Central America - Pitstops for Kids

Uncruise review of Costa Rica and Panama: Why small ship cruising is great for families

July 27, 2021 By Amy Hagstrom

Every so often, we are lucky enough to experience a trip that sets our bar higher for family travel excellence. Before we embarked on our Uncruise adventure through Costa Rica and Panama, the bar was already pretty darn high…we had experienced small ship sailing previously with Alaskan Dream Cruises and frankly, didn’t think it could be topped. While there were a few differences, Uncruise met our very high expectations, earning it a place in the top five of our list of best travel experiences. Here’s why:

Uncruise review: Why you need to book a small ship cruise

First, let’s talk about what ‘Uncruise’ actually means. It’s a travel company, of course, and after experiencing their product, I understand the reason for their somewhat unique name. Uncruise is unlike large ship cruises in every way. Like other small ship cruise companies, they are all about getting you off the ship, exploring the destinations en route. They are not a floating resort (though the ships are very cool…more on that later). On a large ship cruise, such as a Disney cruise, the ship is the destination. On Uncruise, the ship is the vessel that delivers you to the action. On our Uncruise ship, I felt satisfied that I had actually seen and experienced the countries we were cruising to. On a large ship, I never feel that way…I am simply floating past with brief stops.

Riding the skiff from our ship to an isolated island.

On a small ship cruise such as Uncruise, you will be active every day. My Apple Watch informed me that I walked and hiked an average of six miles a day on our Uncruise; it was a rare day when I didn’t garner at least 15,000 steps. Why am I sharing my fitness tracker stats? Because they prove how much exploration and activity we engaged in during our week in Costa Rica and Panama. Every single day, with one exception when surf conditions didn’t allow for a beach landing, we kayaked, hiked, paddle boarded, or snorkeled. Because we were in a small ship, we quite literally had islands to ourselves, and were almost always the only ship anchored at the eco lodges, reserves, and national parks we visited.

The Safari Voyager, our home for seven nights.

Note: the itinerary we sailed on with Uncruise will now be called Unveiled Wonders. There are additional itineraries that sail only Panama and only Costa Rica, if that’s preferred, but I recommend seeing both countries.

What you can expect from your Uncruise itinerary:

During our Central America itinerary, our days took on a predictable cadence, which was nice, because the destination and activities were always changing. On our Panama and Costa Rica itinerary, we experienced the following stops (which I’m told are similar to upcoming itineraries):

A transfer through the Panama Canal
Gulf of Panama islands
Granito de Oro and Coiba National Park, Panama
Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
Osa Conservation Area, CR
Manuel Antonio National Park, CR
Curu National Wildlife Refuge, CR

As you can see from the names of our destinations, our trip was primarily focused on outdoor exploration and wildlife viewing. We did experience some cultural moments of discovery, namely in the canal when we learned about its construction and in Coiba, where we saw one of General Noriega’s homes (now a historical site) and one of his penal colonies (now a deserted island), but overall, ours was not a cultural itinerary.

Kayaks brought from our ship to the beach by crew members for one of our ‘beach parties’.

At each day’s stop, we had multiple options in which to experience it: hikes and skiff rides were offered, as well as water activities where possible. Our family’s favorite offerings included hiking in the morning, followed by snorkeling or swimming in the afternoon. Uncruise ‘beach parties’ were offered whenever we anchored next to a sandy beach, which was often. At every stop, our on-board expedition guides led small groups within these activities, and guided us on our excursions.

A sample day with Uncruise in Central America:

As noted above, the routine of our days took on a predictable cadence, which was nice. While the timing changed insignificantly here and there to accommodate our route, every day on our Uncruise looked something like this:

Yoga on the sun deck at 6:15 am (ha, only made it to that once)
Breakfast around 7:30 am (with a continental breakfast set out earlier for those who were up)
Morning excursions rolling out from about 8:30-9:30 (depending on what group you’re in and which leader you’re going with)
Morning excursions over and back on the ship by 12 pm for lunch
Lunch for everyone around 12:30 or 1 pm
Afternoon excursions rolling out around 2 pm (sometimes, there’s a transfer to a new location first)
Afternoon excursions back to the ship around 4:30, giving everyone time to shower and freshen up
Evening cocktail hour and appetizers at 5:30 (this is when the expedition leaders give a spiel on the following day’s itinerary and guests sign up for the next day’s excursion options)
Dinner around 6:30 pm
Evening presentation by expedition leaders around 8 pm (for those with kids going to bed, the evening talk is piped into the onboard sound system in your cabins)
Pass out asleep around 10 pm…you’ll be tired!

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Belize adventure vacation: What to do with a week in San Ignacio Belize

January 4, 2021 By Amy Hagstrom

If the first thing to comes to mind when you think of Belize is beaches and cays, it’s time to rethink this small country that’s big on outdoor adventure. For those who venture into the interior, especially the west side of Belize in the Cayo District, rivers, caves, Mayan ruins and culture abounds. Here’s how to spend a week or more in the Cayo District, based in the town of San Ignacio.

Belize adventure vacation: San Ignacio Belize

Why base yourself in San Ignacio? This small town of around 9,000 is within minutes of Mayan sites, and less than an hour’s drive from some of the best caving, tubing, hiking and canoeing in Belize. San Ignacio is friendly, easily explored on foot, and offers up what I believe to be the best boutique hotel in the region: San Ignacio Resort Hotel. (See our full review of the San Ignacio Resort Hotel here.)

You’ll want to rent a car or arrange for a hotel shuttle transfer from the international airport near Belize City to San Ignacio, which is about 80 miles to the west, near the Guatemalan border. Unless you plan to book guided tours daily, which frankly, is what we opted to do, you will definitely want your own car to explore the Cayo District. Here’s what not to miss:

Xunantunich and Cahal Pech Mayan ruins:

Both these archeological sites are rich in historical and cultural significance, and both are within easy distance of San Ignacio. In fact, you could walk to Cahal Pech from the San Ignacio Resort Hotel. Xunantunich is about a 25-minute drive and is the larger of the two sites. To get there, you’ll need to cross the Macal River via a small hand-propelled ferry system, which is free but requires passengers to exit the vehicle and stand on the moving ferry platform while crossing. The river is small and the process takes less than five minutes. From there, follow the road one mile to the parking area and ticket booth, then climb the hill to follow in the footsteps of the Mayan people who once lived here.

I highly recommend hiring a guide to tour Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, as we know we would not have understood half of what we looked at without Cruz, our trusty guide from San Ignacio Resort Hotel. From the main courtyard of the ruins, you can take in the ceremonial buildings of the priests and the living quarters of the royal Mayan families who once inhabited this region, and you can climb the steep steps to take in the views of the surrounding jungle. Cahal Pech is smaller, but allows for even more exploration of the interiors of the ruins; we wound our way along ancient corridors and through archways to one-time bed chambers. At both sites, be sure to note the ball courts where games were played, and peek into the small museum space at Cahal Pech.

Note: visitors to this region can also tour the famous Tikal ruins in Guatemala; it’s a short drive to the border for a border crossing, then about a two-hour drive. Your guide will hand over the reins of your day trip to a Guatemalan guide at the border.

Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve:

I had no idea that a pine forest existed in Belize, until we toured Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Located at about 3000 feet elevation, the reserve is located about an hour and a half from San Ignacio along pretty rugged (at times) dirt roads. Yes, it’s a long drive, but once inside the park, we found some of our favorite outdoor attractions in Belize. The change of scenery alone is stunning! While guided tours of this reserve are optimal, it’s definitely do-able to drive yourself as long as your vehicle can navigate the rough roads. You’ll want a good map of the area, and be advised that Google won’t help you once in the park.

The Rio Frio Cave is located about 11 miles down the main dirt road of the park, where a cavernous opening leads to what the Mayans once described as the Underworld. It forms a sort of tunnel here, with the Rio Frio pooling and winding through it. Nearby, the Rio On (there are lots of small rivers in this area) awaits, with a series of deep and shallow pools ready-made for adventurous kids (and their parents) to explore. Stop at the turnout for the River On Pools, where you can go to a picnic area and overlook to the left (where a series of steep stairs take you to the river and the lower pools) or to the right, where you can access a gentle trail to the upper pools. We chose to descend the stairs and climb and leap our way up the river, sampling pools as we went, but there is a small, rudimentary changing area and a sandy slope to the pools if you opt for the easier path. The River On Pools were our all-time favorite activity in Belize, and we could easily have spent all afternoon there. Perhaps because they’re difficult to get to, the pools are not crowded at all when we arrived right after lunch on a weekday in February.

Closer to the entrance of the park, you can also follow signage to 1000 Foot Falls, the impressive waterfall you’ve likely seen on postcards and posters of Belize. It’s a decent detour on another rough dirt road (it took us about 30 minutes to get there from the main dirt road), and features an overlook where you can snap photos of the falls and watch for hawks and raptors circulating along the steep, impressive ridgelines. While we were impressed by the view, we wished some trail networks existed here, because after the long drive, we were itching to get some exercise and spend more time along the ridge.

Note: there are a number of eco lodges in the park, but if you opt to stay in one, remember how remote they are! Once settled, you likely won’t be venturing throughout the Cayo District much until you depart.

St. Herman’s Cave & Blue Hole:

No, not that Blue Hole…the one everyone snorkels and scuba dives in is located on the ocean, whereas this Blue Hole is a delightful swimming hole deep in the jungle. Start by touring St. Herman’s cave, for which a guide is required. We loved this tour for several reasons: first, it’s unlike caves in the US with their guard rails, lights, and paved paths. St. Herman’s cave is navigated by climbing, hiking, and sometimes crawling through the limestone passageways. Secondly, the Mayan history is here is fabulous: you can spot shards of pottery and some large pieces of vases and dishes in the cave, as well as ancient remnants of ash and charcoal from campfires. The cave was once used for rituals and the space resonates with history.

It takes about 1.5 hours to navigate the cave, and by the time you emerge on the other side, you will be hot and sweaty (yes, this cave is warm!). This is when to go swimming at Blue Hole! There are also four distinct hiking trails through the jungle here, all part of the Blue Hole National Park, so if you didn’t come with a guide (and therefore can only peek into St. Herman’s cave) you can enjoy the trails at your leisure. There are also guided tubing tours through the cave, though personally, we thought it more fun and more peaceful to cave spelunk away from the splashing, noisy groups.

Note: ATM cave is one of the most popular in the region, and while we did not tour it, we were advised that St. Herman’s is more technical and more challenging to navigate. If you would prefer something a bit more relaxed while still beautiful and impressive, ATM may be the better option for you.

We spent four full days in San Ignacio and barely scratched the surface of all there is to do here. In addition to the tours described above, cultural tours of Mayan women’s co-ops (where traditional cooking can be learned) and San Ignacio (where the art of Mayan chocolate-making is demonstrated and sampled) should not be missed. The latter can be arranged on your own as you walk through town, but the former requires a guide. There are also Macal River canoe trips, additional caving options, and the Green Iguana Conservation Project, located at San Ignacio Resort Hotel. (See our review of the hotel for a full description of this on-site project.)

Guided tours can be booked downtown, but we highly recommend arranging your tours through the concierge at San Ignacio Resort Hotel, who will take the time to describe your options and make the experience seamless. Tours are kept to your own family group, so you get a personalized experience every time, and if you book multiple tours, they do their best to give you the same guide each day, so you establish a great report and friendship. You don’t need to be a guest of the resort to utilize their expertise, though I do recommend staying here!

Do you have a favorite Cayo District outdoor adventure? Share in the comments!

Belize luxury at San Ignacio Resort Hotel

February 18, 2019 By Amy Hagstrom

Remote tranquility and center-of-town convenience: it’s not often travelers get the best of both worlds. At San Ignacio Resort Hotel, however, guests are immersed in the wilderness of the Belizean jungle on one side and in the hospitality of town in the other. Sitting on our suite balcony, my son and I were level with the treetops, where we watched green iguanas, listened to bird song, followed the path of the clouds in the blue sky. We could enjoy our meals on the open-air patio while our server pointed out toucans, and yet, whenever the mood struck, we were only a five-minute walk from downtown San Ignacio, with its shops and restaurants.

San Ignacio Resort Hotel is the town’s luxury boutique resort option, sitting atop a hillside overlooking town. With only 30+ rooms, every guest enjoys personalized attention. Situated on 10 acres (guests have access to five of these acres), the grounds are green, lush, and peaceful. From every outdoor space, from the hammocks on the pool deck to the patios, you’re in a wildlife-viewing location. This award-winning hotel has been a mainstay in San Ignacio since 1976, is family-owned and operated, and has deep roots in the community.

Resort lobby

Resort amenities and on-site activities:

San Ignacio Resort Hotel is home to the Green Iguana Conservation Project, an iguana rescue program with facilities on-site. Families can tour the rescue habitat for the iguanas, where they’ll learn about these animals, their endangerment, and their behaviors in their natural habitat. We learned about the project’s incubation, hatching, rearing, and releasing process, and were able to feed and hold these gentle reptiles, which was so much fun…after we got over our intimidation! Tours are under $10 per person, and you can combine it with a hike along the hotel’s medicinal trails.

Iguana on property

The Medicinal Trail is about half a mile (though there are additional loops to lengthen or shorten your hike) and your guide from San Ignacio Resort Hotel will stop often to point out and describe the various medicinal plants this jungle has in abundance. We smelled, tasted, plucked, and identified dozens of medicinal plants, and learned far more than we could retrain! You need to tour the trails with a guide, and this tour can be combined with a tour of the iguana project.

There is also early morning birdwatching programs at the hotel, with binoculars provided, as well as a swimming pool, hammocks, lounge chairs, and a bar on-site. There is also a tennis court, with rackets and balls provided upon request, but note that there is no netting around the court. This means you need to be quite skilled at keeping your ball in play, or you’ll lose it to the jungle!

Street market in San Ignacio (within walking distance of the hotel)

Of course, you can also walk downtown to shop or dine (it’s literally a five-minute walk down the hill, which translates to a 10-minute walk back up!). The main street in town, Burns, is pedestrian-only, and you’ll find restaurant options ranging from Chinese to Indian to traditional Belizean. Our favorites included Ko-Ox-Han-Nah, serving up Belizean favorites plus curries and seafood in a casual, bustling environment, to Crave (upscale pasta and seafood) and Irva’s (incredible fish and shrimp!) just a block off the main drag. The fruit and vegetable market in San Ignacio is also within easy walking distance, and is liveliest on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays but open every day of the week. In town, we also enjoyed AJAW Chocolate and Crafts, where the cultural and historical story behind Mayan cacao is demonstrated (and tasted!).

Tour offerings throughout the Cayo District:

In addition to its beautiful grounds and luxurious accommodations, San Ignacio Resort Hotel shines in its tour offerings. Their tour guides are among the best in the region, and their concierge makes booking and executing each day’s adventure seamless. Just sit down with one of San Ignacio Resort Hotel’s concierges and you’ll know you’re in good hands right away. They offer dozens of tours ranging from half-day cultural and Mayan archeological site tours to outdoor adventures ranging from hiking to cave spelunking to canoeing to swimming. We kept ourselves busy each day, starting with tours of Xunantunich and Cahal Pech (located nearby) and downtown San Ignacio and then venturing further abroad for tours of Cayo District’s stunning St. Herman’s Cave and Blue Pool and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve.

San Ignacio Resort Hotel’s policy is to keep tours small and personalized, and they make a concerted effort to provide private tours for just your group. Shuttle van transportation is included, as are gourmet packed lunches for all-day tours. We were lucky enough to have the same guide every day; Cruz was a wealth of knowledge and so fun to spend time with! It is obvious that he takes pride in his job and goes the extra mile to know this region inside and out. There are a few additional reputable tour services in San Ignacio, but I’d never venture farther than the hotel’s offerings, as I know I can trust in the team here.

San Ignacio Resort Hotel room options and types:

Three suites comprise the upstairs level at San Ignacio Resort Hotel: the Royal Suite (where Queen Elizabeth II once stayed), the Honeymoon suite, and the Master suite. We were pampered in the two-bedroom Royal suite, with its four-poster bed, separate private bedroom, kitchenette with microwave, fridge, and wet bar, living space, and ample outdoor space on the balcony. We spent most of our time outside, where we watched the iguanas in the tree at eye-level and waited for toucans to come visit us. (Suites include daily breakfast.)

The suites are the definition of luxury, but the garden rooms and balcony rooms aren’t far behind, for a very affordable price point. The garden rooms feature outdoor terrace space with hammocks, and the balcony rooms overlook the jungle canopy.

Dining at San Ignacio Resort Hotel:

The main dining room serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with local beef from Running W Ranch, located just outside town. All meals are casual, and are served in the open-air dining room or on the spacious patio overlooking the jungle. There is a full bar as well, which serves signature cocktails before dinner and drinks throughout the evening, plus a limited bar menu with poolside service as well. It’s worth noting that this resort is committed to eco-friendly measures; there are no plastic straws. Guests are instead offered macaroni straws, which are both fun and sustainable. Well done!

We ate breakfast daily (which can also be ordered to your room or suite), and either ordered a packed lunch as part of our tour or ate lunch in town. Dinners we ate at the resort dining room or in town, and we enjoyed the daily specials and specialty nights that changed things up during our stay. There’s a limited but quality wine list by the glass and by the bottle, and always save room for dessert!

Birdwatching at breakfast!

From the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, you have all of the outdoor adventure of the Cayo District at your disposal. It’s central to all the Mayan sites and swimming holes, caves, and hikes that dot this region. Airport shuttle van transfers can be arranged; we found this to be the most convenient way to get to the resort. Otherwise, you’ll need a rental car for the 1.5-2 hour drive from Belize City. Bus service is also possible, but not the most luxurious. The great news: once you’re at San Ignacio Resort Hotel, you won’t want to be going far!

Disclosure: we tried out the hotel as guests of San Ignacio Resort Hotel, for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

Central America packing list and gear picks

March 31, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

Heading to Central America? You’re going to need to pack smart, for both sun protection and insect protection. And of course, you’ll want to be comfortable in humid and tropical weather. We just returned from Panama and Costa Rica, where we stayed relatively cool and safe from the elements by following this Central America packing list.

Central America packing list:

2-3 lightweight, long-sleeved travel shirts
2-3 lightweight t-shirts or tank tops
2 pairs quick-dry, wicking travel pants (convertible a plus)
2 pairs of shorts, skirts, or dresses
4-5 pair quick-dry travel underwear/bras (trust us)
1 swim suit (preferably a ‘sporty’ type for activities)
1 light pullover, sweater, or cardigan
1 breathable rain jacket
1 pair walking or hiking shoes
1 pair water-ready sandals
3-5 pair hiking socks (preferably lightweight wool)
1 wide-brimmed, lightweight hat (think safari style)

Gear picks: the brands and products we recommend:

Look for clothing that’s specifically designed for hot, humid environments with lots of bright sunshine and more than its share of insects. Your clothing needs to be breathable, loose enough to be comfortable while you’re active, and quick-drying for water sports (and humidity and sweat). Here’s what we took to Panama and Costa Rica and loved:

Toad & Co Debug line: Toad & Co’s ‘Debug’ line comes treated with insect shield technology that lasts through years of washes. It’s much safer to wear bug-treated clothing than to spray insect repellent directly onto your skin, and because Toad & Co’s Debug line is designed for tropical environments, most items are also very breathable and lightweight. I wore the Debug Hike Thru shirt both onboard our UnCruise on travel days and in the jungle. Their bandana scarf is also a great item to accessorize with, giving your debug benefits without buying a whole outfit.

Craghoppers Insect shield line: Craghoppers’ Insect Shield line is made for men and women, and offers both long and short-sleeved ‘Panama’ shirts, lightweight jackets with multiple pockets, and hiking pants. Our Pit Stops Dad loved the NatGeo Insect Shield cargo shorts and I liked the NatGeo adventure shirt. Best of all, there’s a nice line of kids’ insect shield clothing, which can be hard to find elsewhere! Our son wore the Insect Shield half-zip.

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ExOfficio BugsAway line: I’ve always loved ExOfficio for travel wear, and their BugsAway line is fashionable and comfortable. I’ve worn their Damselfly pant in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Costa Rica. And ExOfficio is absolutely where to go for quick dry underwear for your trip!

Columbia Sportswear: Columbia doesn’t make insect-treated clothing (that we are aware of), but they do make some of our favorite hiking/travel shirts and pants, and are less expensive than most. They come in kid sizes too, and our son’s favorite is the Bahama long-sleeve. Definitely shop Columbia for zip-off convertible hiking pants, too.

Mountain Khakis’ Equatorial shirt and pants: This line isn’t insect-repellant, but it IS SPF-blocking and when we wore Equatorial shirts in the jungles of Panama and Costa Rica, these were the ONLY shirts that stood up to more than one wear. Somehow, the sweat wicked off; we called them our ‘magic’ shirts. MK also makes an Equatorial pant that zips off. Both are recommended.

Aventura Clothing: Again, no bug-proaction line (but maybe if I keep hinting?), but Aventura Clothing makes THE best after-adventure clothing out there. When you get back from your paddle boarding session or jungle trek, put on soft, organic cotton for your evening indoors. This spring, I am loving Aventura’s Hannah cardigan and Pearson tank for layering. The men’s line, Ecoths, makes really stylish and comfortable short-sleeved, button-down shirts perfect for cocktail hour and dinner. Pit Stop Dad’s favorite: Garrick Polo.

See also: our most comfortable travel pants for moms!

Sun hats: The most important thing about sun hats in Central America is…wear one. So pick a wide-brimmed style you like, and bring it along! It helps to pick a style that flattens easily for travel, and has a strap to secure it both when wore and when you want to strap it to your bag or backpack. We love the sun hats for kids at Sunday Afternoons and Columbia, and the adult offerings at Tilley.

Travel products to protect against Zika Virus

September 9, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

We love family adventure, but we’re careful to be mindful of threats to family safety while we travel. Before you go to Central or South America, or the Caribbean, make sure you pack these travel products to protect against Zika or other mosquito-borne illnesses. And of course, always consult a health care professional before any trip to a destination known to have a Zika threat, to discuss any danger to your family.

Ben’s Insect Repellent Wipes:

The first step in protecting your family against Zika is to keep mosquitos away. We don’t like using DEET on our skin, but in the case of mosquito-borne illness, it may come down to choosing the lesser of two evils. Ben’s repellent is a brand I’ve come to trust, and it does offer protection from ticks and insects that may carry the Zika Virus, West Nile Virus (WNV), Lyme disease, Malaria, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), and other infectious diseases. Pick up a bottle of Ben’s in a TSA-complient size on Amazon.

Natrapel Wipes:

We’re a family that spends a lot of time outdoors, and Natrapel is the only DEET-free insect repellent we’ve found to significantly work. It uses a CDC-recommended 20% Picaridin formula, and lasts 12 hours. We use the wipes, simply because our kids tolerate them best, but it also comes in a spray bottle form. Pick up a package of wipes for under $9 on Amazon.

Adventure Medical Kits World Travel kit:

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for every family to have a well-stocked medical and first aid kit when they travel. Yes, medical supplies and medications are available almost anywhere, but that doesn’t mean they’re readily available, and it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to communicate your needs or find the right place to buy them. Sometimes, they’ll be packaged differently or have a different brand name, making matters more confusing. Even in first-world countries like Ireland and England, I’ve had trouble finding the over-the-counter medicines I’ve occasionally needed.

We use Adventure Medical Kits when we camp and backpack, and their World Travel kit has everything you’ll need for a family of four. It’s fairly bulky, but I love that there’s extra room for your personal medications, too. It’s incredibly well designed, with different pockets for everything, and each flap is labelled, so you can easily get to the right space for intestinal medications, bandages, allergy meds, etc. It comes with a diagram for communicating your needs in several languages, and a pretty thick booklet on basic first aid. For trips when I’m short on space, I may remove the book to save space and weight. Pick up a World Travel kit on Amazon at a discount.

Scarf or head net:

I almost never travel without an organic cotton or wool scarf. I find so many uses for one, from a wrap on the chilly airplane to an optional headdress or bandana while in foreign countries. In Central and South America, my scarf has doubled as bug protection. I love Aventura Clothing scarves, but use what works for you. In some cases, you may even want to upgrade to a mosquito net for your head. We have used Sea to Summit mosquito head nets. Pick one up for under $10 on Amazon.

Insect repellent clothing:

For travel to the Caribbean and Central and South America during which you know you’ll be outside a lot, such as when we were volunteering in the Dominican Republic or our upcoming trip to Panama, when we know we’ll be visiting national parks and preserves, we decided we would rather invest in travel clothing treated with insect repellent rather than spray ourselves with it daily. I love the Toad & Co DeBug line for women, and have also traveled with ExOfficio’s BugsAway line extensively. ExOfficio is the first US company to offer insect protection in clothing, and their BugsAway items keep their repellent for 70 washes. I’m still wearing my ExOfficio crew shirt from 2013. For this fall’s travel, my husband is now wearing ExOfficio’s Baja Sur shirt, which is lightweight but tough as nails.

For kids, Columbia Sportswear’s PFG Bahama long-sleeved shirt helps repel both sun and mosquitos (though it is not treated with repellent).

Mosquito-free shelter:

Part of the fun of a tropical destination is sleeping outside in warm weather. If you think you’ll be sleeping outdoors, whether in a hammock on the rental home porch or in a backcountry environment, consider a mosquito shelter like Grand Trunk’s Mozzy Net. This 144″ by 30″ shelter includes spreader bars and guy lines, so you can expand it fully, like a tent, giving you plenty of room. And it packs down small into its own stuff sack for easy transport. Pick one up on Amazon for under $60.

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Have you traveled to Central or South America or the Caribbean lately? What precautions have you taken?

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Ecotourism activities in Costa Rica: Nature parks and lodging

December 17, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

The Republic of Costa Rica is a rough and tropical rain forested Central American country, with a population of around 4.5 million. The country is popular for nature travel destination among the tourist because of its rich flora and fauna, beaches and volcanoes. Costa Rica has the highest population of plants and animals species on earth.

There are around 26 nature parks, 8 biological reserves, 32 protected zones, 11 forest reserves, 58 wildlife refuges, 15 wetlands in Costa Rica (source: Costa Rica National Parks) which is home to 850 type of bird species, 237 mammal species, 1,260 tree species, 1,200 orchid species, and 361 reptile and amphibian species. Because of the rich wildlife, ecotourism activities in Costa Rica are one of the popular and key activities of the tourism industry which attracts large crowd of tourist to this country. As ecotourism is a major source of income; the country has very strict environmental policies, to safe guard the environment. Government also implemented special programs like Bandera Azul Program (Ecological Blue Flag) and Voluntary Certification Program to evaluate and maintain sustainable tourism with the conservation of the environment.

Ecotourism activities in Costa Rica provides a combination of luxury and adventure activities, which includes visits to rich wildlife to experience flora and fauna, visiting volcanoes, hiking, river rafting, bird watching, whale watching, canopy tours, horse riding, bungee jumping, surfing and snorkeling are some of the few mentions. You can also visit to the local coffee plantations and visits to the local communities to know more about their culture. In Costa Rica you will experience rainforest, volcanoes, beaches, wetlands and caves all at one place. These activities are not only for fun and leisure but also take you closer to the nature and help you understand the natural life more properly.

Top 5 nature parks in Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio National Park (Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio)

A small national park established in 1972 near Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Although smallest of all Costa Rican natural parks, the park is among the most beautiful natural parks in the world. It covers an area of around 680 hectares. About 150,000 tourists visit this park annually. Manuel Antonio National Park encompasses tropical rain forest, white sand beaches and coral reefs. Although the park is smallest of all in Costa Rica, the diversity of wildlife is immense. This park is home of is 109 mammal species and 184 bird species. Brown-throated three-toed sloth, Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth and white-headed capuchin monkey are the major feature of this park.

Rincón de la Vieja National Park ( Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja)

A national park situated in the Guanacaste province of the northwestern part of Costa Rica. This 34,800 acre national park is a combination of active volcanoes and tropical forests with naturally heated pools, mud fumaroles and beautiful waterfalls. Rincón de la Vieja, Santa María and dormant volcano Cerro Von Seebach are the volcanoes in this national park. The park is rich of flora and fauna which include species like pumas, jaguar, monkeys-howler, spider, and white-faced-kinkajous, sloths, and tapirs.

Isla del Coco (Cocos Island)

An uninhabited island declared as a protected national park, situated in Pacific Ocean around 550 kms from Costa Rica. Cocos Island is the only oceanic island in Pacific region with such a dense rainforests and diverse flora and fauna. Because the island is never linked to the continent, the island is home of endemic species. There are around 230 species of plants, 400 species of insects, 90 bird species and rich marine fauna with a large population of yellow fin tuna, giant mantas, sailfish and sharks such as white tip reef shark, scalloped hammerhead shark and the whale shark. About 3200 of tourists visits this park annually. One of the major attractions of this park is the rich underwater world, ideal for scuba diving.

Corcovado National Park (Parque Nacional Corcovado)

A national park established in 1975 situated on Osa Peninsula in south eastern part of Costa Rica covering a 42,400 hectare of area. It’s the largest park in Costa Rica, with intense and richest bio diversity in the world. The park is open for day and overnight visits (with professional guides) for tourists. This park is home to abundance of wildlife like, scarlet macaws, spider monkeys, Central American squirrel monkey, mantled howler monkeys, sloths, anteaters, pumas, white faced capuchin monkeys, woodpeckers, hermit crabs and pelicans just to name some few.

Tortuguero National Park

This is third most visited national park, which is situated in the northeastern part of the Costa Rica, reached only by airplane or boat. It covers an area of 31173 hectare. This national park is a protected area because of its bio diversity and eco system, which supports endangered species of flora and fauna. The park is located in a tropical climate, which includes rain forests, mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. This national park has a long beach nearly 35 kilometers, which serve as protective nesting ground for the sea turtles which is the main attraction. This park consist of around 400 species for trees and 2200 species of plants and fauna species like, sea turtles (hawksbill, loggerheads, green, and leatherbacks), bull shark, eel and 30 species of freshwater fish.

Where to Stay in Costa Rica

Apart from the ecological activities, Costa Rica is also famous for the ecofriendly resorts. As the government in the country have very strict environmental rules. Every resort in the country has to go through CST (Certification for Sustainable Tourism) program. Under this program, the resort has to be made and run in such a way that they have minimum impact on the nature. Some of the key parameters which all the resorts have to maintain is recycling products, implementation of water and energy saving devices, proper disposal of the waste and conservation and expansion of Costa Rica’s forests.

These ecofriendly resorts are built very close to the nature, far from the towns, which gives the visitors a direct access to the natural outdoor. Tourists can very easily hike through the trails from the resort property to the surrounding forests, hill sides and beaches. As they are situated in isolated locations, they are dependent on solar and wind power for electricity and grow their own food with the help of the local people. These resorts are less fancy and no that much luxurious in comparison of the regular resorts, but definitely they provide accommodation in places like these, which is hard to find mostly. Also the Costa Rican food available in eco lodges is very organic, tasty and fresh. Still some of these are providing luxury rooms, villas and bungalows with AC and WIFI facilities.

Not only the stay, the activities offered in Costa Rica resorts is numerous and also very popular, which includes day and night tours to the wild life, hiking tours, horse-back riding tours, tours to the natural hot springs with local eco-guides, volcano views from observation towers, visits to herbal farms, bird watching, dolphin, whale-watching and adventure activities like mountain bike rides, canopy zip line tours, sport fishing, white-water river rafting, snorkeling, surfing, kayaking and scuba diving. Also the resort helps you to properly schedule your activities and tours for you. So if experiencing nature is your priority travel goal in Costa Rica, these eco lodges will be your priority spots for stay. Here are some popular eco-friendly Costa Rica resorts, Lapa Rios, Luna Nueva Lodge, La Cusinga Lodge, Bosque Del Cabo, Danta Corcovado Lodge, Costa Rica Tree House Lodge, Cerro Escondido and Rara Avis Rainforest Lodge and Reserve.