We are planning our first trip to CR and have chosen to book a house in MA through a rental agnecy called escape villas or villas costa rica? Has anyone heard of or used this rental company? This same company offers a concierge who is willing to book all our tours and activities and drivers. We are being encouraged to book now and pay 1/2 deposit on these tours. We are going the week before Easter, which is supposedly the busiest week. Is this the best way to go... pre book the tours and pay half or can we wait and book upon arrival? We are a little hesitant to put so much into the hands of this one company? Any thoughts or news on this? Thanks.

We just booked everything when we got there - depending upon our mood, the weather, etc. We didn't want to have anything prebooked in case of rainy weather.

I don't have any firsthand experience with Escape Villas, but there are some negative posts about them recently on Trip Advisor, although there are probably positive ones as well. I'd at least do a search over there to see what has been said.

Easter week and through the beginning of April seem to be pretty busy (we're travelling then too). But if you're going to be in MA for a while, giving you some flexibility for tours, you might be ok. I plan on booking Finca Valmy horseback before I go because we will only be there for 3 nights and another full day will be at the park.

Thanks for your response. I read the info on trip advisor and feel okay about our house. My next concern is the safety issue that some have mentioned on this site and some on trip advisor. If we spend the day on the beach in the park are we going to feel safe? How crowded do you think it will be at this time of year(Easter) compared to public beaches in the US? Do you feel safe inside your rooml/house? Or do you feel like every night there is a risk of a break in? Is it only petty theft, cash etc that we need to be concerned about or do we need to fear passport theft and should we not let our teenagers out of our sight? Lastly, if it is safe, is there an area that would be a good place to run for exercise? Thanks for all the tips.

Don't know where your house is. We stayed at Si Como No, but felt safe everywhere we went in MA, including the beaches inside the park. We never felt uneasy. Just take the usual precautions like you would anywhere. At the beach, for ex., we just took enough money for entry fee, some food and a few purchases from the vendors just outside the park, along with copy of passport. Left everything else locked in hotel room.

We also waited until we got there to arrange tours and excursions. Didn't want to be stuck in case we changed our minds or weather didn't cooperate.

Thanks for that info. Copies of passport?? Do we need to make copies to take with us once in the country and leave the originals in the room?

starandchamp -- Yes, do make copies of your passports, photo id, birth certificates and credit cards. Also, scan them and e-mail them to yourself in case the copies are lost you can retrieve them from your e-mail. It's a good thing to do if just for peace of mind.