Casa Tortuga

Casa Tortuga stands in the Puerto Carrillo hills, inside the gated community of Loma Verde, about a 7-minute drive from the beautiful beach at Playa Carrillo and 15–20 minutes from Sámara, so you'll need a car (a regular one is fine). The entrance is guarded 24 hours a day, a second guard watches over the community all night, and the night guard office is twenty feet from the driveway. It is the kind of security you notice without having to think about it.

The house is set next to the jungle, and the wildlife belongs to the day rather than to an excursion: monkeys everywhere in the trees, aracari toucans, parrots and all kinds of crazy looking birds, and the occasional huge lizard crossing the garden. Mosquitoes, unusually, are virtually absent here.

Inside there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms with hot water, air conditioning, WiFi and cable television, a microwave and a refrigerator, and laundry with washer and dryer. Outside: a shared swimming pool, a lawn, a barbecue and an outdoor shower.