Casa Corazon del Rio ~ A Central Location for Daily Excursions
ECO TOURISM: In Platanillo you can find the Parque Reptile Terrarium, along with seven waterfalls, four other than our own are hikable from our casa at our neighboring La Ceiba EcoAdventures. A 20-minute drive downhill to the beach and surf town of Dominical, and just 5-minutes north of Dominical is the wildlife refuge at Hacienda Baru. From Dominical a 30 minute drive north to the fishing town of Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. 20 minutes south of Dominical is Uvita, home of the Ballena National Park featuring the Whaletail land formation. We are fortunate to have such wonderful Eco Tours in and near our area, Enjoy!
BEACH: The best closest beach is Matapalo-south end (directions: “LOCAL BEACHES” link @ www.CorazonDelRio.com). It has very nice sand that stretches for miles and has very little rocks and driftwood. Dominical Beach is mainly for surfers, its sand is darker and much more rocky and can have a lot of driftwood. It is a great beach for sunsets and shopping for survivors along its beachfront road. To the south you can find Uvita Beach which features the “Whaletail” shaped land formation, and further south Ventana Beach, which we also highly recommend. http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/local-beaches.html
ADVENTURE: The biggest “must see” recommendation is Manuel Antonio National Park. We highly suggest taking a guided tour as the guides know where certain animals are and have a scope on a tripod for viewing and taking photos of the animals.
- Hacienda Baru is located 5-minutes north of Dominical, just past the large gas station. It is a mini Manuel Antonio and also has a zipline tour as well as its own private beach. www.haciendabaru.com
- La Ceiba Ecoadventures has four waterfalls and is located on our neighbor’s property. A guided tour can be arranged with a “Tico style” lunch afterwards. Or you can pack a lunch. Some falls are a moderately easy hike while La Raiz, the biggest one, has quite a steep and narrow path to get to www.laceibaecoadventures.weebly.com/about.html
- Nauyaca Waterfall is just a short five-minute drive west from our casa to the main office. This is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Costa Rica. Truck or horseback rides, can be arranged if you rather not hike. The main office is easily seen not far from Platanillo heading to Dominical. www.corazondelrio.weebly.com/nauyaca-waterfall.html Other waterfalls can be found on our website. Here are others we recommend:
- Diamonte Waterfall (Hike, repel) http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/tinamaste.html
- Chontales Waterfall and/or Roja Waterfall http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/chontales.html
- Parque Reptile Terrarium is in Platanillo. It features 70 terrariums and 80 species of uncommon animals and 100 species of trees and exotic plants in a beautiful botanical garden. There is no other park as complete as this one in the country, and we have it just 15 minutes down the road towards Dominical! You can see the largest and most diverse exhibition of reptiles living in a beautiful botanical garden. http://crreptiles.com/
- Ballena National Park (going at or near low tide is best) located in Uvita. This beach has an $8 per person charge and allows you to spend the day at the beach and hike the famous whale tail sand formation with shallow, calm and easy to swim water. Whale watching tours can also be scheduled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9h2MJ0P4Y
- Brisa Elegant for a sailing adventure is located out of Quepos. If leaving CDR by 6:45am and get there at 7:30 for a 4-hour morning sail which includes lunch. They also have sunset sails and can even be booked for a day or multiple days. Brisa Elegante - Sail Costa Rica www.sailcr.com
- Santuario Canopy Tour is the longest zip-line in Costa Rica. You could add zip-lining after a morning sail as they are both located near Quepos. One of the ziplines is 8/10ths of a mile long. www.elsantuariocanopyadventure.com
ECO TOURISM: In Platanillo you can find the Parque Reptile Terrarium, along with seven waterfalls, four other than our own are hikable from our casa at our neighboring La Ceiba EcoAdventures. A 20-minute drive downhill to the beach and surf town of Dominical, and just 5-minutes north of Dominical is the wildlife refuge at Hacienda Baru. From Dominical a 30 minute drive north to the fishing town of Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. 20 minutes south of Dominical is Uvita, home of the Ballena National Park featuring the Whaletail land formation. We are fortunate to have such wonderful Eco Tours in and near our area, Enjoy!
BEACH: The best closest beach is Matapalo-south end (directions: “LOCAL BEACHES” link @ www.CorazonDelRio.com). It has very nice sand that stretches for miles and has very little rocks and driftwood. Dominical Beach is mainly for surfers, its sand is darker and much more rocky and can have a lot of driftwood. It is a great beach for sunsets and shopping for survivors along its beachfront road. To the south you can find Uvita Beach which features the “Whaletail” shaped land formation, and further south Ventana Beach, which we also highly recommend. http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/local-beaches.html
ADVENTURE: The biggest “must see” recommendation is Manuel Antonio National Park. We highly suggest taking a guided tour as the guides know where certain animals are and have a scope on a tripod for viewing and taking photos of the animals.
- Hacienda Baru is located 5-minutes north of Dominical, just past the large gas station. It is a mini Manuel Antonio and also has a zipline tour as well as its own private beach. www.haciendabaru.com
- La Ceiba Ecoadventures has four waterfalls and is located on our neighbor’s property. A guided tour can be arranged with a “Tico style” lunch afterwards. Or you can pack a lunch. Some falls are a moderately easy hike while La Raiz, the biggest one, has quite a steep and narrow path to get to www.laceibaecoadventures.weebly.com/about.html
- Nauyaca Waterfall is just a short five-minute drive west from our casa to the main office. This is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Costa Rica. Truck or horseback rides, can be arranged if you rather not hike. The main office is easily seen not far from Platanillo heading to Dominical. www.corazondelrio.weebly.com/nauyaca-waterfall.html Other waterfalls can be found on our website. Here are others we recommend:
- Diamonte Waterfall (Hike, repel) http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/tinamaste.html
- Chontales Waterfall and/or Roja Waterfall http://corazondelrio.weebly.com/chontales.html
- Parque Reptile Terrarium is in Platanillo. It features 70 terrariums and 80 species of uncommon animals and 100 species of trees and exotic plants in a beautiful botanical garden. There is no other park as complete as this one in the country, and we have it just 15 minutes down the road towards Dominical! You can see the largest and most diverse exhibition of reptiles living in a beautiful botanical garden. http://crreptiles.com/
- Ballena National Park (going at or near low tide is best) located in Uvita. This beach has an $8 per person charge and allows you to spend the day at the beach and hike the famous whale tail sand formation with shallow, calm and easy to swim water. Whale watching tours can also be scheduled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9h2MJ0P4Y
- Brisa Elegant for a sailing adventure is located out of Quepos. If leaving CDR by 6:45am and get there at 7:30 for a 4-hour morning sail which includes lunch. They also have sunset sails and can even be booked for a day or multiple days. Brisa Elegante - Sail Costa Rica www.sailcr.com
- Santuario Canopy Tour is the longest zip-line in Costa Rica. You could add zip-lining after a morning sail as they are both located near Quepos. One of the ziplines is 8/10ths of a mile long. www.elsantuariocanopyadventure.com
