Costa Rica Vacation

[jwm8592]

Are any familiar with this part of Costa Rica, it appears to be in the northern region and is primarily a (sport) fishing and hiking area from what I have been reading. We're possibly planning a vacation there, a friend of a friend etc. has a condo there in a gated community called Bella Vista, Los Suenos. It doesn't appear that the beaches are anything to speak of, seems that most must stay on the resort grounds hanging by the pool area. But there is a high end Marriott Hotel located about 200 yards from the condo, with a fairly large marina. I also see that there is La Casa del Habano located in the town of Playa Herradura, just minutes from the condo. Rob, perhaps you have some knowledge of or can found out the character of this particular store. Thanks for any help.

[El Presidente]

Are any familiar with this part of Costa Rica, it appears to be in the northern region and is primarily a (sport) fishing and hiking area from what I have been reading. We're possibly planning a vacation there, a friend of a friend etc. has a condo there in a gated community called Bella Vista, Los Suenos. It doesn't appear that the beaches are anything to speak of, seems that most must stay on the resort grounds hanging by the pool area. But there is a high end Marriott Hotel located about 200 yards from the condo, with a fairly large marina. I also see that there is La Casa del Habano located in the town of Playa Herradura, just minutes from the condo. Rob, perhaps you have some knowledge of or can found out the character of this particular store. Thanks for any help.

Ken and I have Costa Rica on the radar for some fishing but I have not been there before. Everything I have heard is that it is a great place for a holiday.

A LCDH should follow the standard LCDH franchise. Plenty of stock, not exactly cheap but a great place to sit in leather chairs and enjoy a rum and a cigar

[n2advnture]

To date, my most favorite trip was to Costa Rica (Italy a close 2nd).

We started in San Jose and headed west (first stayed at Tabacon resort which is a MUST stay!)

Ended up at the Gulf of Papagayo which is north of Los Suenos.

The only LCDH that I am aware of is in San Pedro.

[thechenman]

Costa Rica has some of the best waves I have ever surfed. Back when I was in high school out in SoCal, we used to head down to Costa Rica for a week and just surf during the day and get drunk at night. It was beautiful...some of my best memories. Of course back then I could care less about cigars. That was back in the late 80s and early 90s though. It has gone way upscale since then. Have a great time.

[bigfunkyg]

I spent two weeks in Costa Rica in February this year. It wasn't one of my favourite places for a winter vacation, but it did have some pluses.

We did a bit of touring through the mountain region (Arenal Volcano and white water rafting which is a must do). We rented a beautiful house just north of Flamingo beach. The driving is hell because the majority of the roads are not paved. Did some fishing and unfortunatly didn't land a big tuna, but caught lots of Grouper and Jack Cravache (sp?). They had some beautiful beaches and it was hotter than hell.

One thing that frustrated me about Costa Rica was it was very difficult to track down cigars. I picked up a box of Hoyo De Nicaragua at Duty Free on the way down, which were decent. We found this tiny cigar shop in a strip mall in Liberia. I bought a few non-cuban smokes from him including his house brand. Unfortunately it was possibly the worst cigar I have ever smoked. Never found this Casa Del Habano that you spoke of.