Days 6, 7 and 8
Quepos and Manuel Antonio
Leave Arenal by heading west along the beaten-up road that fringes azure Lake Arenal and eventually passes through the cheery village of Tilaran. Then head south toward the coast to the funky village of Quepos, which is the gateway for nearby Manuel Antonio National Park.
Along the narrow, highland road that twists for a few miles between Quepos and the national park, you’ll find a slew of attractive inns and restaurants, many of them with panoramic ocean views. One short stretch contains several gay-popular accommodations, the most inviting of which is Big Ruby’s La Plantacion (the owners also have resorts in Key West, Paris, and southern France). Here at this luxuriant, clothing-optional resort, you’ll find stunningly furnished rooms and breathtaking grounds laced with gardens and streams. There’s also a full three-bedroom house with its own pool and ocean views. The other nearby gay accommodations are Hotel Villa Roca (which had a major renovation in 2006) and Hotel Casa Blanca, and Hotel Kekoldi.
At Manuel Antonio National Park and the adjacent beach, there’s great nature-watching – you’ll sometimes spy playful white-faced monkeys cavorting in the trees just behind the sand. There’s also a section of beach that’s particularly popular with gay sun-bunnies – it’s a little hard to find this section, which becomes inaccessible for a couple of hours at high tide each day, but any local can give you directions. You’ll usually find plenty of gay folks along the main beach, too.
There are a handful of excellent restaurants along the main road, most within walking distance of the gay hotels. These include Barba Roja and Bambujam, which both serve creative and contemporary seafood, and Aqua Azul, a casual, open-air bar and cafe with great burgers and mahimahi sandwiches. After dining, have drinks and watch the sunset at the rooftop Tutu bar, which draws a largely gay crowd. Or for serious dancing, head down the road into the town of Quepos, where the Arco Iris disco pulses into the wee hours and attracts a mixed bunch.
Days 9 and 10
Central Highlands
On your ninth day, drive back up the coast from Quepos and ascend the winding but scenic highway into the Central Highlands region, just west of San Jose. Here the air is crisper and cooler than down along the coast, as the attractive hill towns west of San Jose rise to elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. Attractions include Zoo Ave (a preserve where injured or abandoned animals are rehabilitated), La Guacima Butterfly Farm, Irazu Volcano Crater Lake, and Poas Volcano.
An excellent place to spend your final night (or even two nights) is Vista del Valle, a luxurious small inn perched awesomely on the edge of spectacular Rio Grande Canyon. Mainstream but gay-friendly, Vista del Valle has economy-minded rooms in the main house as well as a series of fancier, self-contained cottages set along a network of meandering pathways. Most have private decks overlooking the canyon. In the evening, the inn serves a fixed-price dinner in its open-air dining room.
A more economical but still thoroughly appealing alternative is Pura Vida Bed and Breakfast, just north of the San Jose suburb of Alajuela, a 10-minute drive from the airport. This relaxing former coffee-farmhouse has seven elegantly furnished rooms and sits amid fragrant gardens; several larger units have kitchens, fireplaces, and patios. The owners are tremendously helpful and offer excellent advice on nearby attractions.
Andrew Collins is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA and eight additional travel guides. He can be reached at OutofTown@qsyndicate.com.
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