Location: Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica, Central America (1 1/2 Hours East of San Jose (Costa Rica's Capital))
Accommodations: House, 2 Bedrooms + Attached Unit, 3 Baths (Sleeps 8-12)
Imagine waking up to the sound of parrots and toucans. Enjoy a delicious breakfast, prepared for you by a native Costa Rican, on the patio with the rainforest all around you. Spend your day hiking or mountain biking through the trails, and exploring the streams and cascading waterfalls on this 7 acre mountainside retreat either by yourself or with a local bilingual guide. Watch for tropical birds, butterflies and other wildlife from the balcony, decks or large windows. There are also spectacular views of a lake in the valley below. Every evening between 5:30 and 6:00 the large tree in right front of the house is visited by a huge flock of more than 30 oro pendula birds on their way back to their nests.
White Water Rafting Special:
If you stay at our home for at least two nights you can have a trip on the beautiful Pacuare river (class 2,3,4 rapids) with an experienced English speaking guide. You will be picked up and dropped off at our home. The tour includes lunch and a hike to a waterfall for just $65 a person. Usually the trip costs $95 - $105 The river is rated as one of the top 10 most beautiful rivers in the world by National Geographic.
Be alone with nature! This beautiful home is located in a remote corner of a small farming town in the lush green Turrialba mountains. It is a gorgeous location that is both safe and private. The rainforest surrounds this mountaintop house on three sides. The climate here is perfect, 72-78 degrees year round.
This large, modern, three story home is clean and nicely furnished. You will be very comfortable in the family room, kitchen, dining room, and 2 large bedrooms. There is a balcony that wraps around 3 sides of the house to enjoy the spectacular views. There is a game room with a ping pong table and a foozball table.
The owners are a former Peace Corps volunteer who fell in love with this beautiful friendly town when she lived there 12 years ago and her native Costa Rican husband. They are familiar with the area and can help you plan your stay.
If you are looking for adventure, the city of Turrialba, famous for excellent white water rafting on the Reventazon and Pacuare rivers, is just 15 minutes away. There are 2 Trek mountain bikes at the house for a one of a kind ride downhill to the rivers. Our caretaker can pick up up at the bottom of the mountain or you could pedal back home. There are many shops and restaurants there. Turrialba is known for its street market every Friday and Saturday where a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are sold. Guyabo National Park, an archaeological site is about 30 minutes away and the Turrialba Volcano National Park is about 45 minutes away. CATIE (A University that attracts students from around the world) is 15 minutes away.
If you would like to experience true Costa Rican life, this is the perfect place. The town has one main road, a church, soccer field, and a school. The townspeople are very friendly and helpful. All around the town are family farms of coffee, sugar cane, and macadamia nuts. If you want to see where your coffee or sugar really comes from, you can get a tour from our caretaker and his English speaking son, and pick your own coffee beans or cut down your own sugar cane with a machete. You can also see their farm animals. If you would like to try some delicious fresh tropical fruits, they are growing just down the hill.
If you have children, there is plenty for them to do in this town, and plenty of Spanish speaking friends for them to meet. They can join in a pick up soccer game at the town field, or walk to the neighborhood pulperia to buy snacks or candy, like the local children do. They can even visit the small neighborhood school and possibly leave there with a greater appreciation for their own school back home.
There is a full kitchen with everything you need to cook. Or if you prefer, delicious homemade Costa Rican food can be delivered or prepared in front of you by a native Costa Rican.
You will fall in love with this amazing rainforest getaway in this small friendly Costa Rican town just like we did. Click on the link to our website below to see many more pictures of the house and Turrialba.
Vacation Rental Features
- Amenities
- Washer
- Dryer
- Linens Provided
- Beds
- Double Bed (2)
- Convertible Bed (4) : 2 sofa beds and 2 queen size air mattresses available for use
- Entertainment
- Cable/Satellite TV
- DVD
- VCR
- Video Library
- Foosball
- Ping Pong/Table Tennis
- Kitchen
- Full Kitchen
- Cooking Utensils Provided
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Catering Available: Our neighbor Arlene will cook a hot, fresh breakfast daily. She is available to cook any other meal for you as well .
- Outdoor Features
- Gas/Electric BBQ Grill
- Deck/Patio (3)
- Balcony
- View/Location
- Water View
- Mountain View
- Communications
- Telephone
- Other Amenities
- 2 Trek mountains bikes available for use Massage therapist available $30 hour
- Suitability
- Kid Friendly
- Smoking Not Allowed
- Activities (on site and nearby)
- Shopping
- Sightseeing
- Restaurants
- Rafting
- Kayaking
- Biking
- Mountain Biking
- Wildlife Viewing
- Hiking
- Horseback Riding
- Hot Air Ballooning
- Other Activities
- Bird watching, waterfalls on the property, coffee or sugar cane farm tours, rainforest hike with local guide
Rate Details (In US Dollars)
$85/nt (2 people including daily hot breakfast)
each additional person $10.00 (including breakfast)
$1300/month (2 people including breakfast each day)
50% Deposit Needed To Hold Reservation At Time of Booking
Balance Due 15 Days Prior To Arrival
We accept paypal
Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.
Credit Cards Accepted:
Property Photos
- the view from the balcony - Cartago, Costa Rica Vacation Home Rental
- your destination for an amazing, peaceful vacation - Cartago, Costa Rica Vacation Home Rental
- second bedroom with full bathroom - Cartago, Costa Rica Vacation Home Rental
- White water rafting on the beautiful Paquare River
- Waterfall on the Paquare River
Guest Comments (13)
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Vacation Rentals by Owner Listing #164281
There have been 8220 visitors to this page since the counter was last reset in 2008.
This listing was first published here in 2008.
Date last modified - October 26, 2009
Positive Rating
What an amazing trip that was! I didn't want to leave Turrialba. The house was exceptional and so was Leo our driver. We all felt it was too good to be true. A million pura vida's! Thanks for letting us stay at your house and please extend a gracious thanks to Joseph and his mom's wonderful food. Most definitely will return.
Positive Rating
We had a great experience in your place. Please pass along my sincere gratitude to Josesph and his Mom and Dad for being such great hosts. We left their feeling somewhat part of their family. Joseph's tours were excellent!!! The hoseback riding and whitewater rafting I think will be the highlights of the trip. Please feel free to provide my email address to others if they want a testamonial. We hope to return soon.
Positive Rating
Costa Rica was a lot of fun and loaded with new experiences. We enjoyed staying in Sitio Mata and attending school at CATIE. The area is so beautiful and the Calvo family, especially Joseph, were very hospitable. One week of school was not enough so we want to come back and stay longer next time. The town of Turrialba was just the right size -- not too big and not too small. It's really perfect for someone wanting to learn and use Spanish. There are a lot of activities and sights we still want to do and see, so we hope to be back soon. Your house is awesome and the land around it so beautiful.
Positive Rating
Rod Mumma , Merry Hill NC
Positive Rating
Scott , Palm Bay, FL
Positive Rating
Jim & DeAnn , Utah
Positive Rating
Landon , Provo, Utah
Positive Rating
Susan Jones ,
Positive Rating
, provo, ut
Positive Rating
Hi, We're back, had a fabulous trip and are talking about returning to the land of "Pura Vida". We all appreciated the beauty and the warmth of your rainforest home, it's location and the people of Sitio de Mata. What a gem. The caretaker, Joseph Calvo and his family added an extra special dimension to our vacation that we'll treasure always. Thank you again for the use of your wonderful home. Sosima