Monday, January 19, 2009

!! TE INVITAMOS !!


HELLO EVERYONE,

We hope that all is well with all of you. With any luck, 2009 will bring everyone some positive and welcomed change.
We three (Courtney, Ryan and Daisy dog) are very happy in Santa Teresa. Life here is suiting us so well that we have decided (finally) to get hitched and in this corner of the world.
The wedding party will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2009 on the reefs in front of the Hotel El Rey Patricio in Playa Santa Teresa, Santa Teresa de Cobano, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
The ceremony will be quickly followed by a party to end all parties under a 45 foot tall rancho just steps from the beach featuring a delicious mediterranean feast prepared by our very good friends, Emiliano and Luz. The hotel is a special place for us and we would love to see as many of our friends and family here for the celebration as possible. There will be no formal, mailed wedding invitations and the invite is open to all; if you would like to make the journey, we want to see you here.

First and foremost, if anyone needs any help/suggestions regarding travel to Costa Rica and accomodations in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, we are available at nearly all times either by email, kitchiguy@gmail.com (courtney) or ackerman_ryan@hotmail.com or by phone @011.506.2640.0676 (our house) or 011.506.2640.0248 (the rey patricio hotel).
We will be more than happy to assist everyone in any way we can.

HOW TO GET OUT OF THE COLD AND STRAIGHT TO THE BEACH:
The best way to get to the southern Nicoya Peninsula is to fly to the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela, San Jose। You could choose the Liberia International Airport if you're planning on traveling a bit in the Guanacaste region before hand and then work your way down to us.
From San Jose you have the following options: rent a car, take the bus, take a cab or fly to this area.
Rent a Car: cars range from $55-100/day. If you're going to rent a car and return it in Santa Teresa you MUST rent from Budget or Alamo - the only rental car companies with drop-off offices in this area. Driving takes about 6 hours from San Jose to here and is relatively easy to do as there is just one major route which leads from Alajuela ( where SJO airport is situated) to the small port city of Puntarenas. In Puntarenas you will board a ferry with your rental car which will carry you for about an hour and ten minutes (1hr 10minutes) across the Gulf of Nicoya to the town of Paquera. From Paquera the drive to Malpais/Santa Teresa will take roughly an hour. The road from Paquera through Tambor to Cobano is paved, the road from Cobano to Santa Teresa is not. It is fairly well graded, however, I would recommend to those electing to rent a vehicle only rent a 4x4. It is just less of a headache.
Take the Bus: there are two busses a day to Santa Teresa that pass by the highway in front of the airport. It costs around $10 and is air conditioned, on the newer side and comfortable. You can also take a cab to the Coca Cola Bus terminal in downtown San Jose in order to make sure you get a seat on the bus. However, there is no pre-purchasing of tickets - you buy a seat when the bus opens its doors. It's a six hour trip via the bus in the same manner as explained above (see "Rent a Car")
Take a Cab: a good option if there are four or more of you traveling together or arriving around the same time. You should be able to get a cab driver to take you for around $200. When the airport doors open to the exit you will be greeted by a mob of cab drivers trying to get you to go with them. You can use any of them, however some are the airports "official" cabbies and will insist you use them. They are slightly more expensive. They are all safe and speak English for the most part. It's again around six hours.
Fly: the fastest option. Flying takes around 25 minutes and costs around $70 each way. Keep an eye out, though, because very often there are deals for just $35. The flight you will want is from San Jose to Tambor. There are two airlines offering flights: Nature Air and Sansa. Be aware, while the Sansa terminal is a literally right next door the San Jose Airport, the Nature Air airport is a 20 min. cab ride. They are both good airlines and similarly priced. The planes have between 14 and 28 seats. Once your flight arrives in Tambor, and you pay your $1 departure tax, you must take a cab from Tambor to your destination in Santa Teresa, which takes about an hour and costs around $40.
http://www.natureair.com/


WHERE TO HANG YOUR BEACH TOWELS:
There are accomodations of all sorts throughout Santa Teresa, Playa Hermosa, Manzanillo and Malpais (these are areas all within 5-10 miles of each other) with nightly rates from $15 a night for a modest room with shared bathroom at a surf hotel or $270 a night for a private 2BR, fully-equipped house at an aparthotel on the beach. We are including some links, but feel free to look up other sites and send along the info to us. Given what we do down here we have relationships with most of the hotels/rental homes and can provide info off the top of our heads and maybe even get you a better price. Below are some links to some spots that we are familiar with and/or are owned by friends:
CASA ZEN - a relaxed atmosphere for the younger set, backpackers, or those who like to constantly meet new people. A very well-maintained "asian-styled guest house" with rooms from $12 a night with shared bathrooms, to $22 a night for private accomodations. They even have an aparment for rent with kitchen for $50 a night. They have an on-site restaurant, spa, and offer daily yoga classes.
http://www.zencostarica.com/
011।506.2640.0523

BLUE SURF SANCTUARY - Gorgeous new casitas with a/c, pool, and kitchen। Run by our friend Pia who is a fluent English speaker from Argentina। These bungalows accomodate 4 adults and are priced @ $155 a night for 4. Only a km from El Rey Patricio


ZULA INN - run by Avi and his brother Rotem from Israel, they are fluent english speakers and just opened this aparthotel last season. Really incredible value - the Casitas have a/c, an equipped kitchen, 2br and 1br houses available. They also have a nice pool with newly built bamboo and teak patio bar, 2mb wireless, spa, and are located closer to the intersection of Malpais and Santa Teresa (or otherwise referred to as Playa Carmen).
011.506.2640.0940

VILLAS HERMOSAS - Beachfront Villas on Playa Hermosa (where we actually live) run by our friends Brad and Tara from Vancouver. They have three 2br villas ($250 a night) and one 1br suite($225), all have fully equipped kitchens, a/c, gorgeous pool and deck area, large rancho and bbq, satellite tv, wireless internet, orthopedic beds, and are literally steps to one of the most beautiful beaches in the area. Tara has promised to charge four persons in a villa as two for our group and also assured me that if all houses are rented at the same time she will provide an additional discount for all.
http://www.villashermosas.com/
011.506.2640.0630

TROPICO LATINO - Located on the other end of town from us, Tropico is a much larger scale hotel with on-site restaurant bar, well-known spa, yoga studio, large pool/jacuzzi, and excellent beach front lounge area. Tropico's bungalows are all equipped with a/c and many other modern comforts.
http://www.hoteltropicolatino.com/
011.506.2640.0062

OTRO LADO - Another brand new aparthotel, Otro Lado is located roughly 2.5 km south of the Rey Patricio and much closer to the Santa Teresa center. The houses all have a/c and kitchens, there is a swimming pool and on-site italian restaurant (the owners are italian). The houses can accomodate 4 adults and are roughly $100 a night.
http://www.otroladolodge.com/
011.506.2640.1941

ESENCIA HOTEL - Located 2km south of the Rey Patricio, they have 10 fully equipped villas and 8 standard, double occupancy rooms. The grounds are quite nice with a large pool that is situated up a small hill and surrounded by bamboo. ***This is a very nice place and a great value for the money however be advised that is across the street from a popular local hangout, La Lora, and can be slightly noisy on Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights. Request a villa as far back into the hill as is available.***
011.506.2640.0420

CASA COLINA - a beautiful bed and breakfast 4km from the Rey Patricio. It always receives rave reviews from guests. An excellent location and well-priced at between $40-60 a night for two. No a/c or pool but you don't really need it, do you?
011.506.2640.0672

HOTEL RARATONGA - gorgeous, all teak building, very clean, 2.5 km from the Rey Patricio, single and double rooms as well as a fully equipped apartment available for rent, price ranges from $35 to $70 a night...
001.506.2640.0475

RANCHOS ITAUNA - located 3km south of the Rey Patricio, they have 4 beautiful villas for 2-4 people, two of the which have fully equipped kitchens, they are located right on the beach in Santa Teresa, and have an on-site restaurant.
http://www.ranchos-itauna.com/

MILAREPA -- a little more high end, this is a very quiet, peaceful hotel with four bungalows for rent. very stylish, teak and bamboo bungalows, open air showers, a few feet from the beach, on-site restaurant, pool, very nice, english speaking staff... closer to the Rey Patricio than most.
http://www.milarepahotel.com/

There are quite a few other options, both high and low end। Also, we know quite a few houses that are for rent, so just email us if you'd like some help there.

Again, if you can come please do, but if you can not we completely understand. We are looking to plan a cocktail party back in Boston before the end of the year to celebrate stateside and look forward to seeing you then, if not sooner.

HOPE TO SEE MANY, MAYBE ALL OF YOU IN APRIL!!!
LOVE,
Courtney and Ryan