Things to do
- Hiking trails provide a great forest bathing experience. Free for guests.
- Pesca Rio Blanco, an authentic and typical catch-your-own trout restaurant open on most weekends (5-minute walk)
-Tour of our local dairy and cheese making business
- Neighbouring fruit orchard tour with the most exquisite views (10-minute walk from lodge). $10 US per person.
- Coopedota coffee plantation and processing plant tour (30-minute drive from lodge). Ask about arrangements.
- Bouldering/Rock climbing in Providencia (60-minute drive from lodge)
-Close proximity to Los Quetzales National Park
- Three typical Dota towns: Copey, Santa Maria and San Marcos
We are happy to organize day trips with local businesses.
Let us know what you'd like to see and experience and we'll do everything we can to help you.
- Pesca Rio Blanco, an authentic and typical catch-your-own trout restaurant open on most weekends (5-minute walk)
-Tour of our local dairy and cheese making business
- Neighbouring fruit orchard tour with the most exquisite views (10-minute walk from lodge). $10 US per person.
- Coopedota coffee plantation and processing plant tour (30-minute drive from lodge). Ask about arrangements.
- Bouldering/Rock climbing in Providencia (60-minute drive from lodge)
-Close proximity to Los Quetzales National Park
- Three typical Dota towns: Copey, Santa Maria and San Marcos
We are happy to organize day trips with local businesses.
Let us know what you'd like to see and experience and we'll do everything we can to help you.
How far to the beach?
Pacific side: Hush Valley Lodge is approximately a 3-hour drive (in a 4x4 vehicle) to Quepos on the Pacific side. You will have to drive on the Pan-American highway south to San Isidro de General, travel west to Dominical, then north to Quepos (Manuel Antonio) - all paved roads. It's a beautiful drive with gorgeous views. It's easy to make Hush Valley Lodge your first or your last stop on your trip.
Caribbean side: you can also drive to the Caribbean side. Puerto Viejo is approximately 6 hours away. You will have to travel north to Cartago, travel east to Limon then travel south to Puerto Viejo - all paved roads.
Free advice: When making travel plans in Costa Rica, regardless of the region, consider making you travel time during day light hours. Roads can be dangerous, unpredictable, poorly lit and not well marked. Wildlife in the roadway, and fog can slow and impede you travels.
Unless you are travelling for several weeks (3+), we recommend you concentrate on a few areas at a time so that you may fully enjoy your stay. Although Costa Rica is a small country and it would appear easy to cover a lot of territory, the reality is that there are only a few direct routes and when roads and bridges are being worked on (a good thing) it means facing delays from time to time. There are mountains that divide the country, so you are covering longer distances as you are climbing in elevation and down again. Everything takes longer than one would expect. If you allow yourselves enough time for a relaxing journey, it will make for a more enjoyable adventure.
In Costa Rica, people will speak in 'time' rather than in 'kilometres' because the average speed is much slower than what we're used to in North America and Europe.
Time chart* from from Hush Valley Lodges to:
San Jose: 2.5 hrs or more, dependent on traffic
San Gerardo de Dota: 0.5 hr
San Isidro de General: 1.5 hrs
Dominical: 2.5 hrs
Manuel Antonio: 3 hrs
Quepos: 3.25 hrs
Jaco: 4.25 hrs
Monteverde south side of Arenal Lake: 5 hrs
Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side: 6 hrs
Samara in Nicoya: 5 hrs
Tamarindo in Guanacaste: 8 hrs
Time chart* from San Jose to:
Guanacaste
Liberia: 3 hrs (northern airport)
Santa Rose National Park: 4.5 hrs
Tamarindo: 5 hrs (Tamarindo is 1 hr from Liberia)
Arenal area
La Fortuna: 3.5 hrs (La Fortuna is located on the north side of the volcano, with a direct route)
Monteverde: 3.5 hrs (Monteverde is located on the south side of Lake Arenal, in the mountains, dirt road)
Santa Elena: 3.5 hrs (Santa Elena is the town closest to Monteverde)
Pacific side: (most popular areas)
Jaco: 4.5 hrs
Quepos: 3.25 hrs
Manuel Antonio: 2.5 hrs
Dominical: 3 hrs
Uvita: 3.35 hrs
Caribbean side:
Limon (the city): 1.5 hrs
Cahuita: 4.25 hrs
Puerto Viejo: 4.5 hrs
*All times are approximate. Many factors play into how long travel takes, including (but not limited to) flow of traffic, road construction, road conditions, stops along the way by driver, and weather.
If you have any questions regarding your agenda, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Drop us a line in the Contact Us section.
