Costa Rica logistics
 

We are returning to Costa Rica in late March arriving San Jose in early afternoon. The following morning we are flying to Puerto Jiminez. We need a nice hotel close to the airport as our flight out is early in the am. Any suggestions?

Also when we return to San Jose from Puerto Jiminez we arrive about noon and plan to drive to Arenal. I think this is doable but we need to rent a car and have it available when we arrive at the airport. In the past we used drivers but this time we want to rent a vehicle.

So should we simply contact a major car rental agency for pick up at the airport? Could our hotel make these arrangements for us even though it will be a few days before we return? We plan to again stay at the same hotel when we come back from Arenal.

We stayed at a really nice Marriott near the airport on a recent trip. Not usually a fan of American chains, but we had points, and it was very pretty with a colonial feeling to it, great restaurants, and a nice pool area. It even had parrots in the trees. We also really like Grano de Oro - nice if you want a historical city hotel; they have a wonderful restaurant on site. If you want to be outside the city, Xandari is fantastic with extensive grounds and beautiful views.

Bear in mind that the international airport is in Alajuela and not San Jose itself. Are you flying to Puerto Jimenez from SJO or from Tomas Bolanos in Pavas? Obviously if you are flying in and out from SJO is it in your favor to book a hotel with a free airport shuttle for pick up and drop off, but if your flight to Puerto Jimenez leaves early from Pavas, you may wish to stay in the Rohrmoser area to avoid traffic.

Landing at 12:00 should give you time to drive to Arenal before dark but I would do a little research yourself and not rely on your hotel to book for you. Try this comparative article as a guideline if you like:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Guide-to-C...ica&id=7923536

Have a great trip!

What airline are you flying to get to Puerto Jimenez? Sansa or Nature Air? That would make a difference to rec a hotel, as they are about 30 minutes apart.

We are flying Sansa so we will be in Alajuela and our flight out is at 8:25 am. We were looking for a smaller hotel. Last time we stayed at the Hotel Orquideas Inn which was very nice but they are no longer in business.

Look at Hotel La Rosa de America, see if it appeals to you. Leaving early, you can't enjoy a breakfast at a hotel, but looks like they will give you one to go.

I didn't know that Orquideas Inn went out of business - bummer. Adventure Inn seems to always get good reviews if you want to explore that one.

We stayed at Adventure Inn and I highly recommend it. One of the transfers to the airport is free too. http://www.adventure-inn.com/

Orquideas Inn was purchased and is under new ownership, presumably pending renovations. (The property was lovely, main thing needed to be updated was small stuff like new bedding,etc). Will be known as Villa San Ignacio.

Adventure Inn looks good and has good reviews. We really enjoyed our stay at Orquideas Inn during our prior trip to CR and I hope the new owners succeed as the property was very nice.

Thanks for the update, RAC.