Costa Rica in July - weather, packing, itineary
 

We plan to visit CR for 9 nights in mid-July...I understand - it is a rainy season..but how bad is it ? is it even worth making a trip ? If yes, then would someone please help us with itineary...So far, we have:

Arriving SJO late afternnon
1 night in San Jose, rent 4x4
Drive to Arenal next morning 2-3 days in Arenal
Then Monteverde (2 days ?)


Any other suggestions ? Does it make sense to go to the Carribean part ? I heard that during the rainy season the roads to Carribean coast are not safe....

If we go , what to pack ?

Thank you, ALL

We've been plenty of times in July and love it. You'll usually get some rain but not enough to deter your plans. We get up early for activities, and the weather is usually clear then. I'd stay at least three nights in Arenal; there's tons to see and do there, and it will increase your chance of seeing the volcano which is often covered in clouds. We stayed three nights in Monteverde, but could have easily done it in two nights. You can do a guided hike in the reserve, maybe see quetzals, zipline, and do a night hike at Hidden Valley. Manuel Antonio is another popular beach area you could consider for the end of your trip. If it interests you, that time of year is turtle season in Tortuguero, so you could do that instead or head to Guanacaste like e mentioned.

As far as packing, mostly shorts and t-shirts or tanks, bathing suit, capri pants for women, one long-sleeved shirt and long pair of pants, and a rain poncho. We had to wear fleece jackets in Monteverde; it was cold at night and rainy when we were there. If you go somewhere like Tortuguero or Manuel Antonio, it will be hot and humid. I'd pack Keen's and running shoes for hiking.

Thank you very much for ur responses.
Volcanogoirl, how far is Manuel Antonio, Tortuguero or Guanacaste from Monteverde.....Is it reachable by car ? I heard that it is hard to get to Carribean coast in July (I believe, that where the turtle nesting is....Correct ?)

What are the attractions in these places ? (Manuel Antonio, Tortuguero or Guanacaste)

Thanks

If you're planning to keep your car the entire trip, then Tortuguero would be complicated because it operates on a canal system. Most people book their transportation through their lodging and leave from San Jose to get to the coast and then get boat transport from there.

MA is reachable by car. It took us about 5 hours to go from Arenal to MA; we haven't gone directly from Monteverde to MA. The attractions in MA and Guanacaste are the beaches. MA has tons of wildlife, but it's pretty tame and used to people. Also lots of hotel and restaurant choices.

Tortuguero is popular for canal tours that go around to spot the abundant wildlife and for having night hikes that take you out to see the turtles laying their eggs. You can't swim at the Tortuguero beaches due to rough tides, shark, and crocs, but it's an interesting area. Not much in the way of restaurants and things like that; you would mainly stay at your lodge and then enjoy the wildlife. Turtle season runs from around July-October for the variety that we saw.

Thank you again. So, we bought tickets yesterday - arriving SJO the night of July 4th, departing SJO morning July 13th.

The itineary as of now looks like that:
July 4, 9pm - arrive, get a room in San Jose
July 5th, AM - pick the car and drive to Arenal
July 6,7,8 - Arenal
July 9th, AM - drive to Monteverde
July 10,11 - Monteverde
July 12 AM - drive to San Jose
July 13th - depart back home

Any suggestions ? Do we have too many days in Monteverde ? I consider the day when we drive to be a "lost" day, since we'll be driving in the morning and we anticipate rain the rest of the day...Is it a valid assumption ?

Where would you recommend to stay in SJO ? By the airport ? Any hotels you can recommend ? We are not looking for anything fancy - US 3* will work....

I expect to arrive early to SJO on the 12th...What to do and see in SJO ?

Hotel recommendations in Arenal ? and Monteverde ? Please ! I heard good things about Linda Vista in Arenal ...In Monteverde we have no ideas ...

Also, about car rental ...What would you recommend ?

I heard about:
http://www.servicecarrental.com/
and
http://www.adobecar.com

Any other suggestions ? Is it better to pick up the car at the airport or in the city ?

Thank you again

Fonda Vela is a nice place in Monteverde; they have new junior suites which are comfortable and have nice views of the garden. We saw toucans on their property, and our room had a small frig and tub which was nice. They have a good restaurant on site.

We like the Lost Iguana in Arenal. If you want to be right up on the volcano, check out Arenal Observatory Lodge. Closer to town, check out Silencio del Campo. If you have kids, Los Lagos is popular.

We liked Grano de Oro in San Jose; they have a good restaurant on site and a rooftop garden with hot tubs. It's built in an old mansion so has some character to it.

Tricolor is popular for car rental.

Popular things to do around San Jose are the Doka Coffee Estate, and about an hour away the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Poas Volcano. We enjoyed all of those.

We haven't done them, but there are some museums in San Jose and the national theater if you want to check those out.

Thank you very much. It is only two ouf us - my wife and myself. Is it better to pick a car at the airport or downtown ?

Anyfeedback on Apartotel Cristina in San Jose...Tripadvisor has good reviews...We will spend only two nights in San Jose...would not want to spend a lot

We just returned and stayed at Arenal Green. We loved it.

We hired a driver but I understand many of the car rental companies will bring the car to your hotel for no extra charge. You may want to consider staying in Alajuela to be closer to getting a jump start to Arenal and if the car rental comapny drops it off for you, you are already that far out of SJ.

I wouldn't spend my first night in San Jose - airport is in Alajuela, stay out that way and get an early start for Arenal so that you don't waste time. Also many car rental companies will bring the car to your hotel. Orquideas Hotel, Hotel Bougainvillea, Pura Vida Hotel, Adventure Inn are all closer to airport than downtown hotels.

You definitely do not want to pick the car up downtown! It's the wrong direction, no signs, quite confusing.

Orquideas Inn is another popular place to stay. We hire drivers too, so can't help you with the car rental.

In Arenal I love Silencio del Campo. Owned by a super sweet local family, only about 13 cabinas, hot springs on site, good restaurant, great view of volcano and not too far from town.

My flights always require a 1st and last near SJO and I always spend one of those nights at Orquideas Inn. There's a really great bar and pool area that is good for a late night arrival, plus great breakfast. It sure does get mixed reviews on TA, but it's always been great for me. I recommend Darly's Suite or Susan's Room, but the regular rooms were fine too.

2 nights in Monteverde is probably enough. You even have time for another spot unless that's too much moving around for you. For instance if you spend 3 nights Arenal, 2 nights Monteverde, and you could spend a couple nights in Manuel Antonio, Sarapaqui, Tortuguero...For your last day maybe Zoo Ave or if you get in early enough a trip to La Paz waterfall garden. Senor y Senora's is a great place to pick up souvenirs (huge) and hand crafted wood items to take home.

In Monteverde (Santa Elena) we loved Arco Iris Eco-lodge and found the rates very reasonable. We loved the white faced capuchins in the trees outside the breakfast room every morning.

I reserved our first and last night at Adventure Inn near SJO. Does anyone have experience in booking car rental thru them ?

We will be travelling in July - supposedly low season. Do we need advance reservations in Arenal and/or Monteverde ? It would be nice to be able to change plans and destinations on the spot.

Adventure Inn is a good place and convenient. Haven't booked a car through them but they are big on booking that kind of stuff for customers.

I wouldn't worry too much about reserving hotels unless you have small, specialty places you know you want.

So, you think we won't have a problem finding a place on the spot....basicall we'll drive to Arenal the morning of the July 5th and we should find a place there...?

Well, one can never be sure, but both those areas offer a great amount of hotels to choose from. I would be surprised if they were all booked. :-)

So, if we drive from SJO to Arenal at what point on the road should we start looking for accomodations - something nice, but not vey expensive with termal springs on site....I don't want to start looking to early and end up far away or miss it altogether.

Also, during he rain season rain stars in the afternoon...Correct ? How bad is driving in the rain ? Are we better off pulling aside and waiting it out (I assume as a typical tropical rain it pours for 30 mins or so and stops ...Correct ?)
Thanks again.

Personally with a short trip and so many Arenal recommendations, I wouldn't want to waste time having to look for a hotel when it is so easy to book online. Arenal Paraiso has thermal springs on site along with Silencio del Campo - not all hotels up there have thermal springs.

Thank you all for your answers. As we continue planning the trip more questions are coming up.

We are now thinking about going to Tortuegro National Park. My understanding that we will drive to Limon, drop our car there and get a 2 day (or so ) tour ...Is this the right way to do the trip ? Is there guarded parking in Limon where we can leave our car for 2 days ? Are the roads to Limon opened during the rainy season in July ?

Thank you again

I would do Tortuguero either at the beginning or end of my trip. Many tour operators, including the one I use, will pick you up from a San Jose hotel early AM, stop for breakfast on the drive out to the dock and return you to San Jose. This will save you two days of a rental car that will just be sitting at a dock or hotel.

Check out Modesto Watson www.tortuguerocanals.com We stay at the Don Carlos Hotel in San Jose when we use his transportation to the boat. We like the three day/two night option and stay at Laguna Lodge, all meals, tours, all fees except entry into Tortuguero N.P. included.

It might be a little too early for turtle season, but the wildlife is wonderful - have fun!

Even though it's green season so you should be able to get deals, I do agree with colobri that with a limited amount of time it would be less hassle to book ahead. Many places will offer discounts without being there and Silencio del Campo is fantastic. Tortuguero is a beautiful place to go and as c mentioned maybe going without the rental car is your best bet. You should get some turtle viewing that time of year too. I'm going with Fran and Modesto for a two nighter on June 30. As far as duration for the rain once it starts I've experienced both the typical short downpours and ones that went through the night with thunder and lightning so really hard to say.

Like hip said, I don't find the rain all that predictable. We've definitely had it in the morning, evening, afternoon. Most showers are quick and some aren't. We have had it rain so hard that you couldn't see the road. You might also encounter some fog. We did Tortuguero for two nights like everyone else, and it was the right amount of time for us. Most of your time there will be out on the canals seeing wildlife and then seeing turtles at night. People usually book at one of the lodges, and they provide transportation and meals. Fran and Modesto are popular too. Laguna Lodge, Mawamba Lodge, and Turtle Beach Lodge are popular. We did Tortuga Lodge and loved it, but it's pricier.

Regarding lodging in Tortuguero, what is better - staying in the lodge or staying in the village ? I heard different opinions ....what do u think ?

Also, I see there is the sloth sanctuary Aviarious del Carbe half way between San Jose and Limon (Moin)...Does it make sense to visit it ?

It's more popular to stay at the lodges. I really enjoyed doing it. The town was pretty small. Seems like you're more surrounded by nature at the lodges, and it's easy because they coordinate everything for you.

I would stay at the lodges - package deal, all meals, all transportation, touring via boat. Village is very small, not many places to eat, much nicer at the lodges.

The sloth reserve is south of Limon, near Cahuita, not 1/2 way between San Jose and Limon. We enjoyed it, but not sure if you will have time to go south of Limon.

I would also recommend a lodge - much prettier surroundings and some with hiking trails and/or on the beach backed by rainforest. There's not much to the village, but there are some basic and affordable options if you're on a budget.

The sloth sanctuary is worth a visit if your nearby, but I wouldn't make a huge detour to get there.

Regarding the Tortuguero trip...it takes around 3+ hours to get to Tortuguero from San Jose (or being more exact to the docks where boats depart)....on the way back it might be quite difficult to make it to other places of interest (Monteverde, Arenal, Manuel Antonio) the same day....Could you please advice what would be the best strategy after Tortuguero? Get back to SJ, spend a night there or maybe something more productive ?

We boated into Tortuguero but flew out to save time. The flights are early a.m. - around 7:00, so we were back to SJO by 8:00. From SJO, you can go just about anywhere you want to.