Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat

This is one of those places - a bit like Rafiki Safari Lodge that I wrote about in an earlier post - that is more of an experience in itself rather than just a place to crash.

Our trusty Lonely Planet was pretty effusive about Chilamate and I'd spent ages studying their website - I initially booked us in for a three night stay, then when their email confirmation came through it included a long list of amazing sounding activities we could opt for during our stay - so I added on another night so we could fit it all in!

The retreat is a family-run lodge with strong ties to the local community. The whole family were so welcoming, and so knowledgeable about the local area and the tours, they really make the place feel like home.

Where is Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat?

Chilamate is just outside Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, which is in the North-West of Costa Rica. We travelled there from La Fortuna, which took around 50minutes in an Uber (and cost about £60). We went on to Manzanillo on the Caribbean Coast at the end of our stay, which took about 4-hours by Interbus (the shared shuttle service in Costa Rica). This was pricey for the four of us, coming in at £220. The public transportation to Sarapiqui is not great, which is why we ended up with the Uber and Interbus, which were both expensive ways to get around. It was, without a doubt, worth it though (and once there you can walk to pretty much all the activities/tours they offer).

The lodge sits right on the Sarapiqui river, with gorgeous views in the evening down the river, and a rope swing in front of the property for when you want to cool off!

Around the retreat

The lodge is based around a big communal lounge area, where the serve breakfast (included in the rate, and probably the best we've had on our travels so far!) and dinner. We had dinner there on one of the nights of our stay and it was a buffet with loads of choice - if we'd had the budget we definitely would have taken the dinner option more!

There's free coffee and biscuits, plus board games, a dart board and table football. There's also a small bar for drinks in the evening.

The rooms themselves are spread around the site, linked by covered walkways. The best part about this is that you can spot wildlife in the undergrowth right outside your room!

One morning we spotted six poison dart frogs on the way to breakfast!

The room

We were booked in to a standard family room, but were upgraded to the Family Suite on arrival as it was available. It was HUGE. There was a king bed and three singles, a small living area with TV and a really good kitchen with a huge breakfast bar/table. This was perfect for us - we've tried to cook as much as possible in Costa Rica to keep costs down, so the well-equipped kitchen was super useful. And the breakfast bar was the perfect spot for a bit of home schooling :)

The bathroom was massive, with a multi-option hot shower. The lodge also offers a really cheap laundry service which we took full advantage of!

Our suite also had a small decked area outside that overlooked the fields, and was entirely surrounded by mosquito netting so was actually a nice space to sit out in the evening without being mauled by the little horrors.

What we did during our stay

There are loads of options for activities, and the lodge has a big focus on working with the local community which meant that most (if not all of the tours) were run by locals, making sure our tourist money went straight in to the community.

Whitewater Rafting

The first activity we booked in was whitewater rafting, as I'd had this on the hitlist for Costa Rica and had read that the Sarapiqui River - with it's range of gentle to moderate rapids - was great for kids.

The local guide who ran our rafting was absolutely brilliant - probably one of the best guides we've had for anything anywhere in the world! He was an ex-Costa Rica national rafting team member, and had worked on rivers across Costa Rica and the US. He was so much fun, and great with the boys. The adrenalin and the sheer delight of the boys when we hit the first rapid was something I don't think I'll ever forget! The rapids were all class 2-3 so perfect for us on our first family rafting outing.

We stopped a couple of times so we could all jump in from the side and from the boat, and for drinks and fruit. We spotted loads of bird life (when we weren't being thrown around on the rapids!).

We all loved it! They also offer a more chilled option where you raft downstream spotting wildlife at a more leisurely pace. The whole trip for us lasted about 3-hours in total, and best of all, the rafting ends right outside the lodge so we could just walk back in.

The cost for the four of us was £210.

Chocolate Tour

We'd seen options for chocolate tours all over Costa Rica and had it on our to-do list. The tour in Sarapiqui is a short walk from Chilamate Eco Retreat. It lasts around two hours and gives you the opportunity to learn about how and where cacao is grown, the process of farming the beans and how it's turned in to chocolate. And of course, there were plenty of opportunities for tasting (and drinking) chocolate!

It certainly ticked the 'educational activity' box for the boys (plus they very much liked the gift shop at the end!). The tour cost £92.50 for the four of us.

Ethnobotany Walk

I'd seen this on the list of activities on offer at Chilamate but hadn't really considered it initially. 

Once we arrived and the owners talked us through the tour though it sounded great (and crucially, highly educational!) so we booked on. 

The tour is run by one of the their neighbours, who took us out around the local area and explained what all the flora was and all the various uses of the different plants. We tried edible plants and the boys got to crush up some things that we used either as dyes or in medicines (including one that had an anaesthetic element, which Steve ate far too much of and ended up with a very numb mouth!). The boys really engaged with it all and were brimming full of facts by the end!

This one came in at £50.

Cooking Class

I was keen on this - partly to learn how to cook a traditional Costa Rican dish, but also as an opportunity to meet local people in their own home and to learn more about their way of life.

Chilamate connected us with a local woman who welcomed us to her home and showed us how to prepare a meal of stewed vegetables, rice, tortillas, salad and homemade lemonade. My basic Spanish just about got us through (with a lot of added gesturing!) and we shared the delicious meal with her family. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon - very different from lots of the adrenaline-filled stuff we've done in Costa Rica but so interesting for all of us..

We paid a total of £80 for the four us (but this did include eating a massive meal too!)

Snake Garden

Steve took the boys to the Snake Garden, which is only about 15minutes away on the local bus service. It was pretty pricey at £48 for one adult and two kids - but the boys really enjoyed seeing so many snakes! They also had crocodiles that had had their teeth removed; whilst they were rescue animals that wouldn't have survived in the wild, it triggered an interesting debate with the boys about the ethics of keeping animals in captivity (and one of the nice things about the trip is that we actually have time to engage with them in these kind of conversations).

Massage

While the boys were off looking at snakes, I treated myself to a massage and a bit of chiropractic treatment from another of the neighbours. Anyone who knows me will have heard me moaning about the state of my neck and right shoulder, so this was a real treat and really helped in terms of pain management for me. Possibly the best US$40 I've spent so far :)

As you can probably tell, we loved our stay at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat. It's definitely a great option for families, and for getting some educational activities under your belt with the kids!