COSTA RICA - JANUARY - HELP
 

Hello all!

I'm finishing up a hellish few years of graduate school in Austin, Texas and I'm looking to celebrate by heading to Costa Rica in January, 2014!

I'm not looking for big cities, I want to be outside as much as I can; I hear it's a stunning country. Does anyone have any suggestions on things to do or see? Also, does anyone know about the hostel life in CR? Safe/reliable? I'm looking to spend about 2-3 weeks out there.

Basically, I'm looking for ideas of things to do, see, eat, drink. Any help or suggestions are great!

Cheers,
Nolan

I'm currently looking at:

-Bosque del Cabo
-Arenal
-Osa Peninsula

What's the quickest way to get to these destinations from San Jose? And which is the closest? Can I travel between these cities?

Also: are there a good amount of solo travelers in CR? I'm 23/male and probably travelling alone so it'd be nice to find some other solos to hang with.

youtube and gmaps are your friends.

Just a heads up, but Bosque del Cabo is a lodge that's on the Osa Peninsula - it's a great place, but pretty pricey.

January is high season, which means everything is more expensive and a lot of the best places will be booked.

I would stop by a local bookstore and check out a Fodors or maybe Lonely Planet if you want to do the hostel thing.

There are a few hostel like places in the Osa that have very good reputations (e.g. Finca Maresia in Drake Bay or Cabinas Jimenez in Puerto Jimenez). But, traveling to the Osa generally takes a lot of preparation and usually quite a bit of $$.

Speaking of which, Bosque del Cabo is a lodge in the Osa peninsula, and it's quite a splurge (over $400/night for two people in a cabina).

Personnaly, the Osa Peninsula is my favorite!

The fastest way to reach it, is with a Costa Rica domestic flight:
http://www.sansacostarica.com/
http://www.natureair.com/

Look for destination like Dominical, Uvita, Ojochal.
Or Drake Bay, Corcovado.

Nolan, you need to get more info about Costa Rica. If hostels are what you are looking for, then I suggest you also to skip Fodor's and even Tripadvisor forums and go to Thorntree.
Yes, there are plenty of hostels around Costa Rica, and you can even find some cheap rooms in Puerto Jimenez, Osa Peninsula. But Bosque del Cabo is on the completely other price range. Check their web site. I also do not associate hostels with flying, more like with local bus transport. IMO you should start looking at places like Monteverde (Santa Elena), Arenal (La Fortuna), Nicoya peninsula (Santa Teresa), Sarapiqui area and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, on the caribbean side of Costa Rica. There is where you will find more hostel orientated younger visitors. However, if your daily budget is in the 150US$ per day range, then you should definitively visit Osa.