Shorter Trip Review - Highlights (Arenal-MA-SJO) | Mexico & Central America Forum

Shorter Trip Review - Highlights (Arenal-MA-SJO)

I wrote an extremely long post below giving many details about my trip but wanted to also provide a shortened summary of my “must do’s” while in Costa Rica.

Hire a driver/guide if you are a backseat driver, scared of narrow, unpaved, twisty roads with no guard rails. Hire a driver/guide if you don’t want to be a co-pilot that has to navigate through maps or rely on a GPS (which we all know make mistakes). Costa Rica does not use road signs and the insurance you take out on a rental vehicle is $1,000! We used Wilson Rojas (wilson_elsy@yahoo.com) and he was hands down one of the best decisions we made in planning our trip. Wilson added much more to our experience then we ever expected from sharing information about his country to stopping and showing us places along the way. He made us feel welcomed, comfortable, and safe. PS – I had emailed him months prior when planning our trip and he was not available. 7 days out I still had not booked transportation and I sent him an email on a whim – guess what, he was available – so always check back!

Itineraries: Arenal (3 nights), Manuel Antonio (5 nights) and San Jose (1 night) was just enough time to not feel as if we were always driving and moving from one location to the next. Unless you have more time or are going to different areas within Costa Rica, I wouldn’t pack in a fourth destination with this itinerary. Only suggestion is, if you aren’t that much of a beach person, like adventure and experiencing the culture of your location add a night in Arenal and take away a night in Manuel Antonio.

Hotels: Arenal Parasio, Issimo Suites, and Gran Hotel – all great picks. Would highly recommend based on my expectations of what each hotel would provide.

Desafio is an adventure tour company used through Costa Rica. They are professional, established, safe, with guides that know what they are doing and who are personable! You MUST go white water rafting if you are considering it. If you are a beginner start with the Rio Balsa! If you are a dare devil you must try canyoneering. www.desafiocostarica.com

Jungle Coast Jets (Manuel Antonio): Do the Jet Ski safari – you get to jet ski of course as well as swim at a beach and snorkel. Being out in the middle of the ocean with big swells (due to a storm brewing was more scary then white water rafting) http://www.junglecoastjets.com

Arenal: Eat at Lava Rocks and El Novillo
Manuel Antonio: Eat at Quepoa and KuKula’s for very local and inexpensive cuisine. Eat at Kapi Kapi to spluge. Do not eat at El Gran Escape.

Do not spend more than one night in San Jose! Find the market place and do souvenir shopping here. Go towards the end of the day and they are more willing to negotiate when they are closing up.

***If you want to see a video I created about my trip to Costa Rica go here: http://hollywoodwannab.blogspot.com/

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bspeck007 on Aug 25, 09 at 01:55 PM

I really enjoyed your trip reports and videos. I am checking out Arenal Paraiso due to your excellent recommendation. So far, I like what I see and the price is GREAT! I have one question for you----Did you see any wildlife at Arenal Paraiso?
Thanks,
Bren
ParkerSunshine on Aug 27, 09 at 10:27 AM

Well at Arenal Parasio we saw horses, cows etc. No monkey's - tha is mostly in Manuel Antonio. But the Scenery in Arenal is just stunning in general with the mountains and volcano's and green, green land. If you stay at Arenal Parasio though make sure to get a superior room - you can find my detailed trip report explaining why, it is worth the extra couple of bucks
pascorp on Nov 9, 09 at 02:20 PM

Thank you for the detailed feedback...watching your video made me even more excited to go...we are leaving on Saturday for a week, 4 days in Arenal (Royal Corin) and 3 days in MA. We were about to book Issimo and saw that you went there...what room class did you stay in? They have a romance package for the junior suite that includes a dinner and a massage for about the same price as a penthouse (larger room). You think we should book the smaller room for the extra benefits? I don't even know if their restaurant food is great relative to the town food so don't want to give up an opportunity to eat in town. I also planned on renting a car but now you have me thinking I should see if Wilson is available.
ParkerSunshine on Nov 10, 09 at 10:38 AM

I actually just wrote you back on your specific post about this hotel. We did the cheapest room and it was more then perfect. I will add there are a few rooms that look like they didn't have a water room so I would just clarify with them about them. Tons of howler monkey's here! And take advantage of their pool on the days you come home from the beach! It is so refreshing and clean! We had a ton of fun jumping off the deck! lol.

I will reiterate, in MA go into Quepos for a cheap meal one night and eat at Quepoa (it looks sketchy but their traditional food choices were soo good) and KuKula’s for very local and inexpensive cuisine (only locals go here). Eat at Kapi Kapi to spluge. Kapi Kapi is amazinggggggggg. If you go to Kapi Kapi you must tell the staff to watch my video!!! PURA VITA

shillmac on Nov 10, 09 at 01:03 PM

In Quepos, Escalefrio is also good for great pizza and gelato!

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Shorter Trip Review - Highlights (Arenal-MA-SJO)

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