danhart

In my travels to Thailand I have experienced many wonderful stays at small beach bungalow operations. Just curious as to if Costa Rica shares any of these back-packer meccas. I am looking for a bungalow operation, or several, that has a great beach, food, no upscale or resorts near. A non-touristy town. A little bit of nightlife, action during the day, maybe a couple of hiking trails. A place accessed via san jose by boat, bus, taxi(within overnight or max 6 hr. day travel). I will have one week in CR with my girlfriend and then off to Thailand to meet up with my bro. She does'nt have much time, and we are not looking to have the ultimate CR experience. We just want to hang on a beach, swing in our hammocks,enjoy decent food, and hippie friendly. Any help graciously appreciated

Ally

Check out El Sano Banano in Montezuma. I think it would be perfect for you!

c_wooten

I have just the info for you. I just got back last night from CR and we stayed near Puerto Viejo and LOVED it. Cool surfing little town with NO RESORTS to be found anywhere. We found this place the last night we were there for dinner and really wished that we had stayed there. Cheap, beautiful, great food and close to the beach. http://www.azania-costarica.com/engl...x-english.html

There are bars and a couple of places to dance at night and plenty to do during the day or you can just chill out. Tons of cool little spots to eat and drink. You can do everything from surf, snorkel, kayak (at night is the best with a full moon) horseback ride on the beach, canopy tours, rent a scooter and cruise around, etc.

My girlfriend has been to Thailand and she actually brought up the similarities. It takes about 4 hours to get there from San Jose and it is on the atlantic side very near Panama. If you rent a car get a 4x4 because of the potholes in the road. We rented from Poas rent a car and had no problems and it was cheaper than most others. Let me know if you have any questions.

welltraveledbrit

That brings me back... I went to Puetro Viejo in 1989 and I'm surprised to hear it hasn't changed that much.

danhart

Both of those places look great. Thanks for the info. I had a little more beachfront in mind, like right on the beach front. Is that a possibility in Viejo, with out the exuberant prices? Ditto for Montezuma. Is it safe to assume the smaller operations are "hippie-friendly"

shillmac

Thanks c wooten, for the tip. Will be in Puerto Viejo and surrounding area end of October. I've been looking for accomodations, and this one looks interesting. Are you working on a trip report?

Ally

danhart,
Although Sano Banano does have 'hotel' rooms in 'town' where their restautant is located, they do have cabinas ON the beach!

c_wooten

There were only a couple of places that were right on the beach and they didnt look that great. There is a tiny campground right on the beach if you are interested in that. Most of the places are right across the road from the beach. And all the places in the area are surely hippie friendly. The town is totally laid back and cool.

Shillmac, hadn't really thought about doing a trip report, but found this website very helpful compared to the others and wanted to help out others who are thinking about going to this area since there isn't a lot written about it. I would really look into the place that I suggested. I wasnt totally happy with where we stayed and was shocked when I found this place and it was $40 a night cheaper!!

danhart

Thanks c-wooten. I e-mailed my girlfriend the link and she loves it. How much was your jeep rental for the week? I am assuming it is worth getting a jeep just to have the ease of travel. Plenty to do around Puerto Viejo? I will continue to research, thanks again. Dan Hart

c_wooten

We rented a Hyundai Galloper 4x4 for $300 including all taxes, insurance and airport pick-up. It was diesel which is much cheaper than gas (which is $$ in Costa Rica) and gets better mileage. The website is carentals.com (Poas rent a car.) At first I wanted to find a softtop jeep but could not find anything and not sure if you have read this anywhere but DO NOT let the car out of your sight when you have luggage in it. And if you rent from somewhere else make sure that they are not on the airport grounds (Poas is 2K away) because the airport will charge 12% fee on top of what your rental cost are. The trip takes about 4+ hours (depending on how fast you are able to get out of the city of San Juan). The drive takes you through the mountains and across bannana plantations. The trucks are slow but it is not that bad of a drive. Once you get close to Puerto Viejo what out for the HUGE potholes everywhere. It gets to be a joke after a while, everyone going back and forth dodging them.

Here is a listing of some things that you can do while you are there, (this is from the place that we stayed DONT STAY THERE, too $$$ for what you get.)
http://www.costarica-hotelkasha.com/...ails_eng.shtml

And there are a couple of good adventure groups in Puerto Viejo and one in Manzanillo.

And we did a midnight/moonlight kayak tour with an outfitter that is right on the side of the road in Puerto Viejo across from Salsa Brava.

We also rented some horses for a three hour ride on the beach that ended with us running the horses on the beach with the sun going down. Just the two of us and a guide.

And you can find more things to do as well. The locals are very nice, stop by El Living (near Punta Uva) and chill out and have a Mango shake with Vodka in it to cool off from the midday sun. They dont have it on the menu but they will make it for you and a a very cool couple. (it is their house basically)

You will have a great time there. Have been told that the area is basically how Costa Rica was before it was "discovered" to be a destination. No resorts, no big hotels or food chains, just beatiful beaches and forest. We woke up every morning to monkeys in the trees jumping around and calling out to each other.

Take some cash with you (almost all places will take US dollars) and some will take Credit cards but there isnt an ATM machine and there is one place that you can exchange money with a credit card but they will charge you 11%.

If you have any more questions feel free to email me at [email protected]. I wasnt able to find much out about the area before we went so willing to help someone else out before they head off.

LA_FadeAway

Hi! We stayed both Puerto Viejo and Montezuma (El Sano Banano) a few months ago. Both towns are awesome and quite hippie friendly. For beachfront accomodations, the bungelows at El Sano Banano can't be beat. There are some nice accomodations around Puerto Viejo, but not so much ON the beach.