I'm very fortunate that my wife's girlfriends from college, all of us guys get along very well. It had been 10 years since we had all been on a vacation together. Earlier this year, we discussed going out of the country together as all of the girls turned 40 this year.

We had a group chat going discussion timing of the trip, budget & where we would like to go.

Costa Rica won. I was able to setup most of the trip & we finally made it out of the group chat.

We flew United out of Houston. ~3 hour direct flight from Houston to Liberia, Costa Rica. Our flight was pushed back a little at IAH but it's nothing that an airport margarita couldn't fix. They made up time in the air and it was a smooth flight into Liberia.

The running joke in the group is been that every local always calls me Señor Monty. I usually shave a big horseshoe mustache & I'm pretty easy to remember.



Arnold earned his tip. 6 women make for a lot of luggage.



It was about an hour and half drive from the airport in Liberia to the house we had rented in Playa Flamingo, Casa Lilliana, Special Places of Costa Rica. It's a little sketchy of a drive. Seems like all bridges are one lane. A lot of traffic. But Arnold did well & got us there safely.

After checking in and getting the low down on everything, we unloaded our luggage and got a feel for the place. Here's a view from the balcony on our bedroom.


The house is 5 bedrooms but has an apartment that's one level up. The location is available as a 6 bedroom, but having 5 couples, there was no need in it. We did have access to the lookout on top of the apartment. The views were stunning.


We jumped on the golf carts we had rented through Special Places of Costa Rica, our host. They were pretty dang new and in great condition. First stop, Playa Flamingo at sunset.



There was a "moonlight market" going on with several vendors in the plaza. We looked around for while and picked up a couple of souvenirs. We didn't have a game plan & ended up choosing dinner at place there in the plaza, Palmeras Flamingo. There's a reason why it wasn't busy. The service was lacking. I don't think they could chew bubble gum and walk at the same time. It took a hour or two to get our drinks & some appetizers but it served it's purpose.



We had set up a fishing charter with Flamingo Sport Fishing for 5 of us. The prices seem to really increase when you go from 4 to 5 fishing. We had 5 so we had to hire a boat that could accommodate all of us.

We jumped on a panga in Potrero Bay that ferried us out to Guerrero Del mar.


I had really been hoping to catch a roosterfish and/or a cubera snapper. Both are very high on my bucket list. I had communicated that with the crew prior to our arrival. Maybe it's a language barrier but as soon as we were onboard, the captain said they had caught 5 sailfish the day before. So we headed out in search of sailfish. I didn't think sailfish was a good choice for our group since I didn't want us to raise 1-2 of them & have 5 paying customers. But off we went.



Rafael was a hand. He went to work rigging up as soon as we took off. Notice the exhaust? That would become an issue. We ran 45 minutes and dropped teasers/baits into the water. We ended up trolling southeast and the wind was at our back, with the exhaust blowing right on us. It was pretty stout at times. Never really made anyone sick, but it sure wasn't pleasurable.

After trolling lines for about 2 hours, Rafael asked if we wanted to do some bottom fishing for grouper. We were ready to come catch some fish so off we went, further southeast about 15 minutes. Rafael rigged up a couple of rods and started dropping down cut bait. First drop resulted in 3 small keeper grouper. We let the 2 ladies go first, being the well mannered gentlemen we are, before it was time on the rod.

Rafael dropped the bait and set the hook before hitting bottom. He handed me the rod & said "grande". The fight was on. I didn't really know what to expect, a bigger grouper? I'm locked in, pumping and reeling when I a sailfish surfaces on my 2:00 o'clock. I thought that was cool and kept working the rod/line at my 12:00 o'clock. Turns out the "grande" Rafael handed me was a sailfish! I got a little more serious and sat down to make sure I didn't fall out of the boat. We were rocking a little bit.



A couple minutes later, I had my first sailfish at the boat and a fish checked off the ol bucket list.


We continued fishing for another 30-45 minutes, catching fish on each drop. Rafael called this one a Margarita snapper. I don't know exactly what it is, but it was pretty!



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Congrats on a great looking trip. Well done to all.

Excellent blog right here

I spoke to the Captain & asked if we could try for roosters on the way back. He said we were and hour and half out but we packed up and headed back inshore. We started trolling for some bait. Caught a few bonitas and rigged a few rods up. We tried for an hour but no takers. I caught a sailfish, I won't complain. All in all, we had a good time. If it wasn't for the exhaust, we would have had a great time. We felt that the captain & crew worked hard to put us on fish and to show us a good time.

Back home, the girls had gotten massages at the house while we were fishing. We made a pitcher of Paloma's & joined them in the pool to cool off. The drinks were plentiful and delicious. Come dinner time, we decided on trying Coco Loco on Playa Flamingo. It has a ton of good reviews and everyone in the group could eat off the menu.



It's a beautiful area. The blacktop turns to a gravel road that's pretty dang bumpy, but it's nothing that the golf carts couldn't handle. The beach is beautiful.




I went with the lobster bisque to start & the Mar y Sol surf & turf as my main course. The bisque is darker than what you normally expect but was very tasty. The lobster was overcooked on my surf & turf but overall it was a great meal.

We had planned an excursion of ATV riding and ziplining the next day, but the provider got a little shady on us. We had lined stuff a week or two in advance but they stated we were a "last minute" booking and only have the 1:00 pm time slot. We decided against doing the excursion and decided to just explore a little on the golf carts. I knew there was a brewery close by. Our group likes beer so it was a win win for us.

Potrero Brewing Company was a cool spot. They had several beers that the group enjoyed. We spent an hour or so there, hanging out at their outdoor tables and enjoying the company.


They also have margaritas on draft! I'm not a beer drinker so I took advantage of the margs. They were delicious and refreshing.



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Awesome trip and great pics

I appreciate you taking the time and effort to share your trip with us-

Loved the pictures!

After a few drinks, we were ready for lunch. Rafael on the boat recommended a little hole in the wall place right on the beach. One of the couples with us had taken a surf lesson the day before, they too were told to eat at the beach restaurant.

Enter Restaurante Pleamar. You'd be hard pressed to find better views.



I started with the fried calamari. It was like a chicken fry & it was off the chain! Sorry, no pics but it was awesome. I also had sautéed shrimp as my main course. Great meal.




Back in the pool for the afternoon. For dinner, a few of us was wanting pizza. I had saved an Italian place so we hit it up. La Forketta in Potrero was a short golf cart ride from the house. Lemme tell ya folks, it was legit.



Started with the fried calamari. It was great. More of a traditional than the one earlier in the day but delicious none the less. It came with a jalapeno marinara that was absolutely delicious. If I could put the chicken fried calamari with the jalapeno marinara, it would be the perfect appetizer.

The wife had the carbonara & I had the pepperoni pizza. Both were excellent. Service was excellent as well.



Enjoyable golf cart ride back to the house and we were in for the night.

The following day, we had arranged with Special Places of Costa Rica, our house host, to rent beach equipment. We picked up all of the beach equipment and went down to Playa Flamingo to setup a make shift camp.



The beach is beautiful & honestly, not busy at all. Very peaceful and relaxing day. You do have some people walking the beach, peddling their stuff, but overall it was pretty peaceful.





One of the guys peddling stuff, was offering drinks. We got a piña colada, fruit punch & a margarita. All served in a pineapple. They were delicious.



One of the few things we were all in agreement on, we wanted a private chef one night for dinner.

Enter Chef Gerardo. We had hammered out the menu prior to our arrival.
Appetizer: Breaded shrimp with paprika aioli. Chips with guacamole & pico.
Salad: Salad with strawberry dressing.
Main course: Mahi Mahi in tropical sauce, lobster with seafood sauce.
Sides: Garlic mashed potatoes, rice & beans.
Dessert: Tres Leches cake.
Drinks: Pineapple drink, margaritas.






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Pura Vida!!!!

The meal was excellent. 10/10 recommend.

The previous day, a guy in our group had arranged for a jet ski tour. My wife & another decided to join. So 3 total. They came back raving at how awesome it was. They went 6-7 miles, going south along the coast from Playa Flamingo. Josh had such a good time that he wanted to go again. I decided to join him on this trip.

We met up with Dago. Reel Wave Adventures. We jumped on a couple of new jet ski's and off we went. All ski's were new Sea-Doo FishPro's. Mine had 17 hours when I got on it. Since Josh had went south the day before, we went north up the coast line. I had a BLAST! We covered like 30 miles, dipping in and out of coves, looking at the beautiful scenery.



After the jet ski run, it was back to the house. We ended up walking around Flamingo Marina, dipping in and out of the shops, looking at the boats, just enjoying our time.

We had booked a private catamaran tour for our group. The Manta Ray. We got sprinkled on when loading the boat but overall, the weather held out great. The seas were fairly calm, the drinks were flowing and the company was great.




We went back to Coco Loco for dinner. The lobster bisque was still delicious, but was lacking in actual lobster. It was just a tasty sauce with 1 piece of shrimp. It was late in the evening so it was probably the last of the pot. Still delicious.

We packed up after dinner for our return to the airport the next morning.

I had arranged out airport transfers through ILT Costa Rica. The vans were new & the AC's worked great.

For the trip back, we had Carlos. He took us a different route than the one we went coming to the house. It was a more scenic route. We were ahead of schedule when we got close to the airport. Carlos asked if we would like a traditional Costa Rican breakfast from a traditional "soda". We in fact did want just that. So Carlos pulled over and in we went. He translated everything for us and we all ordered.

I went with the bacon/eggs, fried cheese along with the rice & beans. It was delicious and hit the spot!


Carlos got us to the airport in a timely manner & we had a good flight back to Houston.

Our slogan was "why risk it, travel the Wright way".

10/10 recommend you gather some friends and head down.

Pura Vida baby!!

Great pics and review. Costa Rica is definitely on the list for future trips.

Awesome post and pictures. Glad you all had a great time.

3 of us drank Paloma's while at the house. 4 bottles of tequila in 5 days

great pics and journal….thanks for sharing with us….