Return to Alajuela Tropical Hostel en Costa Rica

Are you going to Costa Rica, and wondering about a place to stay when you first arrive, a place to acclimate and to get your bearings? We have a suggestion: Alajuela Tropical Hostel near SJO.

Staying in a hostel is different than staying in a hotel, but we prefer to stay at places that allow kitchen access, and generally we find the advantages of staying in the more personal small hostels to outweigh the differences with hotels.

As Hostelworld says 'No place is perfect,' but for our needs, this one pretty much is.

This time last year we spent 5 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica. As we did last year, we stayed at the the wonderful Alajuela Tropical Hostel again, was great to see Alonso in his new location! Many reviewers find the experience to be like staying in the house of a Cosa Rican friend, and we do as well.

Alonso is a local, a 'Tico,' is bilingual, and knows his country and his business very,very well.

If you would like give it a try, book it online with Paypal here: Alajuela Tropical Hostel Once you book you must email your flight info to arrange for the included free airport pickup.

Early to rise....

We got up at 5am in Austin for our 8;20 flight, brother Reggie kindly gave us a ride to the Austin airport. We had an hour layover in Houston, arrived in SJO at 2:00pm, and were a little tired, so it was so great to see Alonso's familiar face appear rather than having to run the gamut of taxi drivers at the airport door.












Alonso's new location (a walled suburban house) has a comfortable shady front patio with a very nice tropical garden where time to time we could here parrots screeching. Everything we need to prepare for the rest of the six week trip --banks, food stores, pharmacy, camping supplies, etc -- are all in walking distance. The entry to the subdivision has security guard and his place is on a dead end street so its fairly quiet. As you walk up the street to his house you can see the old red cathedral dome in the distance.




Former park ranger Alonso picked us up at the Airport in his antique yellow Land Rover, which he uses to conduct tours of the Poas volcano, animal refuge, winery (!) and other attractions of the local area. He had a Netherlands couple waiting in the Land Rover who he was dropping off at the Ojo de Agua, an old established spring fed swim park .

The day was a partly cloudy cool day in the central valley. The cloudy sky was nice, added drama to the surrounding green mountains.






Big trees and tropical flowering plants line the trees of this upscale area of Alajuela, so makes for pleasant walking.

What his guests can't find on their own, Alonso is more than happy to assist them with. Alonso is truly committed to excelence.

Thanks, Alonso! See you at the end of the trip!

Costa Rica : Alajuela Tropical Hostel near San Jose Airport, free pickup, great place

Alajuela Tropical Hostel is the nice, safe option for those who want to avoid going into San Jose.





We arrived in Costa Rica after an uneventful flight from Houston, via Dallas. Robert had done research on places to stay on our arrival and from the many reviews he read Hostel Alajuela Tropical was the place we wanted to stay.

We read several excellent reviews about the hostel and the owner of the place, Alonso. We got our luggage and cleared customs without a hitch and went out to find Alonso. One of the services he offers is airport pickup. He arrived in his classic Land Rover and off we went to his hostel. He offered to stop somewhere if we wanted to pick up any supplies but we headed on to his place. It is in a neighborhood that has a security guard posted right there near his place.

We went inside and found a nice living area, with kitchen attached. The room was clean and perfect for our needs. There were other people there and we decided to go to the store to get some beer and wine. Alonso assured us it would be safe to walk there. We set out and found a strip center just a block and a half from his place. There is a grocery store called AM/PM that stays open until midnight. They have a nice, if somewhat pricey selection of goods for sale including fresh pastries and vegetables along with beer and wine.

Also in this same strip center there is a pharmacy and nice restaurant along with some other shops. We went back to his place and had a very enjoyable evening visiting with the other guests and Alonso. His hostel has only two bedrooms so it is not very crowded or busy which suited us just fine.


The next morning he fixed us coffee, eggs, potatoes, and toast for breakfast.

We needed to go to a doctor for a follow-up visit for my cut lip. He took us to a private clinic very close by, were seen by a bi-lingual doctor that was very efficient and helpful.

Robert needed a tetanus shot and he gave him a prescription to have one done at a pharmacy! We went to the pharmacy and got what we needed and then he stopped at a local soda (small eatery) and bought us a lunch of shrimp and rice which is evidently a local dish. We went back to his place and it was indeed very nice.

After a short siesta we went to change money before we set off for Montezuma. We found a bank very near the shopping center that changed our money at a nice rate with no commission! We then went back to the AM/PM to get some food for dinner and the bus ride in the morning.

Had another pleasant evening visiting with Alonso and the newly arrived people from Belguim. We had to catch the bus for Montezuma at 6:30 in the morning so we called it a fairly early evening.

After coffee and getting everything loaded, Alonso took us the bus stop. The place to catch the bus in Alajuela coming from the Coca Cola station in San Jose and an unmarked intersection that is evidently the stopping point for many of the busses heading for various places throughout the country. We arrived there early and got to watch a glorious sunrise over one of the many volcanos in Costa Rica. The bus sign in front said San Jose - Copano. We got our luggage loaded underneath and off we went. It is a first class bus with comfortable seats, air conditioning and not crowded. At the time of our travel, the tickets were $12.00 each.

The trip took from 6:30 until about 12:00 including all the stops and ferry ride. We stopped at around 8:00 for a 25 minute or so food and restroom break and then off we went toward the ferry. We arrived at the ferry at 9:00 and because of our rusty Spanish thought the bus driver was telling us we had to get off the bus and find our way to Montezuma. Not so. We had to get off the bus for the ferry ride (they lock the bus) and get back on once we land in Paquera. From there we went on to Copano. One of the other passengers told us we had to get off the big bus and transfer to a smaller bus to Montezuma. Our luggage had to go on top of the bus and it was a 7km or so ride to Montezuma. We told the driver where we wanted to get off and he stopped right at the entrance to Luna Llena.

Because the road is very steep at this particular point, he couldn´t get out and help Robert unload the bags so Robert climbed on top of the bus and slid them down to me. Whew! Then we had to climb the stairs to Luna Llena (about 200 steps to the top, but once there what a view!)

For more pictures of the beautiful scenery on the bus/ ferry trip to Montezuma, see our pages here:

http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/31140.html

Africa Self Guided Safari Series: Part 1 Prep

"Africa. Why are you going to Africa? How can you afford to stay that long? Is it safe? " These are all questions we are asked repeatedly.

Because of our trips to Africa, we have had over 1 million hits on another site where we post. Our work here will be more concise, and offer suggestions for having an adventure to remember!

Follow with us to Africa with us over the next weeks. We will post when we can. We will look forward to your interaction. It gets lonely on the road sometimes......

We will offer tips and strategies for getting the most for your travel dollar. Some of the countries we may visit are South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. Zimbabwe and Malawi are also possibilities.

Pack Early
Cut down on stress and insure a more successful trip by packing early. Self guided safaris and backpacker style touring requires more planning than the all inclusive safari.

Write It Down
Laura uses lists in order to insure that all the essentials make it. She keeps a small tablet in a pocket and writes down things to purchase and pack as we think of them. Sometimes this occurs at odd times, i.e. late at night and she flips on the bedside light and writes it down.

Budget Planning
How many days is your trip? This summer we will stay 3 months ! We have researched places to stay where we can camp and cook 90% of our own meals. Because this is our 5th trip to Africa, and our 3rd self guided and self catering camping trip, we have an idea of what we want to spend. Staying in our own tent, and cooking 90% of our meals leaves money for guided safari drives. We have picked a number, $100 per day, and we aim to stick with this.

Money
Some folks take their ATM card and don't carry much cash. There are ATM scams and muggings in some countries these days, and ATMs are not always available out in the bush. Credit cards provide the latest exchange rate, but often include charges for use, and there are identity theft scams that raise concern. Traveler's checks are safe, but sometimes harder to use than cash, or cost a 5 % or more 'commission' at some lodges, etc. We use a combination of all of the above.

Checklists

Here are couple of links to packing checklists that include most everything we pack, and then some:

http://www.african-safari-journals.com/camping-list.html

http://www.african-safari-journals.com/safari-packing-list.html

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Leave a comment and suggestions of your own. Thanks for visiting!

One million visits on our travel journal!

We are celebrating having over 1 million visitors on our old travel journal.

www.traveljournals.net/rmalone


Hope you enjoy our new blog:

Adventure Travel the World, with Style, on a Budget

where we share our experiences of travel to 48 countries Tags: kayak , bike , hike , train ,rent car, fly air bus , rv , rvers , tent camp , backpackers , hostel , budget hotel , b & b or bush camp , 4 x 4 rental , safari , self guided , independent travel

Thanks for visiting!