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2014-09-25 10:13 AM

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Oakville
Subject: Costa Rica Vacation

My wife and I have booked a trip to Costa Rica in January for our 10th year anniversary.

This will be our first extended trip without the kids (yes, we're horrible parents leaving them for a whole week), so the plan is to do all the things we wouldn't do on a typical family vacation with a 4 and a 6 year old.

We'll be renting a car and the itinerary is the first 3 nights near Arenal Volcano National Park, then 3 nights in a beachfront all-inclusive resort in Guancanaste and the last night in San Jose.

Here is the short list of a few things we want to do:

  • volcano tour/hike
  • hot springs
  • zip lining/tree top trekking
  • surfing in Tamarindo

Any recommendations of other adventures that are a "must do" in Costa Rica?

Also, any advice on the state of the Costa Rican roads?  My wife travelled there over 15 years ago and a colleague at work was there almost 10 years ago, and both said that the roads were in brutal shape and that a 4x4 was a necessity.

We've booked an economy car for now but would upgrade to an SUV if the road conditions haven't improved.

 



2014-09-25 11:06 PM
in reply to: Scott71

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

It looks as though you've done some research already and that is a good start.  I'm not up to date on any info for Costa Rica but I wanted to suggest you go to Lonely Planet and click on "ThornTree" and find the Costa Rica group and ask your question.  You might have to register to post but it is free.  They should also be able to give you a better idea of the road conditions as well.

Your list is pretty good but how much travel time is there between each of them?  Don't forget to include some relax time.  A lot of people run around trying to see everything and wind up missing the best bits.

 

2014-09-26 1:14 PM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

We went for 10 days this Feb.  My second time.   We did Arenal for 3 days, Monteverde/Santa Elena for 3 days, and Montezuma on the coast for four days.

In Arenal can't recommend Arenal Observatory Lodge more.   Fantastic place, removed from town, close to the volcano (believe it's the closest hotel to the volcano).  If you don't have a place yet.   Lots of hikes in the area.

We did Tabacon springs and were disappointed.  There are several hot springs in La Fortuna area, done Tabacon and Baldi.   Baldi was when I was a bit younger and is more of a party.   Here's a pretty good rundown   http://costaricatravelblog.com/2013/10/02/the-best-hot-springs-in-la-fortuna-arenal-costa-rica-baldi-ecotermales-tabacon-or-the-springs-resort/   We tried getting in ecotermales but the timing didn't work out.

There is zip lining everywhere.  We did it in Monteverde.   There is one in the Arenal region I did the first time I was there,. was good.   Also did one at Jaco Beach area if you go in that direction.  Just yelp any company you see for reviews to get an idea.

We did not rent a car because the required added insurance is expensive and didn't want to mess with it.  The tourism infrastructure is so well established in Costa Rica, there are shuttle and busses that go from everywhere to everywhere.   You could choose from private or semi private to regular busses.   I didn't regret leaving thos details in someone else's hands.

Roads suck.  don't judge travel time by distance as it's irrelevant.  May take 5 hours to go 50 miles as the crow flies.

ETA I wouldn't recommend adding another destination but personally I think the Monteverde cloud forest area is a must do.   Absolutely beautiful. 



Edited by ChrisM 2014-09-26 1:16 PM
2014-09-26 2:27 PM
in reply to: wenceslasz

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Oakville
Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

Originally posted by wenceslasz

It looks as though you've done some research already and that is a good start.  I'm not up to date on any info for Costa Rica but I wanted to suggest you go to Lonely Planet and click on "ThornTree" and find the Costa Rica group and ask your question.  You might have to register to post but it is free.  They should also be able to give you a better idea of the road conditions as well.

Your list is pretty good but how much travel time is there between each of them?  Don't forget to include some relax time.  A lot of people run around trying to see everything and wind up missing the best bits.

 

Wenceslasz - thanks for the tip.  I was going to post on Tripadvisor but will look into the Costa Rican group on Lonely planet as well.

The plan is to try to do something each day, with the bigger adventures scheduled for every other day.  But we're assuming that, without the kids and the 6:00 am wakeup, we should have tons of extra energy to tackle all there is to see!

2014-09-26 3:00 PM
in reply to: ChrisM

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Oakville
Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

Originally posted by ChrisM

We went for 10 days this Feb.  My second time.   We did Arenal for 3 days, Monteverde/Santa Elena for 3 days, and Montezuma on the coast for four days.

In Arenal can't recommend Arenal Observatory Lodge more.   Fantastic place, removed from town, close to the volcano (believe it's the closest hotel to the volcano).  If you don't have a place yet.   Lots of hikes in the area.

We did Tabacon springs and were disappointed.  There are several hot springs in La Fortuna area, done Tabacon and Baldi.   Baldi was when I was a bit younger and is more of a party.   Here's a pretty good rundown   http://costaricatravelblog.com/2013/10/02/the-best-hot-springs-in-la-fortuna-arenal-costa-rica-baldi-ecotermales-tabacon-or-the-springs-resort/   We tried getting in ecotermales but the timing didn't work out.

There is zip lining everywhere.  We did it in Monteverde.   There is one in the Arenal region I did the first time I was there,. was good.   Also did one at Jaco Beach area if you go in that direction.  Just yelp any company you see for reviews to get an idea.

We did not rent a car because the required added insurance is expensive and didn't want to mess with it.  The tourism infrastructure is so well established in Costa Rica, there are shuttle and busses that go from everywhere to everywhere.   You could choose from private or semi private to regular busses.   I didn't regret leaving thos details in someone else's hands.

Roads suck.  don't judge travel time by distance as it's irrelevant.  May take 5 hours to go 50 miles as the crow flies.

ETA I wouldn't recommend adding another destination but personally I think the Monteverde cloud forest area is a must do.   Absolutely beautiful. 

ChrisM - this is excellent!  Thank you.

I did a quick check of google maps and, although Monteverde appears to be only about 30 kms from our Hotel in Arenal (as the crow flies), unfortunately there is no direct route and its showing close to 3 hours by car without traffic.

The trip we planned included the car, but I have read that the insurance is not optional and is mandatory in CR for all rentals, so we're expecting that additional cost.  I'm really looking forward to sufing in Tamarindo, which is about an hour south of the beach resort.  There likely are buses or group excursions from the hotel, but we wanted to have a bit of flexibility to set our own schedule.

The distances between hotels is fairly long, but we're planning to take it slow and easy and check out as much as we can along the way.  The biggest travel day is from the west coast back to San Jose, but our flight is in the afternoon the following day so we basically have all day (and night) to get there. 

 

2014-09-26 5:51 PM
in reply to: Scott71

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation
I visited CR in Dec 2009...went to Arenal & Monteverde, so I'm no help with Tamarindo. Having done interior adventure followed by beach/ocean activities on trips to other southern destinations, I think your planned progression is a good one. Monteverde was beautiful, but there's just no time to fit it into your schedule. Don't worry though, a good rule of traveling is to make sure you have a reason to make a return trip!

The only hiking we got to do in Arenal was at the National Park. The trails were short & easy, but they were quite muddy & slippery in places when we were there. Cerro Chato is supposed to be a more challenging hike I had on our possible to-do list, but it just didn't end up fitting into our schedule while we were there.

Another half day activity possibility is the canyoning/waterfall rappelling tours. You do a handful of rappels...a couple of which you are descending down waterfalls. Everyone on our tour thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. http://puretrekcanyoning.com/waterfall-rapelling/

We also hired a guide for a day trip boat ride along the Rio Frio from Los Chiles to San Carlos, Nicaragua & back. It was an excellent day. We saw more howler monkeys than we could count, a couple of sloths, iguanas, plenty of birds, pretty scenery, glimpses of the non-glamorous way of life for those who live along that portion of the river, and eventually Lake Nicaragua & San Carlos. San Carlos was our stop for lunch & a quick walk around a couple of blocks of the town before heading back the way we came. I can dig up our guide's info it this interests you. The other option like this is the boat rides that go the other way along the river into the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge.

If you want a place to eat that is off the tourist path, we had a good meal at Restaurante Garrapata. It's in the Barrio Dora neighborhood a little bit outside of the tourist square of La Fortuna. We were the only tourists eating lunch there that day, and the owner made sure we were well taken care of...even bringing us a complementary ceviche appetizer while we waited for our lunch. Everyone enjoyed their meals.

CR is a beautiful country & the Ticos are great hosts...I don't think you can go wrong there.


2014-09-29 1:02 PM
in reply to: Scott71

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

The trip from Arenal - Monteverde is/can be an adventure by itself, and takes a while.  While it is close as the crow flies, it's a good 3-4 hour trip, but agreed something to come back for.  We did it as a boat across lake arenal, then a horseback rdie along the shore, then a shared bus over the top, getting stuck in the mud, etc....

In San Jose I've stayed at the Alta and the Holiday Inn, both in the Escazu area.  HI was fine, decent and clean.  Alta was a little more interesting and quaint.

2014-09-29 4:20 PM
in reply to: ChrisM

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

I visited Costa Rica in 2008 and I hate to confess I forget where all we traveled because it was with a group through a college and we weren't in one location for more than one night, I don't believe.  We hit many parts of the country from the Monteverde cloud forest to the coffee region (and toured the Britt plantation) to the beaches.  Oh, we took a boat tour on the Tarcoles River and saw the famous crocs and a large variety of wildlife.  We also did a canopy walk somewhere and saw birds and howler monkeys. Hands down my favorite experience was going to Arenal and soaking in the hot springs-fed pool, drinking a pina colada out of a fresh pineapple from the swim-up bar, and watching Arenal fume and spit in the distance.  Incredibly cool.  Then again, swimming in the Pacific, seeing a green sea turtle and seeing 2 scarlet macaws fly over my head was pretty awesome, too.  Gorgeous country, you should have a blast!

Ah, more is coming back to me.  We also toured La Fortuna, the little town near Arenal, visited the gold museum as well as the art museum in San Jose, visited the National theater and checked out the nearby market.  That is just scratching the surface, we saw so many incredible places and met wonderful people on this trip.

2014-10-01 11:04 AM
in reply to: melbo55

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Oakville
Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation

Thanks everyone for the additional info! 

Our travel agent has been sending us tip sheets for the 3 regions of CR that we'll be travelling through.

From what I've read and from what others have posted above, its looking like 1 week is not enough time!

Our original plan was to stay the entire week at a beach resort in the Guancanaste area and then do the odd day trip to go surfing and hiking.

I'm glad we decided to book 3 days in the Arenal area as there is far more to do than I originally thought.  it looks like this could be the high point of the trip.

2014-10-03 12:28 PM
in reply to: Scott71

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation
Just a heads up. My wife and I were there in April for our honeymoon. We stayed at a nice resort, all inclusive, etc. She got Shigella from eating unwashed fruit. Nasty stuff. I would avoid fruits where you eat the peel....apples, grapes, plums, etc.
2014-10-07 5:59 PM
in reply to: gsulee

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Subject: RE: Costa Rica Vacation
go rooster fishing


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