04 April 2023

We did a private tour through Intrepid Travel booked with Shilpa. We flew from Gatwick to San Jose & spent the 1st night in The Hotel Dunn Inn in down town San Jose. We were picked up early the next morning for our coach & boat transfer to Evergreen Lodge in Tortuguero where we stayed for 3 nights. We had our own lodges right in the jungle with wildlife & fauna all around you. We were woken up by the Howler Monkeys each morning which was wonderful. The package at the hotel included transfers, full board & a nature walk, 2 x 2 hour boat tours & a tour to the village & beach. The boat tours were lovely & relaxing exploring the canals for wildlife. We saw monkeys, Iguana’s, caymen, various birds & land crabs. We also had a humming bird make her nest right by our lodge. The food was typical Costa Rican fare. There is also a swimming pool & bar & a couple of private bars on the site. We then moved on to Arenal & stayed at the Hotel Lomas Del Volcan for 2 nights which was lovely & had a spectacular view of the Volcano. We spent the evening at Ecothermales Hot Springs in the rain & a thunderstorm which was fantastic. There are different temperature pools & we had cocktails sitting in the pools & then finished off with a buffet dinner which was included in the price. The next day we went to the Mistico arenal hanging bridges park with a local guide & saw a sloth, viper, boa constrictor, bat & red frog. The views from the bridges were amazing. The hotel is a bit out of town so we had to get a taxi to La Fortuna where there are a good choice of restaurants & shops. The next place on our adventure was Monteverde, Hotel Fonde Vela for 2 nights. We got picked up in an old school bus which took us to a boat & we went over to the other side of Arenal Lake & picked up by another car to our hotel which was an adventure in itself! We did a day bird watching tour in the Cloud Forest which was amazing & we saw a beautiful Toucan. Our final destination was Manuel Antonio for 3 nights before we returned to San Jose for 1 night. We stayed in the beautiful Si Como No resort which had a spectacular view out to sea. Our rooms were no frills but lovely. There are quite a few stairs at the resort & it is set out on lots of different levels. The breakfast buffet was very good & you could also order off the menu which was included. It was easy to walk to nearby restaurants & shops. Happy hour at the swim up bar at the pool was also another attraction! We felt a bit uneasy in San Jose as it felt quite edgy at night but that might just have been us! Overall we felt we had an amazing adventure with wildlife, jungle, cloud forest & beach time. The people are so friendly & helpful. Costa Rica also leads the way on sustainable travel & ecotourism. Pura Vida! Lisa

04 September 2013

I’ve always had a love for Italy and have visited many places but Lake Garda is a jewel that I wanted to return to with my family. We decided on a two week “Chalet” style package holiday in Gardone Riviera, flying from Birmingham. The holiday included: breakfast, all day tea/coffee, packed lunch, afternoon tea & cake as well as dinner which started with an aperitif & canapés, followed by starters, choice of main course plus dessert with wine included and finally cheese and biscuits! I cannot fault the hotel or food at all! Needless to say, we didn’t go hungry but we carried a few extra pounds home! On Mondays the team had a well earned day off which gave us a chance to try out the local restaurants. The first Monday we took the children to lunch for their first “real” pizza. The service was very friendly, the food delicious and with stunning views of the lake we had to return a further 3 times! The same evening we went to a Trattoria in Gardone Sopra which is the old village up in the hills, organised by our rep. It was a fun evening and gave us a chance to get to know the other guests and experience “real Italia”! We returned to Gardone Sopra the following day on a free guided walk and visited the local St. Nicolo church as well as “Il Vittoriale degli Italiani” – the villa, museum and gardens of poet, journalist and politician Gabriele D’Annunzio. On Saturdays, there is a market in the nearby town of “Salo” so after breakfast we decided to opt for the 30 minute walk there. The market was typically Italian, selling leather goods, clothes and of course food such as Parma ham, parmesan, olive oil and fresh produce. We then walked to the lake side to have our packed lunch and a stroll before heading back to Gardone on the local bus. Salo is quite a big town with a lovely promenade, lots of shops, restaurants and a few bars. We liked it so much so that we returned the following Monday afternoon to explore further and have dinner. We booked a couple of organised trips which is well worth it if staying on this side of the Lake unless you hire a car. Our first trip was to “Tremosine” a village up in the hills where on a good day you can see both ends of Lake Garda! It was a hairy experience driving through tunnels, winding narrow roads and gorges. I can see why the “Quantum of Solace” car chase was filmed here. We stopped at a hotel which had a balcony to take in these views and you could almost see both ends of the lake! Part of this holiday was a free Sunday afternoon boat trip to the historic spa town of Sirmione. The trip takes in a close up view of Isola de Garda and also views of Gardone and Salo from the Lake. We had a couple of hours to explore the cobbled streets and see the outside of the Scaliger castle as well as have more of the lovely Italian ice cream! The romantic city of Verona is an absolute must when holidaying in Lake Garda! Our organised trip with a guide was well worth it. We spent the first hour with the guide who walked us round the streets of Verona taking in the Arena, famous Piazzas, Scaliger family tombs and of course “Romeo’s house” and “Juliet’s Balcony”. We were then left to explore the city on our own for a few hours. It’s worth paying to see the inside of the Arena as it is quite spectacular and you can only imagine what it would have been like 100’s of years ago! Lake Garda has so much to offer all types of travellers so if you’d like to go, please get in touch as this journal is just a glimpse of what you can see and do.

12 June 2013

We had previously been to Windsor to go to Legoland and decided we would quite like to go back for a short break. We stayed at the Macdonald Savill Court & Spa; the hotel is a short drive out of Windsor and set in some beautiful grounds. We particularly chose this hotel as it had a swimming pool and highlighted that it was family friendly. We were not to be disappointed as at all times the staff were extremely friendly and professional. The hotel has good size family rooms and comfortable beds. At breakfast time there was a good choice and if you wanted a traditional English breakfast, it was cooked to order; much nicer than a buffet! This hotel is great if you want to visit Windsor Castle, Legoland and Virginia Water. The hotel is not far from Windsor Great Park where approximately an hours walk will take you to Windsor Castle. A definite must! I would also recommend this hotel if you would like an overnight stay, prior to flying out of London Heathrow Airport which is only 10 miles away.