igemini48

Hi Folks.
As usually I think that Fodor place is the best place to get an advice from friendly fellow travelers.
We are planning a honeymoon trip to CR.
So our questions are:
How to plan time so we would be moderately busy. Aldo is so much to do and see but we want some leisure time(not necessarily on the beach.) We are nature and History lovers and would participate in some active adventure as well.
Is it possible to stay mainly in SJ and do half day trips (were?) let say every other day. We planning to stay for about 10 days all together.
How about weather in June and rain season.
Any suggestions about restaurants-our preference is where locals eat and not the touristy spots.
Is it truth that CR is that cheap?
Thanks in advance.

greenfieldhunter

I honeymooned in CR,in June of '03. We loved it.

I would recommend you only stay in San Jose your first and last night (and only if you have to).

We stayed in the CR Marriot in San Jose (I know an american chain???- let me finish) It is actually a really nice place set away from the hustle and bustle, has good food and plush rooms. It looks like an old coffee plantation and gets great reviews. Fodors says it is the only place in San Jose which "gets it right" as far as luxury digs go.

If you work your flight times correctly you do not have to spend the night in SJ, but this means arriving on an early flight and departing on a late one.

Again, I would get out of SJ ASAP as the rest of the country has so much to offer.

As far as honeymoons go I would steer you towards Punta Islita. Small ,intimate barefoot luxury, Tico owned with great food. They have a package with a place called Bosque De Paz called their jungle beach package (BTW-I am not usually a package person but it is a great value and hassle free as it includes all tranfers)

Friends recently got married there (Punta Islita) and reported that the service was as great as we remembered.

Other places suitable for a honeymoon would be Si Como No in Manual Antonio (This area has good nature viewing with a little more action than my other recommendations-some might say crowded, but far less so in Jume. We also went there on our honeymoon and there are a few other nice places nearby.

Finally I would recommend Bosque del Cabo or Lapa Rios in Southern CR. This is one of the most remote sections of CR and the largest tract of tropical wet forest remaining in the world- monkeys, sloths, scarlet maccaws (SP?) toucans- you have to see it to believe it.

Tiskita Lodge also gets a mention and many like the Corcovado LODGE closer to Bahia Drake.

If you want to stay in a jungle tent camp I would recommend La Leona Tent camp next to the Corcovado Tent Camp.

Others will steer you towards renting a car and exploring- I have seen more than a few new marriages tested by driving in CR. Many might recommend Tabacon, were we spent a week on our honeymoon and did not like at all.

Unfortunately, CR is no longer cheap BUT is is a good value. The places I mention are not cheap either , but they treat their staff well and contribute to the community and the envioronment.

If you want to go budget, there are plenty of nicer places (we are usually budget travelers).We are in our thirtes and work with horses for a living, but splurged for our honeymoon.

If you only follow one bit of this rambling advice- do not spend your entire honeymoon in SJ.

The weather in Jume is great- it does rain ,sometimes daily , but usually later in the afternoon. It is actually nice- ponding rain, vibrant colors amd best of all, less people and cheaper prices.

Check tripadvisor.com for reviews of these recommendations in addition to their websites.

m90m90m90m90

I have to definitly agree with everyone else when saying DON'T stay in San Jose any longer then you have to. We went to the La Fortuna area on our first trip to Costa Rica for two days realized it wasn't enough time and had to make a second trip for another 1 1/2 weeks just in that area. There is so much to do there you will never be bored. We staied at Palo Verde Resort and I highly recomend them. They are cheap in price and the place is amazing. You go to Costa Rica to see the jungle and there you really feel like your in the jungle. It's not like the other hotels/resorts in the area where they clear the jungle out from around them. There web site is PaloVerdeResort.com check them out you wond be disapointed. As for activities in the area there's: hot springs, horse backing, hiking, A.T.V. tours, Zip-lines, hanging bridges, waterfall repelling, fishing, boating, volcano boat tours, bird watching, kayak tours, white water rafting, butterfly farms, crocodile farms, caves, and lots more. All of which Palo Verde Resort can book right from their reception. Enjoy your trip!

Melissa5

The Lost Iguana resort in Arenal would be a great place for honeymooners. Better to have a car while you're there. Get the luxury suite which cost us $160 in June 2005, very worth it. I also sent my niece there on her honeymoon and they loved it too. Every room at the Lost Iguana has a volcano view. (That is assuming you can see the volcano at all, sometimes it's clouded over.) Spend 3 or 4 nights at ARenal. As soon as you arrive book a Sky Trek/Sky Tram zip-line tour for the day of your choice. If you want to do Puretrek waterfall rapelling, that tends to book up more, either book it in advance, or book it as soon as you check into your hotel.

We loved the Hanging Bridges hike in Arenal first thing in the morning, bring binoculars, go slow, really take your time. Stop and listen and look wherever you see movement in the trees. We saw our first howler monkeys there.

The HOtel Bougainvillea in Heredia at $80 a night has a wonderful garden, and attractive pool area and sauna (no jacuzzi however.) It is in Heredia, between the SJO airport and downtown San Jose. However don't even think about driving to the Hotel Bougainvillea, take a taxi, even though it's only 20 minutes from the airport, it's quite confusing to find. The photos of the hotel on their web-site don't even come close to showing you how beautiful is the setting of this hotel, surrounded lovingly by the garden, which is the owner's passion. And such a good price. Very good staff.

Since you are interested in relaxing, I would recommend you not go to too many different destinations. Driving is NOT relaxing in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country but the roads are rough and are never well-marked.

Happy honeymoon!

igemini48

Hello to everyone.
We greatly appreciate all of you for input. We end up going to travel agent who has been in CR for a few times and she suggested to rent a villa with a privet pool in Cala Luna Tamarindo.
So now we are back from our honeymoon and here how it went.
Cala Luna villa was the best part of our honeymoon - pool was fabulous, villa is huge with everything in the kitchen up to espresso machine and smoothie maker. Well, I love my own sunny side up and I don't think that making breakfast for my husband is a chore, especially he usually does the dishes:0yes I'm that lucky and he is the greatest, but this time he did not have to because of cleaning service. Anyway, place is very cute, they have a restaurant as well, so we have an option to order a room service as well. We took couple of trips
1. Boat trip with deep water fishing- but did not catch a thing , my hubby was upset, he likes fishing, and we sis snorkeling as well
2.Sunset boat cruise
3. of course Arenal volcano and Hot Springs.
We enjoyed it very much.
We ate @ Captain Suizo -very nice -food and service and @ the Stella's -both recommended here on Fodors. Stella has free shuttle,they picked us up to restaurant and back home which was very nice because at that evening it was pouring...Well that was about it.
Couple weeks before the honeymoon I injured my foot-not a very big deal but we had to slow down a notch -usually we are like a grass hoppers.
Anyway, thanks again for all you suggestions. We will be back to CR. So much things left unseen.
Happy traveling.
Marina.

Melissa5

Glad you enjoyed a happy honeymoon. Now it's time to start planning your 1st anniversary trip!