Costa Rica in August while Pregnant
 

I am trying to plan a trip to Costa Rica in August with my husband. By way of background, we are 30 and 32, fairly active, but also enjoy downtime at the beach, and I will be approximately 17 weeks pregnant when we are scheduled to travel. I am not sure how I will be feeling, so I don't want to overexert myself, but we do want more than just a run of the mill beach vacation.

Would people be willing to comment on the following itinerary and resorts?

For the first part of the trip, we are planning on staying at the Si Como No Resort, Spa & Wildlife Refuge in Quepos, which overlooks the Pacific and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Day 1 (first full day): take a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park, spend some time relaxing at the beach.

Day 2: explore the town of Quepos, maybe relax at the beach, maybe mountain bike. At night, take a night walk in the resort’s wildlife refuge.

Day 3: more relaxing, maybe take a horse back ride through the jungle or on the beach.

Day 4: head to Arenal Valley in Costa Rica’s northern zone (approximately a five hour drive). We are thinking of staying at the Springs Resort & Spa, on a mountain ridge 1,000 feet above Arenal Valley, with a view of the volcano, just four miles to the north.

Day 5: relax in the hot springs, go fishing or horseback riding.

Day 6: take an easy hike on the lava fields at the base of the Arenal Volcano with a naturalist guide

Day 7: depart

Both resorts get great reviews and Manuel Antonio and Arenal is a great split for your vacation.

I'd check with your Dr as far as the hot springs while being pregnant - I don't know that the heat for an extended period of time is a good idea. It's equivalent to a jacuzzi. Actually, check with your Dr before you go for clearance for all of the activities.

But as far as the resorts and locations, looks like a great trip!

Ditto ..... great split/plan for CR trip.

Another caveat ..... do be aware that August is 'green' season, aka rainy season, especially for where you'll be traveling.

That being said, it may rain every day, NOT necessarily all day. When I was in CR in August (several yrs ago) we'd hit the beach early, by 9:30 am ..... sun was out, but would be cloudy by midday. Rain would start about 5:00 pm or so into the evening. Worked out well, as I'm a.morning person ...... for me, a couple hours on beach was enough. Stayed at LaMariposa ..... have known others who've stayed @Si Como No, and also enjoyed there as well.

http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/specia...nant_women.php

Get an ok from your OB on what you can and cannot do.

Hotels are fine

prefer personally www.tabacon.com lava views best hot springs

lots closer best night time lava views from the best rooms.

lostiguanaresort.comgreat night lava views from the 2nd flr

thespringscostarica farther away no night lava view

sort of Disneyesque fakey plastic plants pretty though.

arenasdelmar.com issimosuites.com tulemar.com Mot Mot

better than Si Como No for me if you go there be sure and get

the sea view rooms the ones in the back are dingy buggy.

tripadvisor.com/members/natureguide best MA guide for me.

Happy travels and congrats!

I'd be worried about several of your activities if you're pregnant - mountain biking, horseback riding, hot springs, etc. so good advice to check with your doc. Both your hotels are really popular. The Springs has a rep for being very posh but not so authentically Costa Rican, but as long as you're okay with that I think you'd love it. We toured Si Como No while we were in MA and thought it looked great. As far as touring Quepos, I don't think there's much there to tour. The Damas Mangrove tour is really popular if you want to check into it. In Arenal, we really love the waterfall hike and swimming in the crystal clear river down below if you think you're up to the hike.

I've never been to CR, and have just started hanging out on this forum in anticipation of perhaps planning a trip for next year. One thing I've learned from my reading, and just wanted to make sure that you're aware, is that many of the roads in CR are quite poor -- the 5 hour drive is unlikely to be on purely paved surfaces, but perhaps the real experts here can chime in with details about this particular route.

I bring this up both to make sure you're prepared, and because I'm wondering, with the relatively short time you have, if you've considered staying in just one of those locations rather than both? Each seems to have a lot of activities to offer that could easily consume a whole week.

Just a thought, defer to others for more expert advice. Good luck and enjoy!

thanks for everyone's helpful relies!

We are trying to book transportation from the airport to MA, from MA to Arenal Valley, and then from Arenal Valley back to the airport. Before I call the hotels and ask them if they can arrange, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on cheaper alternatives. Seems like each leg of the journey is fairly long. And it's a bit confusing with all the van and bus companies out there. Thanks.

The Interbus shuttle is really popular. With just two people, it would probably be cheaper than a private driver.

We've both rented a car, which we enjoy having the flexibility of. And we've also used a driver, which is nice to have someone sort of as your personal tour guide. We've used Wilson Rojas on two separate trips. His contact info is: [email protected] If you do a search for private drivers, you can get other recommendations as well.

I loved Wilson Rojas -- great driver, very polite and gracious.

Be careful with food and water as I got quite sick in CR, likely from when I ate at a local street-side soda. I had a very high fever with vomiting and everything else for several days, I'm thinking it was the smoothie type drinks I ordered with my meal. Cipro didn't do the trick for me but maybe check with Dr. to see if there's a safe antibiotic you can take with you, just in case. I'm re-considering a trip to Guatemala next month as I'm concerned about food poisoning and I'll still be in first trimester.

Have a great trip! I liked Si Como No, BTW -- comfortable and easy accommodations, stayed there twice and it was a big hit with the children who were on the trip. The hike through MA National Park is a really easy walk that my 70 yo mom could do. Sounds kinda crazy but ziplining at Arenal (the outfit with gondolas is the best one) is physically effortless and a real highlight. I can't zipline anywhere else after that. I don't know if people are going to say that's not safe but 17 wks isn't THAT pregnant. : )