Villa La Macha-Quepos-Manuel Antonio

QUEPOS | MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK | ACTIVITIES
WEATHER | A LETTER HOME | MAPS & TRANSPORTATION

Costa Rica is often called the "Switzerland of Latin America. About the same size as Switzerland or West Virginia in territory, Costa Rica is a country graced with great natural beauty, a friendly and warm people who have a literacy rate of 95%, and a long history of peace and stability. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 to invest in its society and natural resources and today approximately 27% of the country is preserved in national parks, forestry reserves, wildlife refuges, and protected buffer zones.

The country’s informal motto is limpia y verde, "clean and green". Costa Rica is blessed with one of the richest bio habitats in the world, with more than 9,000 species of plants (including 1,500 varieties of orchids), 850 species of birds (more than all of North America), and 10% of the world's butterflies, more, in fact, than the entire continent of Africa.

Quepos and Manuel Antonio are among the richest natural areas of the country, offering a paradise-like display of pristine beaches, unspoiled rainforests, and incredible fauna that range from stunning Blue Morpho butterflies to scarlet macaws and white-faced capuchin monkeys. One visitor to the area described her children as thinking that they had been magically transported into the middle of a Discovery Channel broadcast.

The exquisite coastline of Manuel Antonio and Quepos offers some of the most beautiful Pacific beaches in the world. The marlin and sailfish sport fishing for off Quespos' shores is considered some of the best in the world. Here too ecology plays a role as "catch and release" is the norm for billfishing and many charter captains offer the option of using non- barbed hooks that allow the fish to be easily released after being caught.

Manuel Antonio National Park, five miles down the road from Villa La Macha, is one of the smallest of Costa Rica's three dozen national parks and reserves, but it is perhaps the most loved. Its abundance of wildlife and vegetation and its gorgeous white sand beaches that are edged by tall palms and rainforest growth make it popular with international as well as Costa Rican visitors.

A myriad of activities is available in Quepos and Manuel Antonio and within an hour's drive. We provide our guests with a personal guide we have written containing many tips and recommendations about the area, including our favorite restaurants, masseuses, and sport fishing charters. Our staff can make additional suggestions and all necessary arrangements for tours and reservations.

The airport is about 10 minutes out of town, and a well-equipped and well-staffed hospital is located close to the airport.

Manuel Antonio lies a few miles down a paved main road from Quepos. On this road lie most of the hotels and restaurants in the area. Villa La Macha, though just 760 yards from the main road, is in another world. At Villa La Macha you are completely isolated, tucked peacefully into the rainforest above the ocean, with no other houses or people in sight.