Hi all,

I've been reading these threads until my eyeballs are red but I'm still a little confused about which is the best way to go. Maybe you can help.

A friend and I want to go to CR over Labor Day week out of Florida. She's in her early 50s and me in my mid 40s. Neither speak much Spanish and we'd be alone. We would be gone 8-9 days total. We want to see a pretty beach, a volcano, hot springs, go zip lining, see the rainforest, cloudforest, see birds, animals, teensy frogs, waterfalls and pretty views.

She is leaning towards a package we found that includes flights, hotels,breakfasts, a rental car and all taxes and fees. She said she'd do all the driving and thinks we'd be fine with a GPS. How safe would this be for 2 women alone? Are the GPSs accurate over there? Any special drivers licenses or anything she'd have to have?

The other package we found is about the same amount of money but is a bus tour and includes some meals and entrances fees into things. But with that you are on their schedule and have to see what they take you to. No stopping on the side of the road to look at anything interesting. Not as much freedom.

Seems that a lot of people here aren't using set tours but doing their own thing. How are you arranging all of this? I read about hiring drivers and tour guides and such. How does all of this work? Sorry about all of the questions but I know you folks know everything there is to know about every place in the world!

Thanks so much!

Hi Peepjr,

First of all, Costa Rica is a phenomenal destination! I bet you'll absolutely love it!

I'm not sure how to answer the driving question. I'm female, 40-ish and I've driven there twice with no incident. I've always felt a bit stressed trying to navigate out of Alajuela (where the airport and car rental places are), but I've always felt comfortable and relaxed once out of the bustling city. I've had my brother with me on both trips and I'm not sure if I would drive if just with another female. I've never really felt unsafe there, but there are certain warnings you'll hear about possible car-jackings around San Jose and in remote areas. I don't want to freak you out, because Costa Rica is sooo worth visiting, but you should do your homework before you go to ensure you'll have a wonderful experience.

I haven't personally used a GPS but would consider it for the next time I'm driving down there. We seem to get lost at least once on every trip! We always find our way okay, but it does add a little extra 'excitement' to the adventure! ;-)

If you feel nervous about driving, there are other options:

-The Interbus tourist shuttle has a good reputation and is quite reasonable:

https://www.interbusonline.com/

-Lots of private drivers are available and there are several posts here on that subject. Your hotels can frequently set up transfers for you as well.

-Another option is to fly between destinations. Sansa and Nature Air are the two domestic air carriers in CR.

Many people in the more touristed areas speak some english. Hotel desk staff and tour guides generally speak excellent english. Take a phrase book along just in case and you should be fine. The ticos are delightful in general; very nice and helpful. Remember that making the effort to say 'good morning/afternoon/evening' and 'thanks' in the native tongue stand you in good stead wherever you travel!

For itinerary, I would recommend you pick 2-3 locations max so you aren't continually moving around. Keep in mind that you may need to spend first and last nights near the airport depending on your flight times to and from CR.

I know I'm getting real wordy, but here's a couple more tidbits that might help:

-September is well into the rainy season. This doesn't mean you won't be able to be out and about, but you may have to plan your activities around rain showers (which primarily occur during the afternoon and evening hours). Costa Rica is a land of microclimates. This average rainfall map might help you narrow down an itinerary:

http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html

-A good travel agent/professional can really help with organizing a trip; especially if you are uncertain about where to go. For each of my CR trips, I did a lot of research on my own, so I basically knew what I wanted. Then I had someone help me fine tune the details and make the arrangements (you can certainly do this yourself, I just happen to have a hectic job and it was easier to let someone else handle the details...).

For trip #1, I used Tico Travel (based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL).

http://www.ticotravel.com/

For trip #2, I used Pat Hewitt (recommended by several on Fodor's; he also posts here fairly frequently):

http://www.lovecostarica.com/

I was very happy with both of the above recommendations!

I know this got a bit long winded, but I hope it helps. Once you start homing in on destinations, you can get all kinds of great suggestions of specific things to do. Good luck with your planning.

Hi, Peep,

I feel your pain--had the same reaction you did a few months back when I started planning our trip to CR for next January. So many nice choices!

After a lot of research and generous good advice from veteran CR travelers on this board, we decided to fly into San Jose, rent a car with GPS, drive to the Peace Lodge and see the waterfalls for two days; drive to the Arenal and see the volcanoes for a few days; and drive to Manuel Antonio and spend a week at the beach; drive back to San Jose, spend one night and fly back.

I think the only think on your list we'll miss is maybe the cloudforest.

I posted a question about whether we should hire a driver or drive ourselves and the consensus was that driving yourself gives you lots of freedom, the GPS works, and it's very safe. A few one-lane bridges, but nothing treacherous. They said just use good judgment and don't leave anything unattended in your car ever on the drive between destinations--same as in the U.S.

We're renting a small 4WD from Mapache and the arrangements were made by a travel agency: www.centralamerica.com. Armando Diaz is our agent and he's been very helpful ([email protected]). He says we don't need any additional license, but that we must buy the insurance (unlike in the U.S.). He also made the arrangements for our stay at the Peace Lodge.

CR has tons of choices on hotels for any budget, from affordable/family to ultra luxurious. Once I picked our areas to visit, I went to tripadvisor.com and checked the hotel rankings and comments. Then, I contacted each hotel myself (besides Peach Lodge) and made the arrangements via email and fax. Everyone I've dealt with so far communicates beautifully.

Hope you have a fantastic trip and write a report to share your good time.

Hi Peep,

Are you one of those "peeps" that everyone but me has?

I am all for a self guided itinerary. Bus tours are fine for some people, and it is fun to meet other travelers. But you never know who you might end up with. Some people don't travel as well as others, and the trip can get really long if the bus has a sourpuss or habitual complainer on board.

Costa Rica is a pretty safe place, and I always enjoy having the flexibility that your own wheels give you. Just be prepared for some bad roads from time to time. But nothing that you can't handle in a good 4X4.

If you are looking at a preplanned itinerary, make sure you research the hotels closely. Often the packages are put together to be as cheap as possible. Simple marketing dictates this. The problem is that sometimes for just a few dollars more, you can drastically upgrade your accommodations. This is sometimes true even in the same hotel.

Regarding all of the activities that you are seeking. I would recommend what we jokingly refer to as the "Holy Trinity". Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, and Arenal. These are the three most popular destinations in the country. But they are popular for a reason. These are beautiful areas, and will give you everything you have listed.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Hi Peep, I would do either a combo of The Peace Lodge, Arenal, and Manuel Antonio OR Monteverde, Arenal, and Manuel Antonio. We always plan everything ourselves and hire drivers through our hotels.

Thanks for your replies...I've forwarded them to my travel buddy. I have a zillion questions. What kind of bug repellant do we need (I have type 2 diabetes and I swear mosquitos think I am a doughnut!), do we need hiking boots or will walking sandals be enough? If we will be there from 8/30 through the first week of Sept what is the chance of being completely rained out?

Pat~ I have called my mom Peeps for years because she has skinny little chicken peep legs. She's very Martha Stewart-y and an old BF would tease me when I got Martha on him and he nicknamed me Peep Jr. It stuck. Are you a chick or rooster? Be ye a he or a she Pat? LOL!

Also, what do you do with your camera and stuff when you zip line? Do they have lockers or something to put your valuables in?

We always use a bug repellent with DEET - we've had spray and wipes; both worked find for us, and we haven't had problems with too many bites, just one or two. They love me too.

When we ziplined, they had lockers we could use free of charge, but I kept my camera with me - even got a picture of a quetzal! Mine had a neck strap, so I just hung it around my neck. For part of our zips, our guide took pictures of us.

We don't have hiking shoes - just running shoes for when there are little rocks on the trails and Keen's for when it's smooth and flat or we're at the beach.

Pat is a he, and he's everyone's favorite travel agent on this board - he could help you with any details you need.

Thanks Volcanogirl~ My friend is going to email me a list of what she really wants to do and then I'll email Pat. She's interested in seeing more than one volcano but I'm not sure we have the time. I've never seen one so it would be fine with me but it seems our trip will be shorter than most of the ones people here are taking.

We can leave on 8/30 and need to come back on 9/6 or 9/7 as we both have to be back to work on 9/8. We live in FL so it's not a super long trip.

We don't need a lot of time at the beach...just one day will be fine I guess. There's so much to see and do and we want to see as much as possible. This will probably be our only trip to CR so we have to make the most of it.

We just got back from CR and saw two volcanoes - Arenal in La Fortuna and Poas near the Peace Lodge. Both very different; those would be good choices for you. It's hard to go to the beach for just a day because it takes a while to get there.

Hi Peep,

Just got back from a 10 day
self guide go a lot but driving is
quite a challenge both road conditions bad roads potholes and also lots of in road obstacles like dogs people motos tractors.roads very confusing lots of traffic jams.
Nobody really pays much attention to red lights stop signs.

Unless you are up for a very challenging experience would suggest
a Caravan Tour great value from $999
Or simply book your hotels and hire
a driver or go interbus or

graylinescostarica.com

arenal.net

manuelantoniopark.com

with a day or two around the airport

in/out

have fun either way,