the rhinoceros beetle. These beetles are enormous, growing to 7” and are very strong, carrying up to 850 times its weight. A herbivore, you’ll find them in Palo Verde, Corcovado, and Tortuguero National Parks, as well as Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.

The best time to go bug hunting is at night, and several of the national parks and reserves often have night tours, as do some resorts. These interesting insects are worth the effort to see if you can spot them. Some of your best Costa Rica vacation stories might end up being about the adventures you had trying to see them. If you miss out on these 5, there are sure to be others that are just as interesting.

Costa Rica’s great biodiversity includes an impressive number of reptiles and amphibians; if these creepy crawlers are your thing, you’ll be delighted!

Costa Rica is a place of enormous biodiversity, including a rich variety of herpetofauna that live in the rain and cloud forests and humid lowlands of the country. Amphibians and reptiles can be as colorful and fascinating as the most brightly colored macaw and as exotic-looking as a tapir.

Amphibians

Rain frogs, which are quite small (1 – 2”), have suction cup-like finger disks and live in low and middle elevation forests. The Smoky Jungle Frog can grow up to 6” and discharges a neuromuscular toxin. Glass Frogs are small, translucent green tree frogs that when placed belly down on a piece of glass, its internal organs are visible, including its beating heart. The Red-eyed Leaf Frog is vividly colored and lives, as the name implies, in trees. Poison Dart Frogs are also vibrantly colored and live in humid lowlands. They eat ants, and the resulting accumulations of formic acids probably contribute to the frogs’ poison production.

The Bufo or Giant Toad is most commonly found in gardens or other human-created habitats. With an appetite as big as it is, it eats almost everything that it can swallow: insects, small mammals, spiders, and other toads. Poisonous, it’s capable of killing dogs that eat or attack it.

Salamanders, newts, sirens (externally gilled salamanders), and amphiumas (heavy, eel-like salamanders with poorly developed limbs) are amphibians with tails. Costa Rica has many diverse species that are rarely seen because of highly specialized habitat and the corresponding remote locations.

Reptiles

Crocodiles and caimans are similar in appearance but have different behaviors. Spectacled Caimans have broader and more rounded snouts; they often retreat when disturbed. American Crocodiles tend to be larger and far more aggressive. As you head down the freeway toward the Jaco Beach, Herradura, and Playa Esterillos area of the Central Pacific, you’ll notice a lot of tourists stopped on a bridge and peering over; they are checking out the hundreds of crocodiles that hang out right there in the Tarcoles River under the bridge. Be sure to check it out, and hang on to your camera!

Sea turtles are reptiles, and Costa Rica has many important nesting sites for 4 species: Green, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, and Leatherback. Green and Hawksbill sea turtles nest on the Caribbean coast—Greens on the North Caribbean coast, especially around Tortuguero, nesting June – October, and Hawksbills in Cahuita National Park in September and October. On the Pacific coast, Olive Ridleys come ashore at multiple sites July – November. Leatherbacks nest on both coasts: the Caribbean, March – July and the Pacific, September – March. Hawksbills are often seen foraging in Golfo Dulce.

The obvious difference between lizards, which tend to be carnivores or insectivores, and snakes is legs or the lack of them. These cold-blooded reptiles are most active on sunny days. The Green Iguana is Costa Rica’s best-known lizard; they can grow to weigh as much as 20 lbs. Other lizard species include Ctenosaurs (similar in appearance to iguanas) and crested basilisks, also known as Jesus Christ lizards for their ability to run short distances on water. Nine species of geckos are endemic to Costa Rica, eating prodigious quantities of mosquitos and cockroaches—a great reason to love them.

Most of the Costa Rican snakes are non-venomous and serve to control the country’s insect and rodent populations. Many are arboreal, while some, such as boa constrictors are terrestrial. In Costa Rica, the pit vipers include the notorious fer-de-lance, responsible for most snakebite fatalities in the country, and the bushmaster, also known as the matabuey (ox killer). The coral snake is also venomous, while the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake is from the marine family, seldom seen close to shore and only found in the Pacific.

The best way to see Costa Rica’s amphibians and reptiles is in the exhibits of places such as La Paz Waterfall Gardens or on guided day and night tours in various reserves and national parks. A trip to the Tarcoles River, whether by boat or from the bridge, will bring you as close as you care to be to crocodiles. Spectacled caimans can be seen in Manuel Antonio National Park.

Birdwatcher or not, catching sight of these colorful birds will make your Costa Rica vacation a little extra special

Some 900 bird species migrate through or live in Costa Rica. Birdwatchers visit Costa Rica to check off the exotic tropical species on their must-see list. Regardless of your avian affections, you’ll be struck by the colorful beauty of the country’s tropical birds. Visitor favorites include birds from these families.

Macaws

The scarlet macaw features brilliant markings of blue, red, and yellow. Highly intelligent, they can grow up to 3 feet in length. The back, head, and lower tail feathers are primarily red, while a broad blue band of feathers cover the wings and lower back. Yellow stripes above the blue band separate the red and blue. Found: Central Pacific coast, Carara, Palo Verde, and Corcovado National Parks.

Other macaw species include the blue and gold, great green, and hyacinth macaws.

Hummingbirds

The violet sabrewing is a vibrantly-colored large hummingbird (6”). Males are blue-violet on the head, back, and upper chest; females have green backs and grey chests. Both have long tails with white scalloped edges. Found: Tortuguero Island, Carara National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

The white-crested coquette males, a.k.a. the adorable coquette has a white crest and long green cheek tufts with delicately-fanned rufous tail feathers. Found: Osa Peninsula,

The colorful green violetear has violet ear feathers on the sides of the head, with green and blue feathers on its throat and belly. It and 25 other Costa Rican hummingbird species can be observed and enjoyed all over Costa Rica.

Toucans

There are about 40 different toucan species, making them easy to spot and very popular birds. The chestnut-mandible toucan, a.k.a. Swanson’s toucan showcases vivid coloration against its black body. Its maroon head, back, and neck contrast with its yellow face and breast, green eyes and blue legs. Found: Carara, Corcovado, Irazú Volcano, and other national parks

Waterfowl

Among the crane family, the green heron, with its flat, dark green crest, is notable for its dark green back and wings and its white neck/throat stripe. Found: Still-water aquatic ecosystems, Tortuguero and Corcovado National Parks, among others.

Blue herons, snowy egrets, and ibis are commonly found throughout the Americas. The roseate spoonbill, like the flamingo, gets its coloring from fish, crabs, and shrimp, which contain carotenoids. Its spatulate spoon-shaped bill allows it to feed by swinging its bill side to side in the water. Found: wetlands, marshes, and mangrove estuaries.

The bare-throated tiger heron is the most common in Costa Rica. They are named for the fine black and white herringbone pattern of their feathers. Found: in freshwater and brackish aquatic environments.

Resplendent Quetzal

In a class of their own, the brilliantly green resplendent quetzals of Costa Rica are at the top of any birdwatcher’s bucket list, visitor and locals alike. The distinctive shimmering green of its body, head, and crest (males) help it to blend into the canopy. It’s characteristic sweeping tail plumes can be as much as 3+ feet long. Small but mighty, the heavily muscled quetzal is an agile flyer. These endangered birds can be found in montane forests of Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserves, as well as Poas Volcano National Park.

These birds are just a sample of the many vividly-colored tropical species in Costa Rica. Choose your vacation destinations carefully to make the most of your bird spotting opportunities.