We stayed at Casa Alma in Hermosa Palms from April16-23 2017. The weather was hot and humid and our little house pool was perfect for shady swims to give the kids a break from the sun. The house is an easy 5 minute walk to the beach and provided beach towels. There are chairs at the pool that people bring under the palm trees, we spent tons of time in the ocean and pool and loved the little cafe poolside for cocktails and reasonably priced good food that parents and kids all enjoyed (pesto chicken wraps, empanadas, quesadillas, and lots of drinks!). The service was great and we started a tab that we cashed out at the end of the week. Marco the property manager is very responsive and the community is safe and clean. The House was clean and had plenty of room for me, my husband, and four of our kids, we cooked a few meals (grill but no oven) but between the pool cabana and all the adventuring we did, we ate most of our meals out. There is a woman, Mikeal, at the beach that will give you an amazing massage under the swaying palms for $50. THINGS WE LEARNED:almost everyone took American $- downloading the "Ways" map app is great for getting around, just type in the name of the place you are going (ie:Hermosa Palms)and voila- Your rental car will cost at least double of what you thought...you have to buy insurance through a country mandate, we got full coverage & found with the back roads and the driving that was the way to go-We got suckered into a tour guide @ Manuel Antonio, you do NOT need one (although we did see sloths and bats up close that we would have missed)-bring cash for your exit fee out of the country $27 per person- learn to barter - Get a 4x4 car- Jaco is not cheap plan on spending lots of $ and having the most spectacular time of your life! THINGS WE DID: Manuel Antonio National Park, beautiful beached and hiked in with lunch and LOTS of water- Ate dinner at "el Avion"( you will see it!) on our way back to Hermosa Palms, Surf lessons in Jaco (Reimer Centeno 506-8433-8675 will give lessons or hook you up with some great guys)- Zip Lining @ Los Suenos, very safe with great instructors- Taco Bar in Jaco was awesome- Waterfall hike in Carara National Park, for a great workout and views we followed the signs going up from Garabito to Turrubares little hut on the right and we did not go up to the Pura Vida lookout- Costa Cat Catameran tour out to Isla Tortuga, it was a great Finnish with breakfast, lunch, bannana boats, snorkeling