help with travel plans 10 days Costa Rica in April

Old Mar 1st, 2014, 09:50 PM
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help with travel plans 10 days Costa Rica in April

Hi all...My wife and I traveling to Costa Rica for 10 days April 8th-18th and know where we want to go for the most part, and what we'd like to see but could use help mapping it out. We love fun and excitement and are very active and adventurous...We would like to avoid huge crowds unless it means seeing something we shouldn't miss...We don't mind guesthouses or hostels for lodging and definitely don't mind public transportation unless it doesn't make sense time wise.
We're flying in and out of San Jose unless Liberia makes more sense with where we're going We want to want to go to Puerto Viejo and Tortuguero to see the sea turtles nesting/hatching...And we'd really like to white water raft the Pacuare River unless someone knows a better river to raft...I've heard it's best to do the Pacuare at the end if your flying out of San Jose... Any truth to that? And we'd love to see the jungle life but we're not sure where to go that would fit in with our other plans.
Anyway...Any help would be greatly appreciated,. Thanks, Bill
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Old Mar 2nd, 2014, 01:38 AM
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Consider Sarapaqui, a shortish bus ride from San Jose, for jungle. Not touristy, excellent wildlife.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2014, 03:11 AM
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Make sure that the turtles will be active then. The type that we saw when we were there were nesting from July to October.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2014, 04:05 AM
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Here is a new groupon for a new hotel in La Fortuna:
https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-hot...s-del-arenal-1
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Old Mar 2nd, 2014, 04:09 AM
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I meant new groupon; I have no idea if the hotel is new!
But ~$70/night seems a good price.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2014, 04:23 AM
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Good point, vc.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2014, 07:22 AM
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Definitely fly into SJO, Liberia makes no sense with your travel plans.

I think I would raft first and they can arrange transport from the end of the trip to Puerto Viejo. While there make sure you hike through Cahuita National Park - plenty of wildlife to be spotted there along w/ some nice beaches.

I would definitely check out turtle season in Tortuguero. It runs mainly from July-Oct., so I am not sure what your chances will be in April. It's still very much worth visiting IMO since there is so much wildlife to be spotted from the boats. We always go with Fran & Modesto Watson www.tortuguerocanals.com but it is a package. It sounds like you are looking for the smaller B & B's in the village.

If turtles are a must-see then check out the season for the Pacific side. There are a few nesting places along that coast, but I am not sure of the months. LIberia could make more sense as your airport, in that case.
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 07:27 AM
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OK...after reading tons of threads on forums and speaking to friends, I'm totally unsure on where to visit during the 10 days, one of our friends that I spoke to recently that spent two months in CR said he thought Puerto Viejo was kinda boring...with only ten days to travel it's hard to decide. The Pacific side with Puerto Jimenez and Manuel Antonio and further up to Monteverde or La Fortuna are all very tempting...There are so many other awsome places we want to travel to in the future so chances of returning to CR are pretty slim so making the best of it is and deciding is driving me crazy...The only thing we're 100% sure of is the white water rafting down the Pacaure...Your thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 07:47 AM
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If you're active and adventurous, I would for sure put Arenal on your list. Check out Sky Trek ziplines, hiking at the waterfall, Hanging Bridges, and volcano, waterfall rappelling with Sunset Tours La Roca and then relaxing afterwards in the natural hot springs like Tabacon or Eco Termales. You can also do the Cano Negro tour to spot wildlife or the Penas Blancas river float. Also rafting with Rios Tropicales if you want more rafting experience. Sunset Tours and Desafio both have nice websites. I'd recommend staying outside of town where it's lush and jungly.
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 07:51 AM
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We also really like the Osa Peninsula and the Manuel Antonio areas that you mentioned. I'd go with Manuel Antonio if you want beautiful beaches with easy access, restaurants you can walk to, and lots of hotel and tour options, or go with the Osa if you want more of an off the grid get away from it all experience. Both areas have tons of wildlife; the wildlife in MA is very used to people so you can get really close, but the wildlife in the Osa has a more natural feeling to it. Either one would pair nicely with the Arenal area.
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