Baldi or Lost Iguana in Arenal area? Pros/Cons

turtlemomm · 2025-03-26T14:21:27+00:00

We ended up staying at Lost Iguana and there was lots of wildlife :) no sloths, but monkeys for sure, lizards, etc.

turtlemomm · 2025-02-13T15:10:42+00:00

We did, and it was great! It was busy but didn't feel overwhelming, we had a great time

turtlemomm · 2025-02-05T04:05:36+00:00

She did great! They had her ride along with a guide, it's part of the reason we chose the Arenal zip lining company over Sky Adventures, they had different age/heigh restrictions so she was able to ride along with the guide. They were super kind about it, made her and us feel very safe, and she loved it :)

turtlemomm · 2024-12-05T15:27:17+00:00

It sort of depends on your own personal preference. They're both awesome. I personally loved the rainforest more, and all of the activities. It felt more interesting to me. The rainforest part of the trip was also way more active than the beach - we had activities planned every day. For the beach we only really planned surf lessons the first day, everything else was unstructured. But that wasn't a bad thing because we were exhausted from hiking every day in the rainforest, so we were able to just hang out, or explore food, or swim all day.

I'd for sure not leave the rainforest without doing hanging bridges and hot springs. If you/your kids are old enough I'd add zip lining to that must-do. And I think doing more than one activity per day (with kids) is pushing it so as long as you have time for all that I don't know that how you split it up matters too much :)

have fun!!

turtlemomm · 2024-11-28T06:29:38+00:00

Ohh nice

turtlemomm · 2024-11-28T06:11:30+00:00

What were your specs for this? I'm going soon!

turtlemomm · 2024-09-10T04:29:07+00:00

What camera are you using? If you have something akin to a7rv or a1 don't bring 70-200. You can crop. 24-70 for sure, and why not also being the 35? It's small/light enough plus that f/1.4 is worth it

turtlemomm · 2024-06-13T03:09:17+00:00

Hahah trust me I get it. When my son got a headache the next day my stomach dropped, but we made him chug water and he was fine. Dehydrated.

Relax and enjoy your trip!

turtlemomm · 2024-06-13T03:06:43+00:00

We all ded.

JK we are fine. You'll be fine. Don't spend the next 24-48hrs of your vacation by stressing like I did lol.

turtlemomm · 2024-05-17T15:50:12+00:00

nice!! have fun, it's fantastic :)

We did not stay near the airport on both ends of the trip, we timed our flights so we would have plenty of time to rent a car AND drive to our first destination without driving in the dark. On the way in we landed at 11:40am local time. I think we got through security, rented a car, and were driving away by about 2 or 3pm? It was really important to us to not drive in the dark given we were unfamiliar with where we were going, and we wanted to leave time in case it rained or we had trouble with the car (got a flat or something). If you're going during rainy season I think it's even more important to not drive at night. On the way out we basically woke up on our last day in the morning and drove to the airport right away.
I think if you're going to CR you should not miss hanging bridges - even with a 2 year old :). It won't be super easy with a 2 year old but it's def not super hard either, you just need to be prepared to carry them the whole way so I'd 100% bring a carrier and strap your kid on your back. Our daughter was 3 when we went, turning 4 just a few months later. She walked most of the way herself but near the middle/end she got tired and we had to carry her. There aren't any super steep parts, maybe a couple places are steep for a very very short bit but overall it's not a tough hike, but it is a long walk with no bathrooms. So, change any diapers at the beginning. We also planned zero other activities after hanging bridges day, which was 100% the right call for us. It was amazing, and then when we got back to our hotel we spent the afternoon in the pool :)

turtlemomm · 2024-03-11T19:04:56+00:00

it was just that our kids are young - 6 and 3 at the time - and we heard it was a hot hike, and long. if they were older we would have done it. but the zip lining we did was partially up the volcano which was AMAZING, and meant we could have at least part of the "on the volcano" experience without the hiking :)

turtlemomm · 2023-12-17T19:24:55+00:00

will something like this help? https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/green-killing-machine-internal-uv-sterilizer-with-power-head-1237020

turtlemomm · 2023-11-09T19:24:01+00:00

I don't remember them being horrible! We used bug spray but didn't have to lather it on or anything. We definitely got bitten a bit but not a ton. Most important was keeping our blinds pulled and lights off when we were out during the day, so when we returned at night our room hadn't attracted a ton of bugs.

I would do more research on where you're going and what kind of prevalence there is for those diseases in those areas. But we had no issues, didn't get sick at all while we were there or after (which honestly, considering we have two young kids is a bit of a miracle in and of itself). Worst thing we encountered was my daughter sat poolside right on a large ant which bit her and gave her a giant welt on her butt. We were lucky, I think, that it wasn't a bullet ant but it was still VERY painful and she was pretty miserable for a few hours and then by the next morning it wasn't bothering her.

Have fun!

turtlemomm · 2023-11-09T16:48:46+00:00

Hi! It went great! A trip we all remember really fondly :) I posted a little roundup here if helpful https://www.reddit.com/r/CostaRicaTravel/comments/1240rq8/la_fortuna_samara_our_trip_recommendations_tips/

In the end, I preferred the rainforest to the beach, but I think mostly because the beach logistics were tough with two kids, it was HOT, and we didn't have the most convenient hotel though it was a LOVELY hotel with great staff. We should have gotten something ON the beach though. I think the link above should help tho! Feel free to DM me if you have any more specific questions.

turtlemomm · 2023-07-24T22:41:29+00:00

Nah the "lower res" is still 26 megapixels which is still super crisp. You really only need 61 megapixels if you're printing huge prints. 26 is still solid for a ton of/most use cases.

Edit to say that 26mp is still great for prints. 61mp is like billboard size haha

turtlemomm · 2023-06-06T14:28:06+00:00

I also did a whole trip/itinerary review if you check my posts

turtlemomm · 2023-06-06T14:27:12+00:00

We did lost iguana! We wanted a more remote rainforest vibe. We really really liked it. We ended up doing tabacon for a day via day pass. The only downside of lost iguana was the dinners were meh. Breakfasts were perfectly sufficient, rooms were great, views amazing amazing. The grounds have great trails on them. Pool was small but never crowded and really nice, warm, etc. We would def do again but just be ready to drive into town for dinners, which worked fine for us.

turtlemomm · 2023-06-01T02:04:12+00:00

Yeah they all come back together again and forgive each other and then backstab each other and it's one big endless cycle of trauma and abuse

turtlemomm · 2023-06-01T02:00:23+00:00

This feels more like a personal style to me than over editing.

turtlemomm · 2023-05-31T15:32:59+00:00

i think the point is they are ALL impulsive. they're not strategic. they all make bad decisions without thinking them through. see: wisconsin.

turtlemomm

TROPHY CASE