Hello all!
I'm planning a trip to Costa Rica from Dec 25-Jan 2. I would like to spend the first 3 or 4 days doing "rainforest" activities, probably around the Arenal Volcano Area, and the remaining 3 or 4 days at a beach (Tamarindo or Jaco area - any other beach suggestions are welcome).

I realize late December is touristy, so I'm wondering how far in advance I should book reservations for hotels/activities?

Any recommened hotels (moderately priced $50-$100 per night)?

Also, would anyone recommend doing a 3 or 4 day guided tour in the jungle (Arenal Volcano, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Cano Negro Wildlife, zipline, hanging bridges, waterfalls, etc.) If so, does anyone have any recommended companies to book the guided tour? Thanks for all the help!

-Andy

You need to make your hotel reservations NOW. That's an extremely busy time. Are you saying you want to do a tour where you go into the jungle and don't come out for 3 or 4 days? I don't think you can do that in the places you mentioned, but it's certainly worth it to do all of those types of tours. I highly recommend Swiss Travel for your arrangements. I have a contact if you want to use them.

Sandy

I would love your contact to Swiss travel if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Thanks!

Hi, Write to Jennifer Aguero, [email protected]. Tell her what you want to do and she'll come up with a plan for you. Let her know if you want transportation or if you're renting your own car. They can arrange a driver to pick you up and drop you off every time you change locations. Also, they only work with reputable tour operators, hotels, etc. and they'll take care of any problems you might have really quickly. It takes a few days to get things done, but they do a really good job.

Sandy

You do need to book hotels now. Playa Samara is a good beach for playing in the water, the waves at Jaco can get rough, but good for surfers. If you want to spend 3-4 days in rainforest with guided activites I would suggest flying down to Osa and staying at La Paloma or one of the other ecolodges (La Paloma may be out of your price range but there are a lot of other options there).