Hi Everyone,

 

Joel and I want to THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS for making the decision to join us on our very special day and once-in-a-lifetime trip in Costa Rica! We are so excited to see you all in less than 30 DAYS! We wanted to send a summary email with all the helpful details that, until now, I’ve only been posting on the Facebook group. If you haven’t added me on Facebook yet, or if I haven’t added you to the Facebook group, please let me know so I can do that. It’s been the easiest way for us to communicate.

 

GROUP SPECIALS

We have some group specials for accommodations, car rentals, and activities that you can take advantage of.

 

Car Rental

• 15% off from Dollar Costa Rica

• Go to DollarCostaRica.com and use the discount code LAUAMA15

• We recommend purchasing the full insurance

• Yes, they drive on the right side of the road in Costa Rica :) , and we’ve always found it to be safe driving there. There is plenty of public transportation though so if you prefer not to drive you’ll have plenty of options. 

 

Accommodations @ the Wedding Venue Hotel, Hotel Diria

• weddings@TamarindoDiria.com — please contact Eunice, our wedding coordinator for 20% off Diria Hotel rooms

• Or you can book directly on TamarindoDiria.com. But be sure to put a comment/note in with your booking that says Amarante/White Wedding, so they will give you the 20% off at check-in

 

Other Accommodations 

• becky@bwpcr.com — please contact Rebecca Clower, whose company manages many vacation rentals in Tamarindo, for 15% off their rentals (with the exception of a few units in Matapalo)

• For a full list of places of accommodation that we recommend, click here.

 

Group Activities & Airport Transfers

• To book any activity and any optional transportation (to/from airport or activities), Kyle and Maryflor at CR Paradise can help you (we’ve booked activities and transportation through them for 3 years). 

• Reach out to them at your earliest convenience. info@CRparadise.com or (714)625-8506.

• There are plenty of taxis at the airport if you’re arriving at a decent hour so it’s not important that you book airport transfer ahead of time, though we usually do.

 

SCHEDULE / ACTIVITIES

All activities are optional of course! Except the wedding ;) and if you RSVP’d for it—the welcome dinner

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Saturday, June 2nd

• 40 of us land at LIR from California and Connecticut (1 the following day)

• 16 will spend their first few days out of Tamarindo

 

Sunday, June 3rd 

• Just an FYI: after breakfast, Joel and I will be driving out to Rincon de la Vieja to explore more of the national park before the group activity that happens there tomorrow morning, Mon 6/4

• If anyone also wants to stay the night of Sunday 6/3 in Rincon de la Vieja (like Joel and I), the hotel to book is Hacienda Guachepelin. The nightly rate is about $76-$99. 

 

Monday, June 4th

• 15 of us land at LIR from California and Connecticut (2 the following day)

• ALL DAY GROUP ACTIVITY — Rincon de la Vieja approx 8am-2pm (1.5-2 hours from Tamarindo). This is our absolute favorite activity in Costa Rica (after surfing for Joel lol). Included: horse ride, 3-km “lazy-river style” individual tubing down a river, swim in waterfalls, optional rappel down canyon, optional rock climb up canyon (with lots of rope assistance lol), zip line, lunch, volcanic mud bath. The price is $120 per person with transportation from Tamarindo.  The cost without transportation should be $98.44 with all taxes and fees.

• Contact Kyle and Maryflor to book this activity. info@CRparadise.com or (714)625-8506.

 

Tuesday, June 5th 

• In the late morning, we will meet @ Playa Conchal, which is one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve seen in Guanacaste. It’s about a 20 minute drive from Tamarindo (google for location). There is a bit of shopping, and local food, but the main attraction is the beautiful calm blue water and light golden sand. 

• 5:30PM—Welcome dinner @ The Ocean Restaurant in Tamarindo (google it for location—its on the ocean side near Diria, the wedding venue). We will have a large area reserved on the sand just before sunset (sun sets at about 6PM). We are offering a select menu (including children and Vegan options) which will be handed out when you sit down. One fruit drink/soda/bottled water/Pellegrino included. Alcohol can be purchased separately.

 

Wednesday, June 6th 

• Joel’s Bachelor Party—all (regardless of gender) are welcome to attend. This will be a 10-12 hour boat trip to 2 famous surf spots—Witch’s Rock and Ollie’s Point. It is appearing that with the # of people who are RSVPing for this trip, that we will have a boat large enough to provide on-shore/beach access via a Dinghy. So far there are 11-13 people attending this trip. The price will depend on final # of RSVP’s, but should range between $170-$250/person. Please reply to this email as soon as possible if you are interested in this trip. 

• Lauren’s Bachelorette Party—all (regardless of gender) are welcome to attend. This will be an approx 4-hour walk through a beautiful private reserve in the rainforest, where we will get to swim in beautiful water falls and natural volcano thermal pools. It is called Sensoria-Land of Senses. You are welcome to drive yourself if you wish, but so far we all plan to take a large van and split the cost. We need those that are interested in this trip to book ASAP because they only allow a certain # of people into this tour every day. So far we have 12 RSVP’d for this trip. The price for the transportation will depend on final # of RSVP’s so we will wait on that, but for just the activity, the price will be $128.40. Contact CR Paradise ASAP to book.*

• If you can’t attend either of the above parties, no worries. We do plan to have a casual male-only dinner with Joel, and a female-only dinner with  for whoever wants to come, once we return from the above activities. 

• Contact Kyle and Maryflor to book any of these activities. info@CRparadise.com or (714)625-8506.

 

Thursday, June 7th 

• Wedding!!!! Please take your seats by 4:30PM 

• Location: Diria Hotel Tamarindo-google for location. From what I know of where you all are staying, the wedding venue should be walkable for everyone. 5 minutes walk from Sunrise Condos for example. 

• Reception goes until 10PM. 

• Please dress as fancy as you like. Most of us are going with casual-fancy beachy dress. I know that’s vague. We just want you all to be comfortable and feel good. Many of the men for example will be wearing khaki pants and cotton button down t-shirts. Many women will wear nice sun dresses and sandals or heels. THE CEREMONY WILL NOT BE ON SAND (IT’S ON GRASS). Hope that helps :)

• Open bar for non-alcoholic drinks. Cash bar for alcoholic drinks.

 

Friday, June 8th 

• Our gift to all our wedding guests is a free umbrella/beach chair rental & boogie board or surfboard rental for today, Friday June 8th. For most of the day, we will be hanging out at the beach in Tamarindo, about a 5-minute walk south of the rivermouth because that’s where you can boogie board and surf etc. We’ll provide cards for these gifts at the wedding and you can give them to the designated surf shop behind the beach, or the umbrella guy. 

 

*CR PARADISE To book any activity and any optional transportation (to/from airport or activities), Kyle and Maryflor at CR Paradise can help you (we’ve booked trips through them for 3 years). Reach out to them at your earliest convenience. The 3 times we’ve done the Rincon de la Vieja (“volcano tour”) activity it hasn’t booked up, but if you know you’re going to go, I recommend booking now. info@CRparadise.com or (714)625-8506.

 

OTHER

To understand what Costa Rica is like, how to pack, etc., we recommend reading the Frequently Asked Questions/“Important Info” page on the website we made for the wedding: www.SurferWedding.com

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Please note that Lauren will have her phone turned on so if you ever need to reach out or get info on anything while in costa rica, you can reach me by text/call, or on Whatsapp/FB messenger/iMessage at (310)488-6825. 

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Thank you! 

 

Lauren & Joel

(310)488-6825

(310)699-0875