1st Trip to CR - Advice Needed... Please!

Old Feb 14th, 2005, 03:55 PM
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1st Trip to CR - Advice Needed... Please!

My 20 year old son will be heading to CR on March 4th (will arrive San Jose 4th and depart San Jose on 11th) w/ 14 of his friends on spring break from college. They will all arrive in San Jose via different airlines, but should arrive w/in an hour of each other. None have been to Costa Rica before.

They want to do white water rafting (none are experienced...some have tried it once or twice on beginner rivers), do a canopy tour (the sliding on the wire across the forests), and hang out on the beach ... some might really enjoy fishing too. They also originally wanted to visit a volcano, but were told by someone that visiting a volcano would be a waste b/c the volcanoes cannot normally be seen b/c of fog... it that true?

From what I have read and researched on the Internet... looks to me like maybe they should stay one or two nights outside of San Jose and do white water rafting... where would you recommend they go for exciting rafting, but not DANGEROUS rafting???

...Then I thought Manuel Antonio might be a great place for them to spend the rest of their time... am I right??? Can they do all they want in Manuel Antonio?? Can you recommend any areas for them to go to and any hotels, B&B, or hostels that they could contact?

None of these guys have much money...they are talking about renting a van ... some of the guys are over 21... but no one is over 22 or 23. Can they rent ... and is it safe for them to rent??? Would they be better off taking public buses? Would it be better and less expensive for them to use public transportation (buses) ???

Would appreciate ANY advice you can give. thank you in advance... karen
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 01:50 PM
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with that many people a rental would be cheaper than a driver. I hope the guys arent expecting a party place like cancun..CR is much quieter and goes to bed early. At least thats what i thought., Ecology and outdoors type stuff. All the towns you mention,manuel ant and arenal volcano are very much ON the beaten path and you cant shake a stick without hitting someone to help you with day trips. Advise--be alert during once over of rental car.
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 04:58 PM
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If the guys want a fun party/surfer town try Tamarindo. It has fun nightlife and the beach is great for learning how to surf or just to play in the waves.

To see the Arenal volcano they have the best chance if they stay there overnight. My friend Andy stayed at a budget type place called the ecolodge and said it was not too rustic but not to pricey either.

If you have other questions feel free to e-mail me.
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 05:17 PM
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We loved Costa Rica, but attempting to rent a car was the worst part of our experience. ALL of the car rental places claimed we needed insurance (making the car rental $80/day) and $1000-$1500 deposit. The best advice I can give is to get a written statement from your son's (or whoever is driving) insurance stating that they will cover them in CR. We took taxis, which weren't cheap.
There are some trails to walk up volcanoes. I agree that the Arenal volcano is worth seeing. Manuel Antonio would be a good place for them to visit, but they probably won't stay there the whole time. We also did a crocodile tour which wasn't very expensive, but was neat (and safe). We saw the crocodiles close up.
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 05:27 PM
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we were in CR last august for 3 weeks. MA in my opinion is not a party place, I would reccomend Tamarindo.
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 10:25 PM
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In many car rental experiences in CR, we have NEVER paid more than $500 per week ($70 per day) for a rental (and that was for a large SUV during the high season). Usually our expenses run about $300 (just a little over $40 per day) for a small SUV. This has always included full coverage insurance, taxes, extra driver, etc. No hidden costs. And dealing with the rental companies themselves has never been stressful, always quick and easy. We have used Dollar and Tricolor.

For 15 people, I think traveling in rental cars would be a nightmare. Seems it would be advisable to hire a driver, one who has several vehicles at his disposal for various sized groups. OR make arrangements with Interbus for the transfers a(www.interbusonline.com). That will cost about $30 each per transfer.

Most likely the guys will need to return to San Jose for the last night before departure. It would make sense to return to San Jose 2 nights before departure and do the white water at the end of the trip. Especially if they arrive early enough in the day to go directly to their first location.

They COULD spend 2 nights Arenal (do canopy here), then 3 nights Tamarindo, then 2 nights San Jose. That wouldn't give them all that much time at the beach, but if that's not a problem, this itinerary is certainly do-able.
Otherwise, I'd forget Arenal and just head to the beach. There will be a decent chance of viewing the lava flow in March when the weather is drier than usual.

I, too, would suggest Tamarindo as a place they might have more nightlife combined with daytime surfing. Obviously they need to be wary. Drogas are easy to come by in Tamarindo (and other beach locations, indeed the entire country--much like here, only more so). We've been to Tamarindo during Spring Break. There are a lot of parties, and it pays to make wise decisions. If the guys have good heads on their shoulders (all of them), they can have a great time in Tamarindo.

Because Tamarindo is a location of choice for Spring Breakers, my concern is that it is already booked to the max. Especially for 14 people looking for lodging in one place? Same could possibly be true at Arenal or near San Jose. Good luck!

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Old Feb 17th, 2005, 04:25 AM
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Regarding auto rental:We had a family holiday in CR in Dec. 2003 and are planning our next trip for this Nov. Last time we rented a Toyota RAV 4 from Budget with insurance it came to about $700/wk. Many folks think that their credit card will cover insurance or their own car insurance will cover them in a rental. Take the extra insurance - after checking with my insurance at home I found that most policies will only cover overseas rentals if you drive only on paved roads! Not many of them in CR. We did see lots of people young and old using the tourist busses, but the freedom of having a car was important to us. I would advise any drivers - young or old - not to drive at night, except very locally, roads are not in the condition we are used to here in the US, and not to expect to get anywhere quickly. Hope this helps. Ruth in Maine.
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Old Feb 17th, 2005, 04:46 AM
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I would suggest staying in the SJ area for 2 or 3 nights and doing a couple of day trips. The white water rafting on the Pacuare is a Great day and great fun (we used Rios Tropicales).

We have a daughter and friend arriving the same day and departing the same day as your son!

They have opted to do a day trip called Treasures of Costa Rica. This will take them to Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfalls, and the Saripiqui for rafting. There is another called the Highlights of Costa Rica, much the same, except that it state Saripiqui for a river float. Never been on this river, maybe both are simply a float.

They are then flying Nature Air to Tambor and staying in Santa Teresa. On our recent trip, we met several young people that had been to this area and said they had great fun. They had rented bikes for getting back and forth to different locations between Santa Teresa and Malpais.

I ended up using CentralAmerica.com to make the arrangements. Since we had used this company several years back, I felt comfortable using them for her. I know I am way over the top in being protective, but like the idea of having someone in country to help in the event a need should arrise.

But they do need to make some decisions quickly. As you know - it is spring break.
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