marleyzoemom

hi we are going to cr july 5-16,rain season but who cares. 1st night marriott on points. want to do it all- from arenal, cloud forest, to pacific stops(hang on beach) to osa to caribean....might be 2 much- any input would be great.love 2 kayak flat water
looking for hotels pretty nice ( but not 4 seasons!) at 100-175 night, will rent car?
help is appreciated

hopabout

Dear marleyzoemom,
I am not a travel agent but do provide a service when people ask for help. Feel free to e-mail me and I will tell you about it.

[email protected]

hop

ltilson

We have our first trip planned to CR for next month and we are also staying 11 nights. I'm obviously no expert, but have researched for months and we wanted to see as much of the coutry as possible even if it meant moving around a lot. We are staying 1st night at Xandari ($180.00), next 2 nights at Arenal Paraiso ($95.00), nights 4,5,6 & 7 in a beachfront house in Dominical ($275.00 a night but we have 2 couples), then flying to Osa for 3 nights --- Bosque Del Cabo ($300.00 a night per couple for everything), and then flying back to San Jose and spending our last night at Vista Del Valle ($150.00). The owner of the beach house hooked us up with a car rental for around $50.00 a day which is a great deal for a 7 passenger SUV. We have to pay an extra $100.00 for the drop off in Quepos before our flight to the Osa, but that was still less than the other places I checked. The caribbean will have to wait for the next trip because that would have been too much in 12 days for us...have fun planning....LT

RhoneChica

Hello! I am envious. I first spent 15 nights in CR during July of 2003... we returned last summer during the same period because we loved the country so much. Don't worry about it being rainy season.. it rains only abotu 2 hours per day from 3-5pm; the rest of the day is usually sunny and nice. You have about 11 mights, so I would say you might want to scale back your itinerary a little so you can enjoy each place. (Then return the next year to see what you missed!) These are my recommendations:
-- MUST DO: Rafting trip with Rios Tropicales. This was a highlight of my life. We did the 3-day, 2-night trip down the Pacuare and it was absolutely fabulous. The scenery was unbelievable, the guides were excellent, the food was delicious; and, we met other travellers from around the world. A must-do in my opinion.
-- Monteverde (Cloud Forest): 2 nights, 3 days here is good. There are great hikes and of course, the canopy tours. I would recommend taking the Jeep-Boat-Jeep from here to Arenal.
-- Arenal: 2 nights here is probably enough. For lodging I would recommend either the Arenal Lodge or the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Both are well within your price range. Food is better at the Arenal lodge, in my opinion. Spend a day at Tabacon enjoying the hot springs.
--Pacific Coast: Rent a car and head to the Nicoya Peninsula. You can stop along the peninsula at whatever beach catches your eye. I recommend Playa Samara, which is a gorgeous tico beach. Snorkeling, kayaking, etc are offered right on the beach. Then you can drive from Nicoya down the coast and I would recommend Manuel Antonio, which is more touristy than other parts of CR, with good reason. It is the best of the beach and jungle -- so beautiful. There are tons of great hotels here too. And you'll defiintely see some monkeys and sloths!

Have a great time!!

RufusTFirefly

Arenal Paraiso and Montana del Fuego hotels have great views of the current lava flow lines. We stayed at the Arenal Paraiso and enjoyed it very much.

You can't see the lava flow at all from the Arenal Observatory Lodge.

If you go to Monteverde, we stayed at the Fonda Vela--it was excellent.

As suggested by RhoneChica, the jeep-boat-jeep transfer between Monteverde and Arenal is great fun, and not expensive. Though your jeep will probably be a large van.

marleyzoemom

Thanks for the help- keep on suggesting! Now I'm thinking first 2 nights peace lodge, 2 nights Monteverde, 2 nights Arenal,2 nights Nicoya beach area, 2 nights MA, 1 night Marriott (free).....no Osa and no carib?
Love the opinions

RhoneChica

I would skip the osa and carib, unless you are a big surfer. Osa has great surf but you can obviously find that elsewhere in CR too. I have been to both places as well as the others I recommended, and in my opinion, the others are slightly better/more enjoyable all around. I'm sure others would disagree, but that's just my opinion.

money4mice

We are going july7-16. we planned our itinerary through Ralph at Gaialink Tours. Hotels and touring info is all included. We are a family of 4, 2 kids 9 and 11. If you want any further info on our itinerary let me know. We are going Tortuguero, Arenel, manuel antonio and monteverde. We will have a driver. We much prefer this to driving ourselves.

marleyzoemom

Hi money4mice,
Sure I would love to see how you planned your time. I have done lots of reading, and am all over the place. problem is I want to do it all!! We are kidless, young mid 40's. Beach is as important as rainforest/volcanos/wildlife.Let us know,thanks so very much.

money4mice

You can go to Gaialink tours website, contact Ralph, his e-mail adress is on the site. Tell him your dates and ask him for suggestions. He will get back to you within a day with an itinerary, hotel suggestions etc. It's great to do the research ahead of time br\ecause now you have an idea of where to go. For the summer, i wouldn't miss tortuguero. We have friends stying at the Marriott where you will be right before and a few days while you will be there. Let me know if you need more info.