costa rica logistics

Old Sep 4th, 2014, 01:11 PM
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costa rica logistics

Hi. We had such a great time last July in CR (2 nights in La Carolina Lodge and 5 at an all incusive villa in Ocotal) that we want to return!

Really wanted to do BdeC but with 4 of us the prices seem steep with the extra flight etc. I am instead considering a lovely oceanfront house that we can rent in Dominical so we can take day trips to the national parks. The house also has a lot of resident animals.

From there, I am thinking of driving to Arenal area - how long is ride? - for 3 nights and than back to Ocotal for 4 04 5 nights at the villa.

I am also hoping we can fly into San Jose and out of Liberia.

Is this doable? This will be next July. Are there any other spots I am missing? I am still hoping to find a place like La Carolina for a few nights....Thanks for any and all suggestions.
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Old Sep 4th, 2014, 03:02 PM
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Hi. I typically plan my trips on my own but thank you anyway.
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Old Sep 4th, 2014, 03:30 PM
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You might like Selva Verde. Check it out and see if it's your kind of place. We got the recommendation on this board and really enjoyed it. Not fancy but located on a river with lots of toucans, poison dart frogs, howlers, etc. They have a nice open air little Italian restaurant where they make wood fired pizzas, etc. We spent most of our time hiking, but they also have tours you can do and you can go out on the Sarapiqui River. La Selva isn't too far away - you can do a day trip there and see lots of wildlife; we even saw peccaries. It's a good spot for two or three nights. Have not done Arenal to Dominical, but it took us about fiveish hours to go from Arenal to Manuel Antonio if that helps.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 06:11 AM
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volcanogirl, isn't that on the other coast?
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 09:09 AM
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No it's about 50 miles from Arenal on the river, not on the coast. About 40 miles from San Jose. It's small and nature intensive so might be your kind of place if you liked La Carolina. We did it in combo with an Arenal trip.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 09:24 AM
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Seems like a lot of less than necessary driving. Why Dominical? You won't see any more wildlife there than any other part of the country. It's not the Osa.

And it's a LONG way from Arenal. All day drive there and back.

If you're doing Ocotal and Arenal, I just don't see what Dominical adds for you.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 01:08 PM
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i have heard that there are a ton of animals in dominical and at this house in particular. isn't it near the isa? have not been to arenal-thought it might not be too far.

i love cr but planning trips are difficult!
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 05:50 PM
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You probably already know this, but I would ask about security at the house if you decide to go that route. Friends of ours rented a house, and it was broken into while they were sleeping, probably not common but can happen.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 07:02 PM
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Dominical isn't close to the Osa. There are doubtlessly animals there, but not comparable to the Osa or Sarapiqui areas.

Check out:

Yourtravelmap.com
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 07:25 PM
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Like RAC said, Dominical isn't close to the Osa; neither one is close to the Arenal area either. Most destinations in CR involve some travel time. Are you wanting to stay in just one area?
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Old Sep 6th, 2014, 03:34 AM
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The money and time spent driving around might better be spent on one stay at BdC. You can sometimes find air sales. An Arenal/Sarapaqui split would work well too. In any case, I too would drop one spot. Too much driving.

A couple of other suggestions:

Savegre Lodge in a cloud forest a couple of hours from san Jose
Rincon de la Vieja area near Liberia
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Old Sep 6th, 2014, 05:03 AM
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We absolutely loved the all inclusive villa we rented last July. It had guards and we felt perfectly safe. Once my daughter turns 13 she will be full price so that is what is driving one more stay there. I wanted to add one other area to visit. We did spend some time in Rincon de la Vieja when we were in Ocotal. I really want to visit B de C but that and Ocotal will not jive so wanted to add one other location.

I was told the house in Domincal was 5 hours from Ocotal and an hour from Cornovado National Park where we would see tons of animals. Is this incorrect?

We live in Charlotte and are held captive by US Air and flights are always $900-$1000 pp to CR.

Thanks for the travel map.
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Old Sep 6th, 2014, 07:07 AM
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No way is the part about being 1 hour from Corcovado true, unless the house comes with a private plane and pilot. Very shady of them to say that.
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Old Sep 6th, 2014, 11:19 AM
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Wow, that's steep airfare!
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Old Sep 7th, 2014, 12:17 PM
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To elaborate, there are three ways to see Corcovado :

1) charter a flight into Sirena;
2) hike in from Carate or Puerto Jimenez;
3) boat in from Uvita, Sierpe or Drake

The boats from Uvita typically only go to San Pedrillo, which is not as rich in wildlife as other areas of the park. And even then the boat ride is 90 minutes from Uvita, and not cheap--figure over $100--per person. Uvita is about a 30 minute drive from Dominical.

It is not possible to drive from Dominical to Corcovado--it is not possible to drive to Corcovado from anywhere.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2014, 05:35 AM
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so if we fly into sjo and go to domincal and then drive up to ocotal and fly out of liberia? is there a place of interest in between where we could stop for a night on the way to ocotal? any suggestions…thanks
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Old Sep 22nd, 2014, 07:13 AM
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Sorry, your wishes are pretty confusing. Can you get a good map of CR?

I felt perfectly safe at Bosque del Cabo.

Have you ever tried flying out of Atlanta for better air fares? It might require an overnight at Motel 6 but the savings for four might be worth it. US Air sounds horrible.
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Old Sep 28th, 2014, 05:10 PM
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Plambers, you are doing fine with your ideas about the trip. suggestions are directing you to other areas of CR that you dont even want to do.
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Old Sep 28th, 2014, 05:30 PM
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Plambers, Dominical is so close to the OSA peninsula that you would not even noticed when you drove in. Dominical is on the coastal highway and 45 minutes south of there there is PALMAR. this is the junction to access OSA, by either going to Puerto Jimenez or enter by river boat.

Dominical is highly recommended if you are expecting a mellower atmosphere than the Ocotal and northpacific. Dominical has lots of houses available to rent, and also nice hotels. South of dominical you find Uvita and Ballena Beach and the only marine national park that we have in CR which is also balled Ballena. From augusto to late october there is a lot of whale wathcing there. A plus for the area is the small eatiries that have been set up by expats from europe and north america, you can literally find french, italian, swiss food there at the level of the best you have had.

Dominical is strategically located because it is also south of Manuel antonio, about 30 minutes. So you can do a lot from Dominical. A recommended atraction is Hacienda Baru, owned by a man who is a legend in conservation, Jack Ewing, google him and you will find lots of info about him and the books he has written.

My honest suggestion is that you do as you are planning.

A good way to cut the trip between dominical and ocotal is a stop at La Pacifica, in Canas, is a cozy little place, look them up. it is an animal sanctuary. Also, you can stop earlier, in Miramar, there are a couple of places that you can stay at. both of these are right on the interamerican highway so there is no need to drive off too far to get your accommodation. Actually, you can make it to Ocotal in 6 hours and that is not bad if you consider stopping somewhere near Jaco to have a bite to eat, maybe Caldera which is the point where you take on the interamerican hwy 1 (look up La Leda, a down home costa rican cooking sea food place, mostly for ticos but really good food at decent prices).
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Old Sep 28th, 2014, 05:34 PM
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plambers, also, in three-4 hours from dominical you can be at san ramon, the junction where you can leave the hwy to reach Fortuna/arenal in 1.5 hours. or you can continue driving on the hwy 1 to Ocotal.

the good of combining dominical and ocotal is that ocotal is fun in the sun but dominical is a sleepy surf town with a different vibe and a lot more nature. it is a cool idea.
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