CASA TOUCAN, SECLUDED JUNGLE SETTING WITH OCEAN VIEW & POOL

We spent three nights last July at Casa Toucan. We all enjoyed our stay and found it way too short. The house is located high in the mountain with some view to the ocean but this is not the main attraction. You really feel like living into the jungle. Each morning we were awake by howler monkeys and birds sometime located just beside the house. Having a morning coffee in this environment was for us one of the best part of our trip. Everyday we saw Toucans (...) flying around. You rapidly become familiar with their sound and enjoy trying to find them around.
Please have the small hike to the fall and river close by. You have great chance to see the monkeys like we did. The house doesn't have windows except for the second bedroom. We never needed air conditionning even if it was above 24 deg. at night. There is a small breeze combined with the ceiling fan that make you sleep well.

The pool was fantastic, always refreshing and made our two sons happy to go back home after our daily adventures in the region. The house was very well equiped and we had everything we needed in the kitchen to prepare our meals.
The master bedroom is very nice specialy for the shower wich gives you the feeling of being outside.

This area (Uvita, Dominical and surround), is gorgeous and not very well know by tourists. Marina Ballena park is a must if you want to go to the beach. There is some very nice restaurant. A stop to Citrus (Ojochal) is highly recommanded if you
want a good food experience.

We hignly recommend renting this villa. This is now the way we travel with our kids since it is much more adapted to our way of living than hotel and resorts. Also, Uvita has two very nice grocery store wich had all the product we wanted and more. I think it is due in part with the fact that many houses around are owned by North-American people. They also had a reasonable choice of wine...

For those worried with the road to get there, If you have a 4x4 there is no problemo ! You should worry only , like our sons mentionned, when there is snow on the road... (darn Canadians)

We found our trip too short (2 weeks) too see all the beauties of Costa-Rica. We will come back one day to complete our visit and Casa Toucan will certainly be on our list.

Luc, Sophie and the Kids
Montreal

My wife and I just got back from two blissful weeks in Costa Rica, spent almost entirely at Casa Toucan, surrounded on all sides by lush greenery.

This is the most secluded place we have ever rented. If you stand at the far end of the very nice pool, you _might_ see your closest neighbour, still quite a distance away. What you do see is jungle, everywhere jungle, with all the little pleasant surprises that accompany such a setting: toucans, monkeys (howler and capuchin), butterflies, hummingbirds, etc.. You get the picture. This is not to say that you are seeing all these animals non-stop, but you will see animals on a regular basis. And some may wake you up in the early morning hours too!

The house itself is fantastic with all the amenities you would want or expect. Fridge, oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, dishes, utensils, myriad kitchen gadgets, BBQ (though we didn't use it), tv, DVDs, cleaning agents: it's all there (with one odd exception, no corkscrew, which I'm sure will be rectified, given the attentive nature of the owners). Without a doubt the best stocked villa we have ever rented.

The views from inside, from the excellent patio and from the pool level are all fantastic. The sunsets are amazing. I can truthfully say that the villa is actually better looking "live" than what you see in the pictures.

The villa is located about 10-15 minutes from Uvita which has two supermarkets, a drugstore, liquor store, restaurants, etc. Also nearby is a national park with whale watching, snorkeling, or just hanging by the beach, though we mostly spent our days lounging by the villa's nice pool, catching up on some reading.

All of this does however come at a price, and that's the steep drive from Uvita up the hill (and down the hill later), which can be a bit scary at first, but becomes much easier to navigate once you've done it once or twice. The owners pretty well tell you that you will need a 4x4 car, which we did. We never actually went into 4x4 mode, but we did go into low gear and were thankful for the clearance. This is the only downside, and its a small one, for staying at the villa.

Bottom line is that we highly recommend Villa Toucan.

I am still scratching my head as to how they ever got the internet in such a remote location!

My friend and I had the pleasure of staying at Casa Toucan this past June. I have been to Costa Rica before, and I have rented houses there and other places internationally. First, the owners of Casa Toucan are very responsive and helpful - the best experience I have had renting a home! All of our questions were not only promptly answered, but the owners provided us with lots of additional information, which we very much appreciated. Second, the house is lovely! It's spacious, well-planned out, and very clean, and we were very comfortable during our stay. Yes, the hill is a bit daunting the first time, but after that, we got used to it and drove it daily, including at night...in the rain, etc. (We did have a 4WD). The house also well-stocked - more so than any other house I've rented. We didn't need to purchase anything extra aside from food - the owners provide plenty of everything, from dishwashing soap to laundry detergent to paper towels - thank you! Finally, the setting was gorgeous...the sunsets were incredible, and the jungle sounds - especially at night - were like listening to a nature CD! The house exceeded our expectations as far as view, layout, and comfort. It really is lovely.

It's clear that the owners take pride in their home, and they go out of their way to make sure that travelers feel at home during their stay. The house is truly a "jungle retreat." We'd absolutely come back, and I'd recommend it to anyone traveling to the Uvita area.