In 1994 my wife and I went to Costa Rica and stayed at Rancho Naturalista.
It is a wonderful lodge in the western rain forest. They picked us up at
the airport in San Jose, they had an on site naturalist available for
bird walks and wonderful meals. They also own Tarcoles Lodge on the Pacific
Ocean at the Tarcoles River. It was a bit more rustic, but near the
Carares Nature Preserve.

There is a natural spring at Rancho where 12-15 species of hummingbirds
come to bathe. There is an advertisement in _Birding_.

The toll free number is 1-800-593-3305.

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>Tweeters,
> My family and I are planning on spending this Christmas in Costa
>Rica. I was hoping that some of you would be able to recommend
>regions, hotels, parks, and beaches that were particularly enjoyable.
> Being the only 'declared' birder in the family (the other two are
>mere nature buffs :) ), most of our destinations must include some form
>of non-avian recreation. We would like to avoid big resorty-type
>things whenever possible.
> Other sources of puzzlement:
> ---renting a car and driving in Costa Rica--deadly?
> ---the Carribean Coast?
> ---the Osa penninsula?
> ---ID book?
>Thanks for any and all information. Please feel free to e-mail me
>directly.
>Zach Thompson
>Seattle, WA
>zath at u.washington.edu
>
>

--
********************************* I am but mad north-north-west;
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * when the wind is southerly,
* mpatters at orednet.org * I know a hawk from a handsaw.
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters -ws