Now Serving ... Breakfast!!!

Luna Llena Hotel is proud to offer breakfast to our guests delivered by a brand new company in Cobano called GusTicos.

GusTicos is owned and operated by Keyren, a former employee of Luna Llena, and we're very excited to see her business boom (and we're excited to eat her delicious cooking!).

All orders must be placed and paid for in the Luna Llena reception office by 8pm the night before you want the breakfast delivered.

Her offerings are as follows:

GusTicos

Breakfast Menu

Option #1 ($7)

Typical Costa Rican Breakfast: Gallo Pinto with scrambled egg, salchichón, cheese, plantains, tropical fruits

Option #2 ($7)

Gallo Pinto with scrambled egg and ham, cheese, plantains, tropical fruits

Option #3 ($7)

Gallo Pinto with scrambled egg, chorizo, cheese, plantains, tropical fruits

Option #4 ($7)

Typical American Breakfast: Pancakes, scrambled egg, bacon, breakfast sausage, tropical fruits

Option #5 ($6)

Wrap with ham and cheese, tropical fruits

Option #6 ($6)

Wrap with vegetables, tropical fruits

EXTRAS ($2 each): Natilla, Guacamole, Avocado, Pico de Gallo, Granola with Yogurt, Bread with Jam and Butter

Christmas Time Is Here

Merry Christmas to All from the Luna Llena Family! Our Christmas decorations are bringing some holiday cheer to the Hotel.

High season has arrived, so if you are thinking about staying with us over the next few months be sure to call ahead or e-mail and make a reservation. 

Christmas is the perfect time to surf! Be sure to ask about surf classes here in Montezuma and over in Playa Hermosa with Montezuma Surf School.

Bar-B-Que Night at Luna Llena

Lots of young locals from the town of Montezuma joined the festivities during our Bar-B-Que Night on Wednesday night. We grilled fresh fish and shared German potato salad as well as lots of other delicious food. There were three generations of Montezumanians in attendance.

This precious little one is Carola, the granddaughter of Angelito, Luna Llena's night watchman. Carola and her mom, Karina, are both healthy and doing great. The Luna Llena family is blessed to welcome its newest member!

Come to Montezuma for HALLOWEEN!

Yes it's October and it's raining a lot, but here at Luna Llena we love the rain! There's still plenty to do: take a Yoga Class at Montezuma Yoga Center, cook a delicious meal here in Luna Llena's kitchen, watch a movie at Sano Banano, read a book on our upstairs balcony while listening to the birds and jungle sounds surrounding us, shoot a game of pool down at Chico's bar, take a long hike along the beach with no sunscreen necessary, and enjoy Montezuma without tons of tourists around.

Everyone in Montezuma is waiting for the Halloween party to begin. Here in Montezuma we celebrate at Chico's bar on Saturday, October 29 with a raffle and prizes for the top three costumes of the night. Last year the top winner was dressed as Shrek. So get creative and dress to impress and come out and party with us here in Montezuma!

Question of the Week: How do I get to Mal Pais/Santa Teresa from Montezuma?

This is probably the most-asked question from Luna Llena Hotel guests. People are always shocked at how few buses run between Montezuma and Santa Teresa, being that the two towns are both popular tourist destinations and we're only about 20 kilometers apart.

If you're staying in Montezuma it is not convenient to go to Santa Teresa and come back on the same day by public bus. It's possible, but you only get to spend about four hours in Santa Teresa. Plus, the real issue is that the Number #1 Thing To Do in Santa Teresa is to see the sunset, and the last public bus leaves Santa Teresa at 3:30pm which doesn't allow you to see the sunset at all. If you want to see the sunset or stay past 3:30pm, you have to take a cab, rent a car or ATV, or spend the night in Santa Teresa.

There are, in fact, no direct buses from Montezuma to Santa Teresa. You have to make a stop in Cobano and change buses. Leaving from Cobano there are only two buses per day headed to Santa Teresa: 10:30am and 2:30pm. This bus is very slow on a very bumpy road and takes anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hours to go 14 kilometers, depending on how crowded the bus is and how many stops it has to make.

In order to get from Montezuma to Santa Teresa by public bus, you must take the 10am bus leaving Montezuma to Cobano. In Cobano you change buses and get on the 10:30 bus leaving Cobano for Santa Teresa. This bus will drop you off at "El Cruce," or the crossroads at Playa Carmen. Playa Carmen is the dividing line between Santa Teresa and Mal Pais. South of Playa Carmen is Mal Pais; north is Santa Teresa.

The only other public bus option from Montezuma to Santa Teresa is to take the 12pm bus leaving Montezuma, get off in Cobano around 12:30 and sit around Cobano waiting for two hours until the 2:30 bus leaves Cobano on its way to Santa Teresa. Not very convenient. Most Luna Llena guests who want to take the 2:30 bus to Santa Teresa take a cab from our hotel ($10) to Cobano around 2pm and then hop on the 2:30 bus to Santa Teresa.

Returning from Santa Teresa to Montezuma the buses leave from Playa Carmen at 7:30am, 11:30am and 3:30 pm. All of these buses will drop you off in Cobano and you have to make a change in Cobano and get on the Montezuma bus. Not all of the buses meet up; you may have to sit and wait in Cobano.

When guests are traveling in groups (or are more concerned with saving time than money), we recommend taking a taxi to Santa Teresa. A taxi costs $40 and can fit up to four people. As always, when traveling in the Nicoya Peninsula, private transport is always a big time-saver and well worth the cost if you don't want to spend your vacation waiting at bus terminals.

Welcome To Montezuma and Luna Llena Hotel!!

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This is our new Welcome Sign which will soon be hung at our entrance along the main road leading into Montezuma. We hope that all who see it on their way down the hill feel welcome here in Montezuma, and welcome here at Luna Llena Hotel, but most of all that everyone Enjoy Nature Peace and Love during their stay here in Montezuma.

Thank you Julieta for painting us a beautiful sign!

October is Beautiful in Montezuma -- REDUCED ROOM RATES

Hello to All Luna Llena Lovers,

Montezuma is beautiful 12 months out of the year, and even though it rains in October (sometimes), it's still an amazing time of year in Montezuma. When the rivers are blue and clear they're at their most beautiful because they're so full due to the rain. Lately it's been raining just a few hours each day, just enough to keep things cool. We still get lots of sun in the mornings and there's plenty to see and do here in Montezuma this time of the year. Plus, you can take advantage of our REDUCED ROOM RATES.

These rates are based on double occupancy and apply only if you're paying cash:

Room #1 = $25
Room #2 = $15
Room #3 = $20
Room #4 = $15
Room #5 = $25
Room #6 = $35
Dorm Room = $10 per bed
Room #8 = $35
Room #9 = $30
Room #10 = $30
Room #11 = $30
Room #12 = $25

SPECIAL OCTOBER GROUP RATE: If you are traveling with a group of 3-5 persons, you can stay in a private room for just $12 per person!

These prices do not apply to online reservations and only apply when paying cash. We always accept credit cards, but must charge full price for the room if you wish to pay with a credit card.

The weather has been beautiful, so come on down to Montezuma this October!

Question of the Week: What's that long-tailed raccoon-like animal that hangs around Luna Llena Hotel?

It's a Pizote, or white-nosed coati, which actually is a part of the raccoon family. There is a mama Pizote and a baby male Pizote who live somewhere around the hotel's jungle premises and often make appearances to sniff around for food. This photo is of Luna Llena's resident mama Pizote. Luna Llena hotel guests enjoy taking photos and learning about local jungle wildlife.

The Pizote is found as far north as Arizona and as far south as Ecuador and lives in wooded forest areas. They have extremely long tails and the males tend to be much larger than the females. They are omnivores and love to forage for food in human trash. They can climb trees easily, using that long tail for balance. They are quite cute and have even been domesticated, but the males will fight if they feel attacked and have long nails for scratching. They like to sleep curled up in a tree.

In Costa Rica the animal is known exclusively as a Pizote, but in other parts of Latin America it is known as Coatimundi, Tejon or Antoon.

Montezuma Beach Clean-Up Sunday, Sept. 25: Do Your Part!!

We at Luna Llena hate to see all the plastic trash that washes up on our beaches here in Montezuma, most of which comes from San Jose and other parts of the Central Valley. Unfortunately, many people in Costa Rica continue to believe that rivers are trash cans. They refuse to think about the fact that their garbage doesn't disappear: it just gets carried downstream. During the rainy season all this trash gets washed out to sea and often ends up washed up on our beaches here in Montezuma.

Many trash collection efforts have taken place in Montezuma, and a once-a-year festival called "Chunches del Mar" has for several years drawn attention to the trash problem through art, with artists creating art installations in Montezuma using trash that has washed up on our beaches.

This year Montezuma will participate in World Beach Clean-Up Day on Sunday, Sept. 25. Montezuma will be celebrating with volunteers on foot patrol collecting and removing garbage from Montezuma's beaches. Do your part and join the effort!

This year's event is sponsored by ASVO Montezuma, the turtle protection and conservation program located 50 meters to the East of the elementary school in Montezuma. Their phone number is 2642-1433 for more information.

To do your part, show up at the Elementary School in Montezuma at 8:00am on Sunday, Sept. 25 where volunteers will be dispatched with trash bags.

Can Jungle Noises Help You Sleep?

Here at Luna Llena we love falling asleep to the drone of insects and geckos chirping with the waves crashing in the background, and waking up to the rustle of leaves and tweets of birds in the morning. In the rainy season, the patter of rain on the roof makes for the best sleep of your life.

The Tico Times wrote an article on August 12 about jungle noises minimizing stressful thoughts and helping people fall asleep. Luna Llena's owner, Milly Anz, was quoted in the article. Follow this link to read more!

A Lovely Poem About Costa Rica

This poem was published in the Tico Times on February 18, 2011. We wish to share it with our readers because we feel it beautifully captures the essence of life in Costa Rica.

This poem was submitted [to the Tico Times]by Katherine Ridley, 13, who attended the Talarke School in San Ramon de Tres Rios from 2000 to 2007, and the European School in San Pablo de Heredia from 2007 to 2010. She now lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

Pura Vida

I know a country with a heart of gold and goodness.

The animals, so colorful and exotic,

They look like part of a dream;

The mountains that breathe fire

Like hot-tempered, scaly dragons.

The restless land that shakes and shudders

Letting the people know it is alive.

Bright red berries that sprinkle the coffee plants at harvest time;

Drops of blood on a green garment.

Sandy beaches snaking around the country:

Ropes preventing all that beauty from spilling into the sea

That already has its fair share.

Coral reefs that grow just as dense

As the rain forest with its endless showers

As if it was trying to wash the evil from the world.

And the people that smile as if life is good

Because it is.

Question of the Week: What's the Best Way to Get to Tamarindo/Samara from Montezuma?

Montezuma is located at the Southeastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. A lot of folks who are traveling for the first time in Costa Rica or in the Nicoya Peninsula don't realize the roads here are bad year round and many are impassable during the rainy season. There are no public buses that travel directly from Montezuma to the Northern part of the Nicoya Peninsula, where Samara and Tamarindo are located. That's right, no public buses. Many travelers are surprised to discover this once they get here.

If you wish you travel by public bus from Montezuma to Samara or Tamarindo, you have to take the bus from Montezuma to Paquera, then the ferry from Paquera to Puntarenas, then a taxi from the ferry dock to the bus stop in Puntarenas, then another bus to Liberia if you're headed to Tamarindo or to Nicoya if you're headed to Samara. You're looking at a 12-hour trip that will cost approximately $25 in bus and taxi fare. Plus you have to remember that traveling for such a long time is tiring and you're going to have to pay for bathrooms along the way, plus the over-priced food and drink for sale on the ferry and at bus stations. By the time you arrive in Tamarindo or Samara 12 hours later you will most likely have spent $45 on your trip and you'll arrive exhausted.

This is why we at Luna Llena Hotel highly recommend reserving a shuttle. For just $45 the shuttle will pick you up right in front of Luna Llena Hotel (or any hotel in Montezuma) in an air-conditioned van and drive you directly to your hotel in either Samara or Tamarindo. And the trip only takes four and a half hours! You save about eight hours of your vacation time, and you also save a lot of hassle. You will arrive at your destination with energy to get out and hit the waves, or rent a bike and explore the town, etc. It's like adding an extra afternoon to your vacation for free! The only catch is that there is a minimum of two persons to reserve a shuttle.

The other ways to travel between Montezuma and Tamarindo/Samara include renting a car or ATV. During the dry season (December-April) you can drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle up the road along the Western coast of the Nicoya Peninsula and witness the isolated and beautiful beaches that are practically uninhabited between Manzanillo and Samara. Some hearty cyclists have been known to make this trip by bicycle, too. But as soon as the rains come this road is entirely impassable and off-limits.

Welcome to Luna llena blog

Welcome to Luna Llena Hotel’s brand new blog! Here we will be posting information on current events happening in our corner of the jungle, as well as photos for all of those across the globe who want to see what’s going on here at Luna Llena Hotel and throughout Montezuma, Costa Rica.

Feel free to comment or ask questions if there is something you wish to learn about Luna Llena Hotel, Montezuma or Costa Rica in general.

If you want to be sure not to miss one moment of Luna Llena adventures, subscribe to our blog and you’ll receive an e-mail every time we make a post!

Be sure to check in with us on Sundays when we’ll be posting our special feature “Question of the Week.” We’ll focus on one frequently asked question that we receive from guests of our hotel and we’ll post the most complete and helpful answer we can come up with. If you have a question for us, you may find it answered here!

Log on to our site often and feel free to link to us if you find the information posted here helpful to you. But most of all, don’t forget to recommend us to anyone you know who is coming to visit Montezuma, Costa Rica and wants to feel at home in paradise. All the Best from Sunny Montezuma!

-Luna Llena Staff