Frequently Asked Questions FAQs

Depending on the time of the year the snorkeling is fantastic. Most recommended months for snorkeling are April/May and September/October. You can also enjoy snorkeling during other months when the tide is low and the ocean calm.
We do not rent snorkeling equipment, but there are many places around which do.

Unfortunately I can not offer you this service other than your first payment over Paypal. The commissions on Paypal are very high. If you are willing to pay this commission yourself on top of the total, we do accept your balance payment with paypal. The commission is 5%. Cash money, dollars and colones, is most easy for us. However, I will take Traveller checks as well. If you decide to pay with traveller checks we ask you to pay at your first day. This due to the long period banks will take to clear the checks .Also there are two ATM in Puerto Viejo down town 6 kilometres from the hotel where you can get cash, most of the credit and debit cards are accepted.

At less than a 5 minute walk from the Tree House there is a grocery store “El duende gourmet” where you can get a little bit of everything you need. Especially the store offers a wide range of products. From all fresh milk products and home made whole weed bread to a wide assortment of vegetables and many Italian specialties. Also right across the stree from the Garden House there is a bakery “Vida sana” where you can get fresh home made bread every morning from 6 am – 8:30

The currency in Costa Rica is colones but the most of stores, restaurants and hotels will accept American money.

No, you never have to share any of the houses with any other customers. All houses offer their own facilities and are completely private.

In Puerto Viejo it is easy to find a taxi. The fare to the Tree House is about $10. At night up to $15. We can always call you a taxi from the Tree House. If you want to make your reservation advanced you can contact . It’s about a 10 minute drive from the tree house into Puerto Viejo.

From Manzanillo buses leave at 5:00, 8:15 and 17:00 hours. They pass at the Tree house about 10 minutes later, but can be earlier. This bus gets about 2 hours later in limon. In Puerto Viejo many more buses stop. To San Jose buses leave at: 7:00, 9:00, 11:00, 2:00 and 16:00 hours. From San Jose to Puerto Viejo buses leave From the old Puntarenas terminal 9th avenue, 12th street, the bus company its also know as Autotransportes Mepe. They leave at: 6:00, 10:00, 13:30 and 15:30 hours. From Puerto Viejo to the Tree House you will have to take a taxi. The bus fare from San Jose to Puerto Viejo is about $11.

Fortunately malaria is not a problem around Puerto Viejo. Around Bataan, 40 km west from Limon Malaria was reported in October 2006. However, this is almost 100 km from our area. In the areas around Puntarenas, at the pacific site, several cases are reported. It is very rare that I hear of people who get a malaria infection around Puerto Viejo. But if you feel saver, or you travel trough different areas where malaria is reported, I would recommend you to keep taking your prophylaxis tablets. If your doctor describes you Lariam, that is really to much!! Watch out with that stuff!! More alarming is a Dengue infection. This mosquito only bites during the day. They are sometimes reported, but if you take proper precautions the change to get infected is very small.

That’s right.  Both the rooms have a double bed,  king and queen size.  The tree house can sleep in total up to 4 people. Besides, the upstairs room has it’s own private bathroom.

It is just Pamela and myself, Sol and Tyra, my two dogs, and a whole bunch of iguanas who live here all year round. The place is very quite and private. However, there is a chance you have to share the place with the Monkeys and sloths who frequently visit the tree House. Many times they just hang out right around the trees around the Tree House. If you leave fruits or other nice food on the counters at night, you have a good change the Racoons will bring you a visit to share the food with you! But don’t worry, they are of not any danger at all and very cute.

We provide full wifi internet access across all our lodgings.

We don’t have this service however there are a few Restaurants in the area such as Caribbean, French, Argentinian, Italian, middle eastern all of them walking distance, prices go from $6 -20 depending of the dish. across the road is a Mediterranean restaurant with full bar service

Next to the Tree House you can rent a bike. The price for one day is about $7. But on a week rent the mostly give you a little discount. In Puerto Viejo you might even get a better deal, but it’s a longer trip so a little inconvenient on your last day when you have to bring your bike back. The road all the way from Puerto Viejo is recently paved and in a great condition for biking. You can also go off road and explore the area towards Paraiso, on the other side of the mountains.

Right in front of the property the beach is very beautiful and good to take a dip, but not for real swimming. You can go into the water up to your knees. The coral reefs just out the shore make it impossible to cross to deep water. For a real swim you will have to walk 500 meters east towards Punta Uva, where the sea is safe, calm and no rip tide.

As in any other hotel towels and sheets are included in the price of the rent. We change the sheets and clean your house every other day. If you prefer we can also clean your house every day, but please let us know from at arrival. Of course you can always ask me for dry towels.

Question: I am very interested in the design of your Tree-house property, but I am concerned that if we are visiting at a very wet or “buggy” time that the open design of the house may be uncomfortably wet, or too open to insects?
Answer: It is very difficult to prognosticate the weather here. The wet season is normally around July/ August. Also December to February chances it rains are higher.Mosquitoes are really not too bad, there are hardly any. the most common comment I hear is that people are so surprised there are no mosquitoes. The ocean breeze keeps them away. Besides, all rooms of the houses are well screened in and the beds have mosquito nets. It is very rare I hear complaints from people about mosquitoes. Usually it’s the other way around. People came with the idea to be eaten alive, and it’s such a relieve its nothing like that, they hardly did not notice the mosquitoes.

About activities you won’t have to worry. There is a lot to do. Jungle hikes in the Manzanillo wildlife refuge are most recommended. Also JAGUAR animal rescue centre, horse back riding, snorkeling/ diving, kayaks for rent, dolphin tours, IguanaFarm, visit to chocolate farm and help making chocolate, bikes and tours to the indigenous reserve in Bri Bri, canopy and wild water rafting and much more actually.

The Tree House is actually build within the boundaries of the Gandoca- Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. For hiking in the refuge we recommend to go to Manzanillo, from where nature guides can take you on their tours. If you want you can enter the refuge also by your own, however the change is therre you will get lost if you walk in to far. The trails are narrow and sometimes difficult to find. The vegetation is very thick and walking off the trails in the rainforest is not recommended. The Cahuita National Park is 15 km North from Puerto Viejo.

Under normal conditions you drive it probably in about 4-5 hours. However if you rent a car make sure GPS is included. The road from San Jose to the Tree House is paved all the way. At night it will probably takes a little more. However, I really not recommend you to drive after dark in Costa Rica. People sit on the sites of the roads, there are pot holes every where and signs are very poor. I really recommend you to do the drive from san jose to the tree house by day time.Or use our private transportation. The driver will pick you up from the airport or your hotel and drive you all the way down to the tree house. Taxis’s are very cheap locally and it is not really a must to have your own vehicle while being at the tree house. Most people always realize it was not necessary to have a rent a car.
Unless you decide to travel trough the country and want to be independend, I do recommend you to use the private transportation.

We offer a 24 hour security service. And all of the houses are equipped with a safety box. The safe is big enough to store a large camera or even probably your personal computer.

You make a reservation to confirm you stay with us and as soon as you paid the 30% deposit your stay is confirmed with us. I will sent you information how to do this as soon as you know when you want to stay in the tree house. The 30% deposit you can pay by PayPal or trough my account in the US at wells fargo. For European customers there is also the possibility to make this deposit in Holland with the ABN –AMRO bank. We will always sent you a reconfirmation of your booking. If you did not receive this within 24 hours after you paid your deposit, please contact us.

We don´t have a swiming pool, however all the houses have an eco-jacuzzi as well as a grill. Besides, the ocean is just steps away from your house.

Downstairs the tree house the kitchen and living room are all open. The room upstairs is fully screened in and 98 % bug free. The downstairs room of the tree house has air- conditioning. Because the windows are screened they do not need to open and there is a good air circulation. This makes the place very cool at night.The beach suite also offers on room with air- conditioning. All the beds at the tree house lodge have mosquito nets and mosquitoes are really very rare.

You do not need to bring any mosquito netting, because all the rooms already have nets. Mosquitoes are really not to bad. The ocean breeze keeps them away. If so, you only have to expect some bugs just before the sunset. At night the bats help you to catch Mosquitoes. Did you know that one bat can eat 500 to 2000 mosquitoes in one night!!!

The bathroom in the tree house is not open to the rest of the house, but opens towards the jungle. However, in the bathroom you have your own privacy. All showers in all the houses have hot water. Sometimes you have to wait a little while until the hot water reaches the houses. This Is due to the solar heating systems we have installed in all houses. In order to receive enough sun, they are sometimes located a little away from the houses. That’s why it takes the water a while to reach to the houses.

In the Beach Suite the kitchen is equipped with a stove. Besides all other houses have a full equipped kitchen with refrigerator, coffe maker, grill.

At the tree house: To integrate the roots of the trees in the floor I built the floors at all different levels, so watch out you steps. To get to the upstairs room you use the steel expansion cable bridge. The room is built about 4 meters elevated of the ground. To get up in your room, you have to watch your step and use conmen sense. Especially when it rains the steps can be a little slippery, but anti slip strips on the steps help you to get better grip. Kids can not use the bridge as a play ground.

The beach is only 75 meters from the tree house. The pictures on the website are the front of the property. Normally there is nobody out. It is very rare to see people out here. Both the beach house as the beach suite are only a few steps away from the water. From both house you can see the water.

The international airport SJO Juan Santamaria is located in Alajuela 4-5 hours car ride from the hotel (depending of the traffic) Also there is a local airport in Limon, there are a few local air lines such as Nature air, Sansa regional, Aerobell, all of them offer Charter flights from San Jose, however none of these airlines have daily or weekly flights. We offer private Charte flight (45 minutes) from San Jose (SJO) to Sixaola air strip.