janddstone

My husband and I will be spending a week in Jaco in February. The trip came up at the last minute and having never been to Costa Rica, I'm at a loss as to how to plan the trip. We aren't going to rent a car, and are interested in kayaking, hiking, and a zipline canopy tour. Any and all help would be appreciated.

volcanogirl

j, are you definitely going to just Jaco, or are you wanting to explore some other areas as well? Jaco has a reputation for being a little seedy.

Andrea_loves_travel

Are you staying in Jaco every night, or are you willing to go on overnight trips? (Presumably you booked a week long all inclusive but you could leave for a couple days?) I would definitely head down to Manuel Antonio if that's the case. It would also be an easy enough day trip from Jaco but you'd probably want to spend more than that much time there.

Since it sounds like you have accomodation taken care of, I would probably just play it by ear and book tours when you get there. Hopefully you would also like to try surfing because that is what Jaco is known for. Tourism is a big industry there and we've had no problems booking once we arrive. THen you can plan based on locals perspective and also the weather.

Good luck!!

volcanogirl

If you're able to stay in any other areas, I'd recommend you check out the Arenal area too. It has the famous Sky Trek zipline, great hiking around the Hanging Bridges, waterfall, and active volcano, and you can kayak at Lake Arenal or do it at Cano Negro where you'll see a lot of wildlife. There are nice natural hot springs too. If you're not going to rent a car, check out private drivers or the Interbus shuttle.

janddstone

thanks for the replys. We were given a week in a condo in Jaco from my sister-in-law, so our lodging is covered for the week. I was looking at Arenal, could that be a day trip??

aprillilacs

Arenal's too far from Jaco for a day trip -- it would take you a good 5 hours to drive there. From Jaco I think you're best to concentrate on Manuel Antonio and the area south of there -- in about 2 1/2 hours you could get to Hacienda Baru for walking and to Parque Marino Ballena (fabulous wide beach!). There's a neat kayak trip you can take through the mangroves of the Damas estuary near Quepos. I've also heard that birding at Carara National Park, which isn't far from Jaco, is fantastic. So you'll have lots to do, even if Jaco itself may not be that great.

volcanogirl

Yep, too far really for a day trip, but the beach inside the park at Manuel Antonio is really pretty and full of wildlife. I'd do a guided hike there. Canopy Safari zipline in Manuel Antonio is pretty popular too. http://www.iguanatours.com/kayaking/index.html is a link to some kayaking. The MA area has a lot of good restaurants as well.

rohrmoser

In Jaco these are the best of the best activities:
Suenos Canopy Tour
Pura Vida Gardens
Adventure Dining
AXR ATV tours

There is also sportfishing, golf and one hour from whitewater rafting.

Hope this helps.

chuckeeps

I have been to Jaco 5 times and stayed for 5 nights each time. mainly a surfers and fishermans town. A casino is in Hotel Cocal. If you want a personal guide/driver ask for Raul there at Cocal, he will take care of you. Quepos, south, 1 hour is a great day trip. i would not rent a car, get Raul to take care of that for you. Tell him the 8 guys from NC referred you to him, friends of Capt. George.

janddstone

Well, we're back and our trip was awesome. While the beach in Jaco' was rocky it was gorgeous, so we spent a day just walking the beach and touring the surf shops. We loved the open air dining on the beach and the beautiful sunsets. Spent a day hiking and saw lots of monkeys. We totally enjoyed the Los Suenos Canopy tour, whitewater rafting on the Savierge River, kayaking and snorkleing at Playa Punta and a day trip to Isle Tortuga.

Can't wait to go back.

stormygirl

Would love to know which tour you took to tortuga from jaco as we'll be there in dec