eicherfamily

My wife and I are flying in and out of San Jose Costa Rica, and are staying April 8th-17th...We could use some advice as far as the best itinerary...Places we are going for sure;
-Boca Del Toro-Panama
-Puerto Viejo
-Cahuita
-Tortaguero
-Rafting the Pacure River one day.

The itinerary I thought might work; Head to Boca Del Toro first thing after we arrive in Sana Jose at 9:45am Tues morning...Spend Tues/Weds night Boca Del Toro...Leave Thurs morning to Puerto Viejo...Stay Thur/Fri night PV leave Sat morning to Cahuita...Stay Sat/Sun night Cahuita...Leave Mon morning to Tortaguero...Stay Mon/Tues night in Tortaguero...Weds morning White water rafting the Pacuere with Exploradoras...Stay our last night in Alaguela so we're close to the airport for departure the next day at 5:00pm...Any fine tuning would definitley be appreciated.
Our one worry was being ready for a early morning pick up for rafting from Tortaguero...not sure if we could be at the mainland early enough.
Thank you all. Bill and Annabelle

volcanogirl

Wow, you guys are really packing a lot in to 9 days! We loved Tortuguero, excellent wildlife there, and it's fun to tour the canals. Where is the pick up for the rafting?

eicherfamily

Hey Volcanogirl, Do you think we're totally crazy? We don't like sitting around lounging on the beach reading...we really like staying busy on vacation. I'm hoping even some of the travel time will be interesting. the only real reason we want to see BDT is to see another type of culture while we're in Central America. Origanally we where totally fine with the 3 stops in Costa Rica which probally makes more sense...but our desire to see more pushes us further... doable without burning ourselves out, yes/no?

plumboy

How are you getting around between these places? Are you flying to BDT?

I think only you can answer the question about whether or not you'll burn yourselves out. I would be totally burned out with that itinerary myself, but I tend to prefer to stay put in one place longer so that I can get to know a place and really experience it. It's a personal preference, but with that itinerary, you'll only have one full day in each place. That's not really very much time at all before you have to pack up and leave again. I do understand the desire to see as much as possible, but it might come down to sacrificing quality for quantity? Just my two cents.

Not having been, I can't say for sure, but maybe you can at least combine the PV/Cahuita part of the trip -- maybe stay closer to PV for 4 nights and then visit Cahuita as a day trip on one of those days?

volcanogirl

Hi, eicher! Yes, I think you're crazy. To me that's way too much moving around, but like plum said it's really up to you. I am a go, go, go vacationer; we pretty much never relax because I want to see and do everything, but that schedule would be too much for me. I usually stay at least three nights in each place because the travel takes so long and really eats into the schedule. We did two nights in Tortuguero, and that was fine because there aren't a lot of organized activities there. I'm not clear on where your rafting pickup is.

MichelleY

Skip the rafting. Cahuita and PV are so close, pick one and day trip to the other.

janenicole

What time does your international flight arrive, and what time would you fly to Bocas? Make sure you leave plenty of time between those flights for any delays, long immigration lines, etc.

I recommend 3 nights in Bocas, and 3 in the Puerto Viejo/Cahuita area (they are so close, no need to switch from one town to the other). 2 nights in Tortuguero, and then your rafting as a transfer from there to San Jose. I can almost guarantee that you are going to wish you had one more night in either Bocas or Puerto Viejo because once you get into the "groove" of those places, you'll want to stay longer!

You could also reverse the order, depending upon flight times and days to/from Bocas.

eicherfamily

Ok...I definitely appreciate all the good input...that being said I think we'll do 3 nights BDT, 3 nights PV and 2 nights tortaguero...and rafting the day before we leave.
now the only thing we need to do is figure out cost effective, best way to get to BDT when our flight arrives in San Jose Tues morning at 9:45am...The shuttles I've seen online leave at 6:00am.
thanks again everyone. Bill

janenicole

Will your budget allow for flying to Bocas on Nature Air? It took us a solid 4 hours to transfer by shuttle and boat from Puerto Viejo to Bocas del Toro (including border crossing). It takes about 4-5 hours to get to Puerto Viejo from San Jose. That is a lot of time in a vehicle. You will see some beautiful scenery along the way, but flying only takes 1 hour.

eicherfamily

Final itinerary...It's a wrap...So excited!!!
* 2 nights Tortaguero
* 3rd day rafting the Pacuere with Exploradoras outdoors
* 4 nights Puerto Viejo
* 3 nihgts Bocas Del Toro- Fly out the last day from BDT on Nature Air for 5:00pm flight home.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP! Eicherfamily

volcanogirl

Sounds good - have fun! Isn't it great when you get all the planning done?!

janenicole

That is a great itinerary. Glad it all worked out for you!