Lodge Review: Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Tara

Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve was a perfect choice for our first night in Costa Rica. My only regret is we didn’t stay longer! The setting is stunning, birds are everywhere, the rooms have decks overlooking the pool and rainforest and the food was great! They have a very impressive sustainability program.

GETTING HERE

Use your miles to book a ticket to San Jose, Costa Rica. This will be a Central America award. The easy way is getting a taxi or shuttle direct from the airport. Directions are on their website. I’ll go into more detail about getting around Costa Rica later. If you want to save money, it’s very easy to get here by local bus. First you get a bus in front of the airport that will take you from Alajuela to downtown San Jose. Then you need to get a taxi to “Gran Terminal del Caribe” where you can book a bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui.

The buses are comfortable and leave about once per hour. They were very cheap, I forgot the exact price but it was around $8-ish. Once you arrive at Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, you can get a bus to Chilamate which passes the lodge. We didn’t want to wait a couple hours so took a taxi to the lodge for around $5-ish. There is a small shop in the bus station to stock up on drinks and snacks.

Taxis wait on the street outside the bus station.

THE FACILITIES

From the moment you enter, this place has the WOW factor! The open-air lobby has beautiful stone work and a stunning rainforest mural.

You then walk down the covered walkways to your room. Ours overlooked the pool with a wrap around deck shared with the room next door.

The rooms are attractively furnished with lovely artwork.

The swimming pool is surrounded by rainforest, you can see birds flying overhead while swimming! We even saw a pair of Great Green Macaws! I was less thrilled to see this dragon-like iguana. I am so not a reptile fan!

The restaurant has an equally lovely setting with nice pizzas and main meals. Breakfast is upstairs and served as a buffet. We came in a bit late due to the birding but still found enough to fill us up. I just LOVE these tables, too bad I couldn’t bring one home! I knew I had zero chance of getting it home in one piece even if I could carry it!

Although this photo was taken when it was closed, I did patronize the gift shop very well!

One of the nicest things about this lodge is the educational displays and the evening lecture by the lodge’s official guide, Alejandro (shown here with my husband).

Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve gets excellent reviews on Trip Advisor but please note that there are some reports of the pizza restaurant being closed during low (green) season. Someone also said there wasn’t an educational talk so best to email the lodge and ask if they will be offered when you are there. This place attracts both die-hard birders and mainstream tourists so they may not offer such things if they don’t think anyone is interested in birding.

There are some nice trails on the property, both covered and uncovered and you can walk down by the river to see more birds. Tomorrow, I will post lots of bird photos to show you what you can see here!

HOW TO BOOK

I recommend first checking their website to see if there are any specials on. At time of writing, there is a killer deal, I would book this in a heartbeat if we could get back there in time!

You can also book this lodge via the usual miles-earning portals. They can be found on Pointshound, Expedia, Hotels.com and many others. Rates usually include the breakfast buffet. Be sure to email them however you book your stay to let them know you want to go birding so they arrange the guide.

Blue-grey Tanager (Thraupis episcopus)

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Tara

The Blue-grey Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) is a medium-sized South American songbird of the Tanager family, Thraupidae. Its range is from Mexico south to northeast Bolivia and northern Brazil, all of the Amazon Basin, except the very south. It has been introduced to Lima (Peru). On Trinidad and Tobago, this bird is called Blue Jean.

This delicately hued little beauty has a wide range throughout Central and South America (easily reached with airline miles) and can be easily seen in most of the national parks. I saw them in Crooked Tree, Belize; Tikal, Laguna del Lagarto & Savegre, Costa Rica; and Soberania in Panama.

The breeding habitat is open woodland, cultivated areas and gardens. The Blue-grey Tanager lives mainly on fruit, but will also take some nectar and insects. This is a common, restless, noisy and confiding species, usually found in pairs, but sometimes small groups. It thrives around human habitation, and will take some cultivated fruit like papayas (Carica papaya). Many eco-lodges put bananas out to attract them closer. I have no problem with this since bananas are part of their normal diet. Breeding season is from March to July. During this time, the female lays one to three mottled eggs, which she incubates for 12 to 14 days. Once hatched, both parents feed their chicks.

Adult blue-gray tanagers are preyed upon by felines, snakes, birds of prey and crocodilians. Other predators, such as raccoons, eat young birds and eggs. Habitat destruction due to deforestation is the primary threat to this species.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Rainforest Alliance

VIDEO

This one is long but watch for a few minutes to see the bird’s feeding habits and sound.

Costa Rica – Something For Everyone, Especially Eco-Tourists

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Tara

First of all, the whole country is visually stunning. The Pacific coast, Caribbean coast, mountains, volcanoes, rainforests, lakes, rivers and national parks. Not surprisingly, Costa Rica is not only a popular vacation spot for mainstream tourists but also serves the cruise industry and a growing population of retirees who find their pensions go a lot further there. The tourist infrastructure is well-established and credit cards are widely accepted.

GETTING THERE

You will need a Central America award on your airline of choice. If you are new here, please have a look at the programs I recommend you to join. San Jose (SJO) is very well served by Star Alliance (red dot) carriers but there are a few interesting options on One World (blue dot) and Sky Team (green dot). Most people would either be coming from or connecting in the USA but if you don’t want to travel via the USA you can connect in Madrid on Iberia or Toronto on Air Canada.

You can also fly to Liberia airport (LIR) on any of the 3 major alliances.

WHERE TO STAY

Most of the major hotel chains are represented here but I strongly advise you not to go overboard booking them. I have seen people book 7-10 days in San Jose when the Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza goes on Pointbreaks but this is a false economy (unless you are on a business trip). Costa Rica has so much to offer and I hate to see people spending their whole trip in the city! One night before or after a flight is fine and there are several options which I will go over in the San Jose post. Eco-lodges can be ridiculously easy to book online (even getting miles via Pointshound) with secure credit card payments and instant confirmations.

NATIONAL PARKS

As you can see, Costa Rica is truly blessed with national parks full of fascinating birds and amazing scenery! The red line and dots represent our itinerary which I chose to maximize Parrot sightings and also to see the gorgeous Respendent Quetzal. I was also reluctant to hire a car here so I had to choose places easy to get to on public transport or tourist shuttles.

1. Selva Verde, Sarapiqui

2. Laguna del Lagarto, Boca Tapada

3. Arenal

4. Monteverde

5. Carara

6. Parque Nacional Los Quetzales

7. San Jose (pre-flight)

Our Travel Route

White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons)

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Tara

The White-fronted Amazon (Amazona albifrons) also known as the White-fronted Parrot, or adopted slang term Spectacled Amazon is found throughout most of Central America.

We saw them in Belize at Belize Bird Rescue, Tikal National Park and Laguna del Lagarto in Costa Rica.

The White-fronted Amazon, at about 25 cm (10 in) long, is the smallest of the Amazon parrots. This species is named for the bright white patch of feathers on their foreheads, although the amount of white varies from individual to individual. They have mostly green plumage with some blue colouring on their outspread wings. They have bright red coloring around their eyes (in some individuals almost like spectacles) and blue coloring behind the patch of white on their foreheads.

They can be found in a variety of wooded areas and open country with trees such as moist, seasonal semi-evergreen and deciduous forest, pine woodlands, gallery forest, ranchland with stands of open woodland, savanna and arid tropical scrub with cacti. Up to 1850m (6068 ft).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

VIDEO

I had a hard time finding footage of this bird in the wild, this one is short but you can hear what they sound like.

United Airlines: Earn 25% More Miles When You Convert Points Into Miles

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Tara

This is one of those bonuses many of us wait for to get rid of those extra hotel points we may have accumulated but can’t use. Since most of our travel is staying in eco-lodges where you can’t pay with points, we value airline miles more as we still need to get to the place! So here’s the deal:

Here’s the link to register if you didn’t get the email. Make sure your transferred points earn at least 5000 miles or you won’t get the bonus. The normal 5000 miles becomes 6250 miles with the 25% bonus. This is a complete table of conversion rates.

Marriott – minimum conversion of 16,000 points to earn 5000 United miles plus bonus.
Hilton – minimum conversion of 50,000 points to earn 5000 miles plus bonus.
SPG – minimum conversion of 10,000 points to earn 5000 miles plus bonus.
IHG Rewards – minimum conversion of 30,000 points to earn 6000 miles plus bonus (can only do increments of 10,000 points)
Club Carlson – minimum conversion of 50,000 points to earn 5000 miles plus bonus.
Hyatt – minimum conversion of 12,500 points to earn 5000 miles plus bonus.
Choice – minimum conversion of 25,000 points to earn 5000 miles plus bonus.
Wyndham – minimum conversion of 16,000 points to earn 6400 miles plus bonus. (2 x 8000 to 3200 fixed award level).

So is it a good value to make these conversions? This is where you need to have an idea of how many hotel point redemptions you will be making in the next couple years or so and if you have enough points to do them with anything left over. You may have a surplus of hotel points if you got the affiliate credit card or bought some on special during a promo.

Wyndham is currently selling their points with a 20% bonus. This can work well if you need to top up your United account for an award. For example:

Buy 20,000 Wyndham points for $220 and get 4000 points as a bonus for 24,000 all up. These 24,000 points convert in 3 x batches of 8000 (3 x 3200) so you end up with 9600 United miles. Add on the 25% bonus and the final total is 12,000 United miles for your outlay of $220.

If you wanted to buy 12,000 United miles at the regular price, it would cost you $451.50 so you are buying them at less than half price. I don’t advise buying miles on speculation as they could devalue before you get a chance to redeem them but this is a good way to top up for an award you will be redeeming soon.

Overnight Transit At Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Tara

Since the focus of this trip was birding in the wonderful national parks and reserves of Central America, we didn’t spend much time in cities. We did have a few overnight transits pre-flight and this is when eco-tourists can put hotel points to good use. We were traveling between Flores and San Jose, Costa Rica. Guatemala City is also very easily reached using airline miles if you want to make it your gateway to the region.

The Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City proved to be an excellent value as we only paid 9000 points when I booked it in early 2013. It’s only a 5 minute drive from the airport and they have a free shuttle but you have to email them and let them know when you are coming. Return trips to the airport leave at fixed times from around 5am-ish.

The room was spotlessly clean and the hot shower very welcome after a morning of birding and afternoon stroll around Flores.

The wifi is free but I was too tired to do anything but check emails and pass out in the comfy bed.

I was really impressed at the great value offered by this hotel and think it’s a perfect choice for an early morning flight. The shuttle was very reliable and free! The property has been getting good reviews on Trip Advisor. The points rate has since gone up to 15,000 points but even the advance purchase rate is reasonable at $102.

Flight Review, Taca: Flores – Guatemala City – San Jose, Costa Rica

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Tara

Many people on FlyerTalk are members of Avianca-Taca Lifemiles due to some very generous promos such as the buy/give/share 100% bonus promos. Most people are collecting the miles to redeem on Star Alliance awards so very few have actually flown on Taca so I hope this post will be of interest.

This route is a special bargain whether you are using Lifemiles or United Mileage Plus. Look how much it would cost to buy the tickets. Before you get too excited about “business class” remember these are only small planes so there is no business class unless you connect again in El Salvador.

You can choose from a daytime connection that gets you to SJO in the evening or an overnight connection in GUA. If you go for the morning connection, you would need to spend the night in Flores. We did the overnight connection so we could maximize time at Tikal, arrive in San Jose at a decent hour and use Club Carlson points for a free night at the Radisson.

Using Lifemiles more miles/more money toggle you can bring the cost of these flights down to 3500 miles plus $45 (plus tax).

Using United Mileage Plus it’s still a pretty good deal, especially if you have the usual credit cards. The $51.50 is the tax added on to the flights, you have to pay this on Taca as well. Scroll down if you want the overnight connection because UA lists flights by duration of travel.

There are no lounges in the Flores airport, there is a United Club at Guatemala City. This is the first plane from Flores to Guatemala City, all economy seats but a very short flight so who cares?

Arriving in Guatemala City is strange because you have to wait in line at customs even though it is a domestic flight. We had our boarding passes out ready to show that we were on a domestic flight and they waved us through once we got to the front of the line. Luckily we had carried our backpacks on so we avoided further delay. This was relevant as we found the Radisson’s shuttle waiting for us and one other couple. The other couple didn’t show up so the shuttle took us to the hotel, then the driver got a call that the other couple finally made it out of the airport and were looking for the shuttle!

Next morning, waiting to board plane to San Jose.

Guatemala City airport does have some pretty cool shops which take credit cards without a surcharge. I succumbed to the temptation!

Gateway: Flores, Guatemala

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tara

Flores is a very attractive little town and if it weren’t for the fact that Tikal is so amazing, we probably would have spent a night here. The good news for Star Alliance (especially Lifemiles) members is that Taca has flights to/from Guatemala City twice daily making it very easy to access this charming town. Use the Central America award chart to see how many miles you need. The alternative is an overnight bus to Guatemala City and while I have done this in my younger days (and even last year in Brazil) I would really prefer a good night’s sleep! Linea Dorada and Autobuses del Norte operate this route for around $25-ish.

There are no chain hotels here so you can’t stay here on points. There are all kinds of small, local hotels that looked pretty nice and would do just fine if you can’t/don’t want to stay in the Tikal park. Trip Advisor has the best list, unfortunately I didn’t stay at any of them to make a personal recommendation.

When we checked out of the Tikal Inn, we used their free shuttle that lets people off at either the airport or at the edge of the town. We loved the cobblestone streets, Guatemalan architecture and poking around the craft shops!

We had dinner at this restaurant and the food was excellent! I went for the pork tacos, my less adventurous husband stuck with a hamburger.

After dinner, we hopped in a “tuk-tuk” to get back to the airport. It cost less than $5 and took less than 10 minutes.

Security was making everyone open their bags for a manual inspection so be sure to allow enough time in case there is a line. We only had these little carry-on backpacks.

I love that they had a conservation charity box to help wild birds in the departure area! I put in most of our left-over cash, just keeping enough for a taxi to the Radisson in Guatemala City in case the shuttle didn’t show up.

The Birds Of Tikal National Park

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Tara

Yesterday, I posted about the travel aspect of Tikal National Park and because I had so many photos decided to split the birds off into their own post. Tikal has quite an impressive bird list, with several of my targeted parrot species. I’ll screenshot the parrots and leave you to visit the bird list on their website. Remember, creating a successful birding adventure means identifying the species you most want to see and finding out the best places to see them. I have highlighted in yellow the parrot species I saw at Tikal. I did see the other species later in Costa Rica. The subspecies of Olive-throated Parakeet found here is more commonly known as an Aztec Conure. We saw a small flock near the Grand Plaza flying swiftly overhead-as conures do.

Montezuma Oropendulas were everywhere throughout the whole trip.

Keel-billed Toucan

Lineated Woodpecker

Montezuma Oropendula

Brown-hooded Parrot (Aztec Conure)

Ocellated Turkey

Montezuma Oropendulas and White-fronted Parrots sharing a tree

Great Kiskadee

White-collared Seedeater

Lineated Woodpecker

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Collared Aracaris

Blue-grey Tanager

Long-tailed Hermit

Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Tara

Tikal National Park is located in the Northern Guatemala area of Petén, 60 km from Petén’s capital city of Flores. The closest airport is in Flores and you can use any Star Alliance carrier to book an award on Taca to get there. If you collect Avianca-Taca Lifemiles, there are some amazing bargains to be had if you are flexible with dates. Look how much you can save from the normal rate of 37,500 miles one way!

If you fly into Belize, it is pretty easy to get to the park overland. There are also overnight buses between Guatemala City and Flores but if you have Lifemiles you can book this flight for as little as 3500 miles, a true bargain!

A – Tikal National Park
B – Flores

Whatever you do, please stay at least one night in the park! This gives you a chance to do the sunrise and/or sunset tour plus spend a regular day inside the park exploring the ruins. There are 3 lodges inside the park within walking distance to the entrance.

Tikal Inn – Trip Advisor – My review

Jaguar Inn – Trip Advisor

Jungle Lodge – Trip Advisor

All have their pros and cons so I suggest reading the reviews on Trip Advisor to get a feel for the lodges. We loved our stay at Tikal Inn and can highly recommend it. If these 3 lodges are full, you can seek accommodation at El Remate or Flores but you won’t get to the park in time for sunrise.

The park is open from 6am – 6pm daily and entrance fee is 150 Quetzals. You can also enter the park from 4am for sunrise or stay in the park after sunset, for 250 Quetzales. During these extra hours visitors must be accompanied by a guide. There are no ATMs and they don’t take credit cards so bring cash!

You will buy your first entry ticket at the gate about 15 km down the road before you reach the actual park and lodges. Since you will have already paid to enter, it’s a good idea to make at least a quick visit even if you are tired. We decided to do the sunset tour as part of our Tikal Inn package. We didn’t actually see the sun set (we didn’t climb the pyramid), but we did see some of the ruins and lots of birds! Here’s a few photos from the sunset tour (bird photos are on tomorrow’s post).

If you stay in one of the lodges, the next day you will have to buy a new ticket here. Cash only!

Map of Tikal.

These people were doing some kind of ceremony. I have no idea what it was but it was pretty cool to observe!

The history of these amazing ruins is beyond the focus of this travel blog but you can get a good idea from Wikipedia.

Tikal (/tiˈkäl/) (Tik’al in modern Mayan orthography) is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala’s Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. There is evidence that Tikal was conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.

The trails are well marked so it is unlikely you will get lost but the condition of the trails can be challenging, especially if they are muddy. I managed to throw my back out and struggled quite a bit. I was so sore from this, I decided to forego the sunrise tour as I didn’t want to slow down a whole group and go birding around the grounds instead. We made a 2nd visit during normal hours and were able to take advantage of a small shuttle that takes you up to the Grand Temple for a nominal fee (less than $5). These photos are from the 2nd day.

Outside the park is a small market with souvenirs and handicrafts, some of which take credit cards at a premium. There’s a restaurant near the shops and another one across the road that is cheaper and had good food.

I couldn’t resist the “Angry Bird” Quetzal t-shirt!

The souvenirs weren’t cheap, I wanted this painting but couldn’t afford it and didn’t want to lug it around the rest of the trip. I did end up buying a needlepoint Mayan wall hanging with Quetzals on it.

Mini-Tikal

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Lodge Review: Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve

GETTING HERE

THE FACILITIES

Blue-grey Tanager (Thraupis episcopus)

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

Costa Rica – Something For Everyone, Especially Eco-Tourists

WHERE TO STAY

NATIONAL PARKS

White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons)

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

VIDEO

United Airlines: Earn 25% More Miles When You Convert Points Into Miles

Overnight Transit At Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City

Flight Review, Taca: Flores – Guatemala City – San Jose, Costa Rica

Gateway: Flores, Guatemala

The Birds Of Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park, Guatemala