Manuel Antonio Vacation Rental villa

Casa Sarita was a perfect choice for our family reunion of 3 familes (10 people with 4 children aged 4 - 10). From the start of selecting the home the owners were incredibly responsive and proved to be a great point of contact to answer all our questions and provide us valuable information prior to hitting the ground. The house has a great hillside location with a beautiful view of the ocean from the upper deck and is surrounded by trees. This is important if you like monkeys as we were visited on a daily basis by howler, capuchin and titi monkeys which were one of the highlights for us and the children, and made for great photo opportunities. We even had a sloth visit one day in a tree above the house. The howlers are nicknamed the Costa Rica Rooster because they can start howling and waking up at 4 am. It might sound early but with the earlier sunsets while we were there (time of year) we enjoyed it and it was a unique experience. The house is very comfortable and provided all the amenities to make us feel at home. One surprise benefit was that the local grocery store delivered for only $1 and we certainly used that service several times. Beaches are a short drive away and were great with gentle slopes. Lots of waves are also available for surfers and tours can easily be arranged through Hotel Byblos which is affiliated with Casa Sarita and is only a short walk away up the hill. All the tours we went on were superb and we recommend them all. The children had a great time on the Canopy Safari, the spice tour was interesting and informative, the surfing lessons were great and the tour of Manuel Antonio park with the guide was amazing. Note: go with a guide, otherwise you will miss 90% of what is out there. There is also a butterfly and reptile exhibit next to the hotel which is worth the visit. We flew into San Jose and rented 3 small Daihatsu Bego 4X4's and would recommend this for other families as well. The drive from San Jose to Manuel Antonio is slow with 25 - 50 mph speed limits and takes 3 hours or more depending on the number of stops. The roads are not that bad. Just watch your speed and take your time because local police have many road checks alopng the wat in and around the towns you go through. It is worth it as the countryside is beautiful and gives you the opportunity to make other day trips or just do some local exploring and getting to some other beaches off the main path.

Enjoy your trip to Costa Rica. Pura Vida!

We stayed at the property in September 2007 for a week and absolutely loved the house and Manuel Antonio. The house is very comfortable and nicely decorated. Rock showers are a treat and the towels are wrapped as animals and decorated with flowers - very cool. Very nice views from the balcony and hammock. Exactly what you would want when thinking of a luxury house in Costa Rica. Lots of fun things to do neaby - very easy to coordinate through Byblos Hotel. Friendly staff. Lots of fun things to do in the area - beach, surfing, hiking, rafting, etc. All in all, a wonderful experience.