On day 4 we left Tortuga Lodge for our 3 night stay at the MonteverdeLodge & Gardens. After breakfast we boated across the river to the airstrip to catch our flight to San Jose – there were quite a few of us leaving Tortuga the same day so CRE had chartered 3 planes for us. There was only one other couple going to Monteverde (the couple I mentioned earlier) so we had a plane to ourselves. After a 35 minute flight, we were met in San Jose by yet another excellent CRE guide (who also happened

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Our CRE tour included all meals except for lunch the 1st day in Monteverde, all transportation – van, boat and plane, 2 tours at Tortuga and 2 tours and a visit to the butterfly farm in Monteverde.
In the March 2012 issue of Travel & Leisure, CRE was rated #2 of tour and safari operators and all my initial emails to Nadia in CRE’s San Jose main office and mostly good reviews on TripAdvisor gave me high expectations for this tour. I communicated with CRE’s main office quite a few times

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Xandari Resort & Spa, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Xandari is a true tropical paradise consisting of 23 individually designed villas on 45 acres overlooking the central valley of Costa Rica. The resort is conveniently located around 20 minutes from San Jose International airport and around a 10 minute ride to the colonial city of Alajuela (Costa Rica's 2nd largest city).

The resort features trails with 5 beautiful waterfalls, fantastic gardens, 3 pools and jacuzzis, a

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I have never attended a travel show and never really had any reason to do so since I do most of my travel research online and most of my trips in the past years have been planned around LL auctions that I have won.

The Philadelphia Inquirer sent me 2 free tickets, so the hubby & I decided to go and she who, what, and where was represented.

They did have some interesting speakers:
Arthur Frommer at 82 is still going strong - he spoke on when to splurge and

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Many travel articles mention the fact that one of the most exciting aspects of travel is the planning of the trip itself and I could not agree more.

I like the planning portion of travel and find it presents many opportunities for daydreaming and creating a mental vsion of the upcoming event. The decision on where to go, the research on the chosen place, the preparations, telling your friends, the shopping, and the daydreaming all add to the excitement and anticipation of finally

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