TUCANA colorful home, Near Beach, Salt Pool, Pingpong, large rooms

My family of 4 stayed at Casa Tucana for 3 weeks. It is a great house with plenty of room. Everything we needed was provided. The kitchen is well equipped and the outdoor space is amazing. I would definitely stay here again.

We had a wonderful time at Casa Tucana. We were a group of 5 adults and two toddlers. Arriving past midnight, we were greeted by a cheery Chloe who gave us a quick welcome and house set-up. The house is clean, comfortable and breezy, bright, beautifully furnished with spacious, private rooms and all the ammneties you need.

Beautiful salt water pool which the kids enjoyed for endless hours. There were 3 separate socializing areas – the outdoor lounge, which is shaded and private with a well -kept garden of palms and other local fauna. A small deck: perfect for evening drinks and an outdoor area on the roof with a nice view over the surrounding jungle/fields.

We saw monkeys and geckos and frogs and the odd cow in a nearby paddock. Were pleasantly surprised by how bug free the property was. The proximity to the beach was just right– a 15 minute walk or 2 min drive. In the rustic village of Esterillos Oeste there was a grocery store with everything. The village is a true local spot, not at all touristy. Though you definitely need a car to fully enjoy the area between Jaco and Manuel Antonio.

The house was the perfect respite for naps and quiet relaxing during the midday heat and we organized our activities for the mornings and late afternoons. We found Bejuco a magic spot – nice wide beach and lots of local families.

Chloe and Dan were very helpful – arranging car rental through Zuma (who conveniently included a driver to and from the airport) organized local catering for a birthday meal for one in our party, setting us up with the best guide for our tour of Manuel Antonio and zip-lining at the excellent nearby Ocean Ranch.

I might add that they accommodated us within a week of having their 3rd child – and made themselves available for whatever we needed, which was an impressive feat in itself.

Overall, we adored Costa Rica and were very comfortable at Casa Tucana where thoughts of our stressful loves back home melted away. Would highly recommend it for a relaxed family retreat. Thank You so much Chloe and Dan!

This review comes a bit after the fact, but suffice to say: This place was incredible! The saltwater pool and ping pong table created the perfect mix of becoming tropically overheated and delightfully refreshed! The house itself is great and spacious, we were there with 9 people and it never felt crowded.

Also, it is surrounded on most sides by jungle-y gardens, so there are mornings were you have monkeys right next to you, and afternoons were lazy cows clang their cowbells on the other side of a hill

The property was clean and the laundry was great.

The only snags we encountered were a pretty serious roof leak (onto one of the beds) over the first two nights. However Chloe and her husband were able to fix it, and were very helpful. They even helped those who were crazy enough try surfing.

Location wise, the house is great, it is about a ten minute walk from a very nice beach, as part of a sort of spread out town; there is a restaurant near the beach that we did not find out about until near our last night (it is owned by a Canadian, Chloe will be able to tell you the name) - it was awesome.

Getting groceries was a bit of a hassle, as we only had a shuttle service; the cost of that was a bit extreme for days where we did not have substantial ambitions, and there was some confusion regarding the extra cost of airport transfers which left a sour taste in a few of my companions' mouths on the last day; I would simply say make sure to figure all of that stuff out ahead of time!

This place is surrounded by great beaches and parks, the owners are teriffic, the house is a lot of fun, and airy and peaceful, and it was definitely better than we could have imagined. As a result, the same group of people are seemingly forever committed to taking holidays together to beautiful houses in warm places every winter from now on!

House was perfect, clean, great location if you want the true Costa Rican feel. Daniel was more than happy to help us with excursions off the beaten path. Beach was a great walk, not crowded and safe. Local restaurants were very good. We had six adults who enjoyed morning animals, birds and lizards. Pool was cleaned twice during our stay and housekeeping came once. Toilets were not an

issue ( that's how it's done in Costa Rica, it's okay). We really enjoyed the pool. The house could use some up keep with the swing, two chairs outside and the stove which is a little temperamental. Otherwise great place, definitely need a car. Thank you Daniel and Chloe.

We had a great time at Casa Tucana. The house was lovely and well furnished. Very relaxing and private setting. The rooms were large with tall ceilings, the salt water pool…. Aaaah…. perfect! We played ping pong on the beautiful teak table and BBQ on the patio. There was monkeys in the trees and a sloth too. Kids were very excited….so were we!

Daniel (owners' son) was super helpful. He and his wife are from California, so it was easy to communicate. They arranged some fun things for us to do. It was really nice not to have to deal with the planning. We rented local cell phones from them so we could always be in touch, which was reassuring. Our favorites adventures were: surf lesson & jet ski with Daniel, Zip lines and the Crocodile River tour. We also spent a day in Manuel Antonio and an afternoon in Jaco which are only about a 20-35 minute drive each way. Its was fun but quite a bit more crowded than Esterillos.

THis was a super relaxing setting, the beach went for miles and was perfect for surfing and boogie boarding (rented boards from Daniel - very convenient). Kids had fun swimming in the calm water of the tide pools (water is about 85F). We were the only ones on the beach most of the time except for a few locals.

We stocked up on food in Jaco before getting to the house, as Chloe had suggested, and got pretty much everything else we needed at the local grocery store. There are 3 restaurants in the village, we tried them all, all fresh, tasty food.

Over all, we totally loved our stay at Casa Tucana and recommend it for families or groups who want to experience the real Costa Rica.

Thanks Dan and Chlo for a fantastic time.