We are a couple in our late 50's, travelling to Costa Rica in Feb 2007 for 17 nights.
Here is our plan
Day1 San Jose
Day2&3 Rincon de la Vieja
Day4&5 Monteverde
Day6&7 Arenal
Day8&9 ?
Day10 Tortuguero
Day11 San Jose
Day12,13,14 Manuel Antonio
Day15 San Gerardo de Dota
Day16 San Jose
Day17 Visit Poas & La Paz
My question is where to go on Day
8&9. Had thought of going to Cahuita,but read about problems with drugs & crime.
Should we head for Montezuma, Dominical, Sarrapiqui. We are open to suggestions and can re-arrange our itinerary accordingly.
We are trying to create a varied itinerary but our main interests are wildlife/ birding & hiking.

I am a fellow birder and was in Costa Rica a few years ago. You will love it! A few recommendations/suggestions:

.I see you are going to the Poas Volcano and you mention "La Paz". There is a wonderful little place called Bosque de Paz (see bosquedepaz.com) located in a Cloud Forest. It is similar in habitat to Monteverde but so much better because there are no crowds. I went on a guided birding hike for the day and it was just me & hubby, the guide, and another couple so we practically had the entire place to ourselves. Wish we had stayed overnight but definitely would return on a future trip.
.I would recommend Sarapiqui and/or La Selva as good birding/wildlife locations ; that is what I'd plan to do for days 8 & 9.
.One other spot you are missing is Carara NP. We saw endangered Scarlet Macaws there and the hiking, IMHO was much more interesting than Manuel Antonio. Manuel Antonio was very crowded and packed with locals and tourists, so the wildlife was pretty much non-existent.

Whatever you do, though, you will just have a fantastic time! Enjoy.

Joni

eluned,
Is this your first trip? You're going to have a great time! I assume you are renting a vehicle? That's what we do and love getting around on our own.

Please be aware that it takes a lot longer to travel from one place to another than the map would indicate. The country is mountainous, jungly, and the roads are narrow, often curvy, with adults, children, dogs, oxen, horses, bicycles all over them. Lots of little towns are close together and you won't be driving very fast--ever.

For that reason, you have WAY too much on your itinerary to do anything more than arrive, check in, unpack, spend a few hours, sleep, and pack up for the next leg! All of the locations you have chosen are excellent, and far too interesting to just whiz through! I think you'll have a much more enjoyable time if you select about 4 locations (ideal for your time frame) and enjoy them thoroughly. Arenal and Manuel Antonio are particularly good for first timers--there is a lot to do in both places. Each deserves at least 3 nights. 4 nights wouldn't be too many. Both locations are 3 hours from the airport, but there is a 6 hour drive in between them. Carara Biological Reserve is in between--about 1.5 hr. from Manuel Antonio.

Rincon de la Vieja is a nice area. Two nights would be plenty there if you were already planning to spend time on the northern Pacific beaches. But to drive over there from Arenal, for example, or Monteverde, for just 2 nights wouldn't be feasible. And getting to Monteverde is far too rugged a drive for just 2 nights.

Montezuma, Malpais, Santa Teresa beaches on the southern Nicoya Peninsula are also good locations. Good for about 3-4 nights at least. Because of the ferry ride, it takes about 6 hours to get there. And you have to match up with the ferry schedule.

Drugs are everywhere--all beach locations for sure. Tamarindo and Puerto Viejo (near Cahuita) are party towns, but not for those who don't go there with that intention! We spend time in both places, especially love the Puerto Viejo/Manzanillo area. You may have heard about drug problems in Cahuita from reading a travel book? That information isn't particularly significant and probably refers to incidents that occurred there in the past. That stuff still goes on--it is a battle all over the country, believe me!

Tortuguero you might want to save until you can visit there during the turtle nesting season--July-October.

Monteverde is nice, also, but very similar to San Gerardo de Dota--in fact, we like San Gerardo de Dota better--there are a greater abundance of quetzales there!


We, too, are in our 50's. We've been traveling to Costa Rica for several years, been there almost a dozen times for weeks at at time. I'm going to offer an alternative itinerary. There are simply dozens of options.

Night 1--San Jose

Night 2, 3, 4, 5--Arenal

Night 6, 7, 8, 9--Manuel Antonio

Night 10-11--Villa Lapa near Carara (would be a good option)

Night 12--San Jose

Night 13-14--San Gerardo de Dota

Night 15-16-17--San Jose area (visiting Poas, La Paz, maybe some white water on the Rio Pacuare)

Or:

Night 11--San Jose (1/2 way to PV)

Night 12, 13, 14--Puerto Viejo

Night 15-16-17--San Jose

If you particularly want to go to Rincon de la Vieja, then leave Arenal, go there for 2-3 nights, followed by a few nights on the northern Pacific beaches, such as Playa Hermosa or Playa Octotal--instead of Manuel Antonio.

OR go from Arenal to Montezuma and stay there a few days instead of Manuel Antonio.

All choices are good, you won't regret any of them--just don't try to pack too much in or you WILL regret not having enough time to enjoy everyplace you go! Good luck!

playa hermosa and that area are very hot and very dry, brown landcaspe like parts of Texas,
Manuel Antonio is greener!
id skip Monteverde, spend 2 days in Ocotal or Hermosa and visit Rincon, then La Fortuna, Cano Negro Reserve is a birdwatchers paradise:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/la_for...ome/index.html

Cahuita is not dangerous theres drugs and property crinme all over the coast, same as popular beach towns all over the world.
The beaches south of Puerto Viejo are amongst the nicest in the country, freat food on that side as well!
and not packed with American tourists which Guanacaste in Feb will be:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/costa_...ome/index.html

I love the Sarapiqui area. Wonderful birds. Selva Verde, La Quinta de Sarapiqui..both very nice places. If you would like to get over to the Caribbean coast you could think about Aviarios del Caribe or Selva Bonanito further inland.

Just to give you an idea of what you are looking at I am going to detail your first few stops.

Day 1 arrive..night in SJ
Day 2 drive about 3-3 1/2 hrs to Rincon de la Vieja. Night Rincon
Day 3 Rincon
Day 4 drive about 4 hrs to Monteverde- night Monteverde
Day 5 Monteverde
Day 6 Drive 4-5 hrs to Arenal- night Arenal
Day 7 Arenal

How are you planning on getting to Tortuguero? Most people fly in and out of San Jose but you could drive (abt 3 hrs)to Limon/Moin and park your car there to catch a boat up to Tortuguero and spend a couple of nights. You would then have to take the boat back from Tortuguero to Limon/Moin and then drive several hours to San Jose.

San Gerardo de Dota is about a 3 hr drive from San Jose. Best time to see the birds is in the early morning as I am sure you know. You could go one afternoon and spend the night and then leave the next afternoon. San Isidro or Dominical would be closer to get to for the night than San Jose or Manuel Antonio. You could then swing up through Dominical and stay in Manuel Antonio for a day or two.

I would pick a coast and skip the other. I don't see how you could have time for both.

Thanks JoniC, shillmac,guanacaste,& Suzie2 for your advice.
We are now thinking of skipping Monteverde,and spending 3 nights near Puerto Viejo on the caribbean coast.
Please help with suggestions on where to stay. We plan to visit Cahuita Nat Park and Gandoca/Manzillo Nat Park. Do we need a guide for the latter? Where will we find restaurants serving good spicy food?

Also thinking of including a visit to Carara Nat Park as we'd love to see the scarlet macaws. Is Feb a good time? Should we just stop off for a couple of hours or stay at least one night at Villa Lapa.

JoniC - could you suggest a good hike?

We definitely plan to go to San Gerardo de Dota. How long are the guided bird tours? Are there any hiking trails to do on our own?

On our last day in San Jose we plan to visit Volcano Poas, La Paz Waterfall & perhaps Butterfly garden. Would also like to visit Cafe Britts. Is this all do-able in one day?

eluned
We love the Caribbean side--especially these hotels:

La Costa de Pepito
Azania Bungalows
Almonds & Corals Tent Camp

Cariblue and Shawandha gets excellent reviews.

There is an excellent guide who works out of Manzanillo. Let me know if you'd like his information--well worth your time.

Best 2 restaurants we have tried were both Italiano:

La Pecora Nera--particularly good-pricey
Totem (also a hotel there)

It is fun to ride bikes--we enjoy riding the 14 km from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo and back.

At Savegre, arrange a birding tour with either Marino or Melvin (I think Marino is a little more enthusiastic and fun to bird with). It is supposed to last the morning, beginning at 7:00 or so, but Marino gets so excited that my first time, we came in for lunch and went back out until 6:00 (dark and rain stopped us!) Cost about $60 now, I think.

Don't do the Britt coffee tour--do the Doka Estate tour. It is right on the way to Poas and La Paz. I think I'd try to get to Poas as early as possible (by 8:00), then spend a couple of hours at La Paz, have lunch somewhere, and do the 1:30 Doka tour on my way back in. Double check that time--it changes.

Have a great trip!

By the way, Nacional Parque Cahuita is well worth your time. In Cahuita, try these restaurants:

Cha Cha Cha
Miss Edith's (be prepared for slow service--Miss Edith ain't in no hurry)

In Puerto Viejo, we like Soda Tamara and Stanley's.

i think thats a great itenary, youll have a great time, much more interesting on the Caribbean than Guanacaste which has become overpriced and bland, nothing 'special'no culture been 'swamped' by tourists
shillimac is right about La Pecora Nera, one of the best Italian rests in CR IMHO. I luv Miss Ediths but not if im in a rush.
i liked Gandoca/Manzillo Nat Park a lot the beaches inside the park are the best in Cahuita :

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/cahuita/home/index.html

Thanks shillmac and guanacaste for your input.
Shillmac, I would appreciate the contact details for the guide in Manzanillo. Would this be a half or full day's tour?
We're trying to plan our tours in Arenal/Fortuna. Has anyone heard of the hike called the " Toucan Trail ".
We plan to stay in the town of Fortuna, any comments on the these hotels: San Bosco, La Pradera, Hotel Jireh. Is the Arenal Springs hotel within walking distance of town?

Ive stayed at Don Bosco, nice hotel in the center of La Fortuna.

Abel Bustamante. . .

[email protected]

I have his phone number at my "other" home, but I have been successful in googling it before. I think he'll respond quickly to your e-mail!

You can do whatever you want timewise. I usually go out for a half day, about $30. He can do a full day with you as well. The man is a real gem. Hope you can get together with him--he'll enrich your life!

Eluned,
How did your trip go?
I am planning a trip to Costa Rica in August for myself and 4 our women.
Was Volcano Arenal worth it?
How was Tortuguero?
Other than that we are planning on Puerto Viejo on the caribbean side.
Any other suggestions?
Cheers,
TravelChic13

bookmarking - some good info here.

Hi Eluned!

There is a great restaurant in Manzanillo.
Good to read that you decided to visit the Caribbean side, too! Cahuita and Puerto Viejo don't have a bigger drug problem than many towns on the pacific side (Tamarindo, ...).