missya

We were considering doing an open voucher program, where you get vouchers for 145 hotels throughout the country and you can use them without booking prior (if they are available) The vouchers cost $75.00 per night.

After looking at rates, it seems that we may be able to find hotels for cheaper than $75 a night in many locations we want to visit. The problem is that we don't want to be tied down to a hotel because we are just kind of exploring the country.

Do you think we will have problems finding rooms in CR without reserving in advance in July? Or is this not a wise thing to do?

surfexec

July/August is a busy time in CR. It's known as "little summer". The popularity of Costa Rica is rising rapidly. I personally wouldn't take the chance of the "voucher deal". What happens when you end up in an area and your prepaid voucher hotels are all booked? I don't know the terms of the program, but if you plan on "winging it" probably better to just go without also being tied to trying to find the hotels included in your deal. If you come upon an area you like, you can always camp on the beach. It is legal to camp overnight on any beach in Costa Rica. There are also "surf camps" and decent "hostels" all over the place. So, my thoughts are...book in advance, if the quality of accommodations is important to you.

dncee11

This will probably work for you. Generally after Easter (semana santa) it becomes low season until almost Thanksgiving with a little bump there around August from so many travellers with kids out of school. I would maybe book my first night's hotel and then wing it from there. The major tourist areas (Arenal, Monteverde, Tamarindo, Quepos) have plenty of hotel capacity for high season so deal can be found when things slow down. Around $50/night is possible especially if you are staying more than one night. Good luck and have fun!

Melissa5

It is difficult to get rooms in Arenal and Monteverde for June. I know for sure because I booked our June 2005 trip months in advance, and still had trouble getting rooms for Monteverde. Monteverde was all booked up, and I had to wait for cancellations to come up. This was months ahead. You may not realize that ARenal and Monteverde are growing more popular, but they aren't built up at all, there are only so many rooms in these areas.

Some hotels are beginning to consider June as part of the high season, and are pricing accordingly.

faithie

We have always (3trips ) travelled in Costa Rica with no hotels booked , sounds crazy to some ...... And can involve extra legwork and some running around , but it has worked for us . BUT , we were not high season . My neice went last March with no hotels booked , and it worked out , but involves 2 nights at one place , a few at another , etc. Also my brother arrives , rents a car , and follows his nose for 2 weeks at a time . He has been about 6x and does this each time . not everyone would enjoy this type of trip , feeling it adds stress etc. To others it's the way to go because they can simply do as they like . Always keep in mind that the popularity is increasing, and it could be more difficult in certain areas to get the places you like . It is doable , but involves certain risks.

faithie

Sorry .... wanted to clarify , if we have to stay in San Jose due to flights etc. we have booked the first and last night in San Jose in the past . And this last trip since we had the kids we booked the first night in Manuel Antonio , we had made sure beforehand via Email that hotels we liked had availability , but we like our options open as well . In the end we actually ended up staying the whole time at this hotel , we just had to move a room over . ( we sometimes fly standby , so have to take into account we might not get on flights )

dariow

I was in Costa Rica last June for 3 weeks, and there were vacancies everywhere. You can likely get better deals by not booking things in advance since this is the slow season. There is of course a risk that preferred activities or lodging are full.

sandyc

You can probably find openings in June but I wouldn't buy the voucher thing.

Sandy