dianal84

I am planning a vacation to CR with our 2 teenage children for 9 days. Where would you fly to and where would you stay?
We'd like to go to a nice beach town and then to San Jose and do some cultural things. What tours would you recommend?

volcanogirl

Manuel Antonio is a very popular beach town that you might enjoy. Most of the hotels are built on a hill and have beautiful views of the water, and a lot of them have monkeys that live on the property. MA National Park is fun - we hired a guide to hike around with us and show us all the wildlife, and we saw sloths, monkeys, racoons, bats, etc. The beach within the park is very pretty and a good spot for swimming. We stayed at Mango Moon, but a lot of people recommend Si Como No, Villas Nicolas, Costa Verde, Makanda by the Sea - if you give us an idea of your price range, you'll get all kinds of recommendations.

We also went sailing there and snorkelling - snorkelling isn't great because there can be sediment in the water, but it was still a good time, and we saw a lot of dolphins.

In San Jose, we stayed at Grano de Oro which is in the city and built in an old mansion. Great hotel, and you could go see the National Theater, Gold Museum, Jade Museum, or go on a rafting trip. For our upcoming trip, we're going to stay at Peace Lodge and Vista del Valle which are outside the city. Peace Lodge has hot tubs, fireplaces, and all kinds of amenities like an aviary, ranarium serpentarium, and the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. We're just staying one night at each place on either end of an Osa Peninsula trip.

If volcanoes interest you at all, I would recommend Arenal. We loved it, and there's loads of activities to do there like ziplines/Skytrek, hot springs, Hanging Bridges, and our favorite Cano Negro, a river boat tour where you will see all the wildlife - really great.

dianal84

Thank you! That sounds wonderful. I think we'd like to go to 2 places and spend about 3 to 4 days in each. How far are these places from each other? Do you think we can rent a car? We want to spend aprox. from $800 to 1000 USD per person for the whole trip. Meaning flight and hotels.

hansboomer

Hi dianal84,

Just a comment or two....Volcano hit the nail on the head with LaFortuna/Arenal area. It has some wonderful eco opportunities that even teens love! Manuel Antonio is the most visited National Park in CR, thus a bit more crowded. The little port town of Quespos is lovingly referred to (only my impression mind you) as a poor man's Key West. Great lunch spot at El Gran Escape downtown! We have stayed at Costa Verde (be sure to make a decision ahead whether you want the greatest view or A/C....you can't have both! We opted for the view and the balcony was wonderful. By the way, I don't see what months you are there, so even on the coast with the breeze the heat can be pretty "ugggg'ish". The beach at MA will appeal to the teens with lots of young folks. Take a day trip up to the beach at Jaco...reminds me of Daytona in the 3rd world.
I hate to say this but we didn't leave anything in San Jose. I didn't pay much attention to the posts that forewarned of the petty theft and the nightmare traffic, not a ton of history since San Jose has not been the capitol that long really. My opinion is that you could get along without even going into the city.
The La Orquideas Inn, close the SJ airport is a wonderful first and last nights stay hotel. Wonderful staff, beautiful grounds, nice rooms, excellent meals, etc.
Rent a car. Relax and don't be so up tight. The roads are horrible by U.S. standards, the signs are non-existent, the drivers are all typical Latino crazy. It is wonderful. Just be sure you end your day's drive by about 3pm. Start early....6 or 7'ish. Stop at the soda out in the campo or along the road and taste the typical Tico meal often. Stop when you see something interesting. Just be sure you don't leave your car unattended too much at all. Petty theft is a way of life it seems. Plus the hassle of a broken rental window.
Above all, drink the visual sights. Then close your eyes and hear and smell the beauty of nature. Embrace the people in kind and humble ways. It is their nature. Enjoy. I can't wait until or next trip down........

hansboomer

....one more thing. The Parque Turubari, about 25 kilometers west of Puriscal, is one of THE best parks in CR. It is private and costs about $8-10 for the day. Get a guide and you will be spellbound with flora, fauna and animal life. It has one of the best ziplines in CR with one that the kids will go bonkers over! Check it out on the web. Close by is a wonderful B & B type, AmaTierra ( www.amatierra.com ) that is marvelous. The staff prepares the meals and there is not better food in the entire country. The casitas are extremely nice and you will fall in love with the place. I little bit out of the way but then that is what is so much fun!!!! Say "hi" to Bob and Jill for us!

hansboomer

.........correction....the Tu Ru Bari Park fee was about $80-100 per adult,... I left off the zeros! It was worth every dollar. Go to their sight www.turubari.com .

volcanogirl

Hi, d - we did a combo of Arenal and Manuel Antonio for our first trip. It's an easy trip to do and seems to be a very common itinerary for first timers. We landed in San Jose and hired a private driver to take us to Arenal/La Fortuna. It was about a 3-hour drive I think. It was a very pretty drive and the roads were not bad at all. We stayed there about 4 days and then had a driver take us to MA - I think it was about a 5-hour drive there. San Jose is about the halfway point between the two. That drive had some huge potholes for part of it - also one lane bridges that a lot of people drive, but we were glad to have the driver so we could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.

We hired all our drivers directly through our hotels, but you can definitely drive it yourself if you have a little bit of an adventurous spirit.

In Arenal, we stayed at the Lost Iguana and loved it! I cannot wait to go back someday. It has gorgeous views of the volcano, and our room had a big balcony with a jacuzzi and 2 rockers so we could take in the view. The grounds are really lush, and it has a nice small pool and an open air restaurant with a view of the volcano. They have a really informative website that has tons of CR information on it; we used it a lot, and I think it would really help you.

dianal84

Thanks a ton to both of you Hansboomer and Volcanogirl. I just printed your replies! : )
My husband and I are putting a plan together tonite and I guess we will skip SJ. It sounds like not much to do in there.
Very grateful,
Diana

volcanogirl

You're welcome, diana - have a wonderful time. I think you're wise to pass on San Jose this trip - it was pretty crowded and has lots of traffic. You will love CR.