jillebean

I'm going with a friend to CR Dec 9 - 16...Planning on Monteverde, Tamarindo and Montezuma (1 week)...Should we reserve hotels now or wait until we get there? Also, how is the weather during this time, since it's pre-high season?

RAC

Reserve them now. Actually, probably a good idea to have reserved them in August.

shillmac

Agree you should act quickly. You might not get your first choice, but there should be availability. You are putting a lot into one week considering Monteverde and Montezuma require a lot of time to get to. You might consider just one beach location. Not that you asked, LOL, but I wondered if you knew how much transfer time is involved between getting to both places.

tully

Yes, I would've made them a while ago imo. And to echo shillmac, how much time are you spending in each place? That's a whole lot of traveling you'll do to get to each place to turn around and have to leave for the next place.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

I was working on an article about this. It'll run in The Tico Times in a couple of weeks. There actually is more hotel space available this year than in the past. Everything for December did not get snapped up in August the way it did in previous years. The feeling is that people are waiting later to decide and book, not knowing what the economy is going to bring.

I'd still make reservations now, just to be on the safe side. Have some alternatives in mind too. I did talk to many places that have very high occupancy rates in December. Yet others said they were wide open.

Shillmac and Tully are right: You're packing a lot into one week. Monteverde and Montezuma mean some rough roads to get there. I'd still choose those two over Tamarindo, personally.

volcanogirl

We liked Fonda Vela in Monteverde; their new junior suites are nice, and the grounds are really nice too. I would book now.

bellaboo

Hey,

I'm one of those people who always , always books last minute. We book our airfare as little as 1 week before so "can't" book rooms in advance.

Immediately after that we book our rooms, we've even arrived with no rooms booked except our 1st & last night. (even during Xmas)

We've noticed there has always been availability signs. BUT.....there are lotsa variables & ya just never know. Not everyone is a "wing-it" traveller....

RAC

If there's room and you can swing $160 or so, I'd recommend Ylang Ylang in Montezuma--my favorite place anywhere.

Also, check out Arco Iris for a great deal in Monteverde.

And, yes, I'd cut Tamarindo from this trip.