raphaekg

Hi. We are two adult women and two children (ages 9 and 14) planning a two week trip to Costa Rica in mid-August with a moderate budget. We want a mix of wildlife, mountains/volcano, beach and whitewater. Here's what we're planning so far: Night 1: Stay outside of San Jose at either Hotel Bougainvillea or Buena Vista Hotel (Alajuela). Night 2: Mawamba Lodge, Tortuguero. Night 3: Return to San Jose area, same hotel at Night 1. Night 4-6: Arenal, Arenal Observatory lodge Night. 7-8: Monteverde, either Arco Iris Lodge or El Sapo Dorado (a splurge!). Night 9-11: Pacific coast beach. Considering Tamarindo area (Hotel El Milagro or Hotel Pasatiempo). Night 12-13: Return to San Jose (Night 1 hotel or similar), allowing time on Day 13 for Pacuare River whitewater trip.

Questions: (1)Any feedback on the hotels we've selected or suggestions or others that provide good 'bang for the buck'?
(2) Is it worth going to Tortuguero, if we're staying only a single night? Also, has anyone traveled to Tortuguero independently and saved $$ but still had a good experience?
(3) In general, is the time we're staying per location reasonable, especially given travel time and distance? (We'll rent a 4x4 in rainy season, for sure!)
(4) We'll looking for a Pacific coast beach that will provide satisfaction for the boogie-boarders/wave lovers in the group, as well as those who want a bit of quiet and beach lounging. Any better suggestions than Tamarindo? (5)We're considering losing a Pacific coast beach day and stopping for a day first in Northern Guanacaste to be closer to Rincon de la Vieja; worth it?
Ideas, suggestions, etc. re any or all of the above would be most appreciated!
Thanks.

Iza

raphaekg, it looks like you are trying to do a lot in just 2 weeks. What you have planned sounds very active and busy and will involve quite a lot of driving. You will also be constantly packing and unpacking since you are moving a lot from place to place. I am not sure if one night at Tortuguero makes a lot of sense. From my experience 2 nights at any CR destination is necessary because travelling from one place to another takes a lot of time (this is based on 3 trips to CR - two of them were 2 weeks).

I think I would suggest something like this instead:
2 nights in San Jose area (Alajuela is a good base) and do your whitewater trip from there
2-3 nights in Arenal
2 nights in Monteverde (if you prefer Tortuguero, do that instead of Monteverde, after your SJ initial stay)
5-6 nights at a beach destination (you may want to consider Manuel Antonio instead of Tamarindo for a great beach/jungle combo)
1 night in SJ area

Sorry, I can't help you much with your hotels as we have not stayed at any you mentioned. However, I have heard good things about Arenal Observatory Lodge and Pasatiempo.

Tamarindo may be a bit busy but your kids will probably enjoy the town. You can easily drive to Rincon de la Vieja for a day trip from Tamarindo (staying at yet another place for just one night will mean a lot of packing and unpacking).

Suzie2

How were you planning on getting to Tortuguero? If you take the boat up from Moin you might consider it part of the tour although you won't be going slow enough to really see much. If you were planning on leaving the next day it would not be worth your time or the money. If you fly in and out you would have a whole day to ride around in the canals and see stuff so one night would at least give you a feel for the area. (some people fly one way and take the boat/road the other) The flights in and out of Tortuguero are really early in the morning so on your return you would have plenty of time to get to Arenal rather than spend a night in town thereby giving you the option of another night in Tortuguero. Another option would be to have your Tortuguero hotel have a driver available for you to take you to Arenal from Moin if you want to take the boat back.
The Observatory Lodge is a neat place but if you want to see the lava I would suggest you think about being on the other side of the volcano near Arenal Paraiso. Monteverdeinfo.com has a rough map of some of the hotels in that area so you can get an idea of what I am talking about.
The Pacuare is a wonderful river to raft on but I do not think that they would take a 9yr old. It can get really exciting. For Costa Rica Expeditions the min age is 12. Rios Tropicales has 14 as the min age. Aventura Naturales is 12 yrs. Those are the top 3 choices for rafting IMOP.
Both Costa Rica Expeditions and Rios Tropicales have good descriptions of the rivers available for rafting.
One last option if you really want to go rafting would be to take the boat from Mawamba to Moin. From Moin take a taxi to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui (about 1hr). Spend a night there and in the am go rafting on the Sarapiqui with Aguas Bravas or one of the other companies mentioned (they (AB)have a put in right there in PV). They do trips out of Arenal area so you might be able to get a ride with them after rafting to Arenal to start your time there. They pick up and deliver to the Arenal hotels so you could probably get a ride with them to your Arenal hotel for just a tiny bit more. Worth checking out.
I have probably completely confused you but hope that I have given you options to think about that you were not aware of.
Your other hotel options sound good. It will be a busy trip for you.

costaricafinca

Dear raphaekg,
I can't help you with any of the hotels you've mentioned either, but I would like to second Iza's opinion - it does seem to be too much for 2 weeks. I know it sounds like a lot of time, but in CR, you have to take into account the traveling time, which basically take a whole day for each destination. The minimum 2 night rule, is a pretty good one.
I am also a big fan of Manuel Antonio, so I think it will be a good choice. Arneal Paraiso is a great hotel, and reasonably priced, so it will definitely be a good option.
Feel free to write me directly as well, for any more information.
Pura vida,
Neta Talmor

Suzie2

By not spending a night in town between Tortuguero and Arenal you would be able to do the 2 nights that everyone is talking about.

raphaekg

Thank you for all these comments. I will probably scale back, based upon the feedback, and will probably leave out Tortuguero (given the limited time). Although the idea to fly there is something we considered, it adds $$. And yes, I know that the younger child can't do Class III-IV whitewater on the Pacuare, but I understand that there are some float trips that might be a good alternative for him.
I had heard from a friend that Manuel Antonio is quite crowded and touristy, but she didn't travel during the green season. Will the crowds be considerably more bearable in August? In general, how would compare the atmosphere/sites at Tamarindo vs Manuel Antonio, with respect to natural beauty, beaching opportunities, etc.? Any recommendations for a moderately priced place to stay in Manuel Antonio area?
Thanks again!!

shillmac

Difficult to compare Manuel Antonio and Tamarindo areas. At least for me. They are in 2 different provinces, and about the only thing they have in common is that they are both beach locations! I personally like the beach area from Tamarindo up to Flamingo. An hour's drive further north of there is the Playa Hermosa, Playas del Cocos, Papagayo area. From this area you are about 2 hours travel time from the Rincon de la Vieja, which you don't hear much about, but is actually a very nice area to visit. Manuel Antonio is touristy (as is Tamarindo), but it too is a fascinating place. Much to do in that area as well. I would suppose you will find fewer people in August. That is generally true--4 of our trips to Costa Rica have been in August. Pasatiempo is a cool hotel in Tamarindo. . .you will like it. Arenal Paraiso definitely at Arenal. As for your itinerary, you have received excellent suggestions already. Definitely I would eliminate the more difficult to get to places--Monteverde and Tortuguero--at least for this trip. Save those for when you have a month! Arenal is good, your rafting plans are good. . .I agree with the suggestion to check out rafting on the Sarapiqui. .that entire area near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Selva Verde, etc. is a good area to visit and doesn't take up a lot of travel time. You could easily spend 4-5 nights in this more centrally located area. You wouldn't be making a mistake to spend a few days at Manual Antonio AND the Guanacaste beaches. . .particularly those that are near Liberia and the Rincon de la Vieja. You will be SO glad to have more time to relax and stay in these areas a little longer. You could so easily spend 6 days of your vacation in transit (and, as Iza said, another two days packing and unpacking)! The great thing is: the entire country is so beautiful you are going to enjoy wherever you are. This is definitely a place you will want to savor and not rush through!

Iza

I will attempt Manuel Antonio and Tamarindo comparison: we stayed in Tamarindo 3 times and in MA once. Tamarindo is a typical beach town with a large flat beach that is great for walking and watching the sunset. There are plenty of hotels and B&Bs that are located directly on the beach. The center of the town is on the north end and is fairly busy, there is reportedly decent surfing there. The south end is prettier (IMHO) and less busy. The beach there is rather rocky so no surfing there. You can easily go on foot everywhere in Tamarindo (even though we had a car we would often walk to restaurants at dinner time). There is a good selection of stores and restaurants.

Manuel Antonio is an area between Quepos (a tourist/fishing town) and the national park. The area is very hilly and most hotels and restaurants are located along the winding road leading from Quepos to Manuel Antonio, among the trees in the hills, resulting in beautiful vistas but no beach access. There is no town center (other than Quepos which is in the opposite direction from the park). You will need a car or need to take taxis or buses to get to the beach from the hotels along the main road. There is a large pretty beach outside of the national park where we saw many surfers. There are also a couple of beautiful beaches inside the national park. The national park itself is very compact but affords a good wildlife viewing opportunity (monkeys, sloths, birds, insects, bats, lizards and iguanas). You should hire a guide if you decide to do it.

Both are very popular destinations that will be fairly busy, but not crowded, even in August (all of our trips to CR were in August).

If you are looking for a quieter beach, I would second shillmac's recommendations for areas north of Tamarindo (we love Playa Conchal and Playa Flamingo). You may also consider Samara although it has no surfing. We also loved Malpais/Santa Teresa but those are harder to get to.

RufusTFirefly

The Observatory Lodge seemed to be a bit out of the way from what we saw in January. Arenal Paraiso Resort and the Montana de Fuego seemed ideally situated for observing eruptions and lava flows.

Don't know about your Monteverde hotels, but we enjoyed the Hotel Fonda Vela a lot--though it is farther from town, there really isn't that much in town to see. We used taxis--$5 or $10 would take us anywhere in the Monteverde area.

glover

We stayed at El Sapo Dorado a couple years ago for 3 nights and liked it very much. I think what we had was one of their junior suites. Quite large with bed, table, seating area and small private porch that overlooked valley below. We ate in the restaurant a time or two and thought it was pretty good. Staff is very nice and very helpful.

Suzie2

You mentioned being aware that your 9year old can't go on the Pacuare and yet you have day 13 designated for rafting on that river. You might want to think about an extra day in Arenal and going rafting on the Sarapiqui. There are areas for all levels there. Your other option would be to go on the slower area of the Reventazon which is in the same general area as the Pacuare so you could still allow day 13 for rafting.

Pegsimba

I'm just back (last night) from a 2 week trip to Costa Rica. For your info, we stayed first two nights at Buena Vista HOtel and loved it. It is very quiet and simple - ask for a room in back with excellent views over the central valley. We saw several families with children and there is a small pool. The grounds are lovely. Also, they have free transportation to and from the airport. I'll be working on a trip report with lots more info.