Hey guys,

Even though I'm a longtime regular who mostly can be found on the Asia boards, but this year we'll be going to CR for 9 days in November (over Thanksgiving) and I'm a total Latin America newbie, so I need some serious advice.

I have no idea what to do or where to go, and that's after reading guide books and a few threads on here.

I've done lots of searching on the boards for itinerary ideas, but I'm still left wondering where on earth to start. I know we want to go to Arenal/Tabacon and maybe Monteverde Cloud Forest.

We've been spending most of our past few vacations in Southeast Asia and really enjoy the nature, peace and quiet...so CR seemed like the next logical follow-up. A bit about us: we're in our early 30s, we usually enjoy moving around a bit on vacations (don't necessarily need to stay in one place more than a few days) and we definitely prefer boutique hotels...I love luxury but can't usually afford it so that works out to be the best medium...anything magical and unique is probably something we'd be interested in (is this too generic?)

Can't stand going to places with loads of pasty tourists gawking, which is why, I think, I really don't have any desire to see the beach on this trip (we'll also be going to Bali in May 2010, so I can get my fill of that then.)

Any help you can offer on a proposed itinerary or destination suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

Welcome to the LA board!

I would go to Arenal and stay at the Lost Iguana and then head down to the Osa Peninsula and stay at Bosque del Cabo. If you want to steer clear of tourists, you might want to go to Eco Termales instead of Tabacon - it's locally owned and they limit entry to their hot springs to 100 people. Tabacon has tourists arriving by the busloads to use their springs.

Flying in and out of San Jose I recommend Hotel Buena Vista.

We've been to Monteverde 2x's. We enjoyed staying at Hotel Montaña. It's centrally located and not too pricey. Nice area behind the hotel for viewing birds.
We really enjoyed Selvatura park, hiking the Monteverde Cloud Forest & Santa Elena Cloud Forest.
I would then go by jeep-boat-jeep to Arenal and hike the volcano,do the Caño Negro boat tour and go to the hot springs.
There are a lot of us tourists but the areas are large enough that as soon as you get past the transportation and connection hubs we disperse rapidly!
You'll get hooked on CR! We leave for our 3rd trip in 4yrs on Thurs.

thanks, volcanogirl. both look really nice.

question: do a lot of places in CR quote prices per person/per night?

our friends recommended lapa rios (which we could never afford) and i noticed on their site (and on Bosque del Cabo's--which looks awesome!)

Just trying to get an idea of what's considered 'reasonable' and what's considered 'expensive' in CR hotel-wise.

In Southeast Asia, which I've gotten so accustomed to, 4-star hotels are normally fairly cheap ($65-90/night total), so my concept of overpriced is a bit out-of-whack.

Thanks for the advice...keep it comin'!

Bosque del Cabo has a meal plan that you can get, so hence the per person charge - it's isolated, so I think that would appeal to you. The food is very good there, lots of variety. The main appeal there is wildlife; we saw all 4 kinds of monkeys, sloths, toucans, scarlet macaws - the hiking is amazing.

In Monteverde, we liked Fonda Vela - if you stay there, get a new junior suite; they were very comfortable and the prices were affordable. Rooms had t.v., bathtub, and frig - not all that common to have in CR. Great grounds for spotting birds and restaurant on site. We enjoyed ziplining, hiking in the Reserve, and doing the night hike at Hidden Valley.

Bosque del Cabo is considered in the higher range of Costa Rica lodge rates, but has a devoted following. It is quite isolated so you won't be overrun with tourists!

In CR you are able to find nice hotels from $100 - $150 per night.

What is your price range for boutique hotels? That could help with suggestions...

Most places are per night but in the case of Bosque del Cabo, since there's really no option to go somewhere to eat, the prices are per person and include food. Very highly recommended.

Lost Iguana is a popular hotel in Arenal area, can't really think of any boutique ones though.

I don't see much mention of Corcovado Jungle Lodge on this board. We just stayed there & loved it. Great staff, good food. Isolated location that requires taking Sansa, then going up the river, out into the ocean, for a "wet" landing at CJL. It was great fun. We went to Cano Island for terrific snorkeling, an all-day outing into Corcovado National Park. They also have horseback riding, bird-watching trips, kayaking, etc. Look into it.

look, I think it's because BdC is so popular on the board; it's nice to hear good reviews of other places too.

filmwell -- I'm a big fan of SE Asia as well. I don't believe you will find quite the cost savings on the 5* hotels as you will in say Thailand, for one there just aren't as many in that category. For example to get a 5* rating you have to offer certain amenities. I loved the Anantara in Chang Sean for the isolation, the beautiful architecture, restaurants, cooking classes, spa, elephants, etc.

In Costa Rica my favorite is Bosque del Cabo. Here the cabinas are more simple and rustic, but clean and comfortable with nice big beds and wonderful outdoors showers surrounded by beautiful grounds. A couple of them have outdoor tubs. The staff here immediately become your friends. The meals are excellent and you look forward to each one. The bar and lounge by the pool is a wonderful place to swim and relax in between hikes while contemplating which trail to hike next. The trails, by the way, are well groomed and offer many diverse primary and secondary forest growth flora and fauna. BDC provides a map with the length, difficulty and what you might expect to see along the way. The guided on-site walks are offered by trained staff that are both interesting and fun. In short no matter where you are, on your porch in the hammock overlooking the bluff, walking up the driveway, lounging by the pool, or exploring a trail you are bound to see an abundance of wildlife that will demand you keep your eyes and ears wide open 24/7 (well, almost).

Good luck deciding!

P.S. In Arenal I really love El Silencio del Campo. Again there are cabinas sprinkled about, hot springs on the grounds and really wonderful local owners and staff.

Thanks so much for the advice so far!

Price range for hotels would ideally be $100-150 max/night. In one place only can we splurge (and that would be the $150-300 max/night range) and only for 3 days max.

So maybe:

Arenal - 3 nights
Corcovado - 3 nights
TBD - 2 nights
San Jose - 1 night

Still have to figure what the TBD will be. Monteverde, I keep reading, is not exactly convenient to get to. Any suggestions on somewhere we could squeeze in? We don't normally like to stay too stationary too long...or are we trying to cram too much in?

Regarding airfare (from LAX)...it seems that it's a bit on the high side right now (fares are about $680/RT) I remember looking at last-minute fares for December (when we thought we might go last month) and it was about $390/RT...and December is more 'peak' than November, right?

Is it better to book hotels and then wait on airfare a bit? Also, I know Continental flies via Houston, but it seems that LACSA has a nonstop from LAX. Any suggestions on which is more preferable/reputable?

Hi there CR newbie- I wrote a blog post for work where I interviewed a colleague who recently returned from Costa Rica, and I thought she had some great travel tips. She was a newbie too. You can read it here if you're interested:
http://blog.tripit.com/2008/12/andreas-costa-r.html

Hello all: I am also a CR newbie and, as of last night, new to the posting stuff so hopefully protocol allows me to put a question to all you knowledgable people, too.
I will be hitting Costa Rica at the end of a 5wk trip thru Central America at the beginning of May. Since I will have beach time in other places and I don't want to stay at a beach in what I understand is the beginning of the "rainy" season, I had nixed the ideas of going to Tamarindo or Jaco. I am a city person so was going to stay in San Jose and just do a day trip to Arenal as I love hot springs but have had plenty of wildlife viewing and nature in places like the Amazon, Galapagos and Africa. I travel alone so want to go to a place that has other travelers to meet, chat, dance with as opposed to an isolated place with honeymooners or couples or families who have their own company. I also have limited time in CR, probably 3-4 days only.
So, can anyone recommend a good hotel in San Jose? For security, and because I'm not 20 anymore, I prefer small hotels over hostels. Because I prefer to spend the money on length of travel, not luxuries, I don't usually pay more than say $90US/night, don't care about fancy rooms and like to eat local food. I was thinking of the Gran Hotel or Hotel Presidente downtown because they are near Salsa 54, which I hear is a good salsa club, anyone been there?
I assume the hotels can hook me up with a daytrip to Arenal - I really want to do the Tabacon hot springs and will be one of those pesky tourists hopping off the bus for a few hours unless I maybe do 2 nights at Tabacon, in which case I gather I would have to make an exception to my budget! Anyone know of a zipline tour nearby? Or a reputable shuttle service who can take me to all 3?
I am so excited to have found this forum! Thank you in advance.

above post link seems to be advertising.... not a blog (ahem, editors...)

lil, we liked the hotel Grano de Oro in San Jose; it's built in an old mansion and has a lot of charm and good service. I think we paid about 100 bucks a night. If I were you, I would stay in Arenal instead of daytripping there - it's about 3 hours from San Jose, and there's so much to do there. We usually stay 3 or 4 nights and don't run out of things to do.

Forgot to mention ziplines, SkyTrek in Arenal is probably the most popular because it has very long, high lines and a tram that carries you up. Personally I wouldn't stay at Tabacon, especially if you're on a budget.

thank you volcanogirl. I was looking at the Tabacon prices and it does seem high. Do you have any other recommendations for accommodation near Arenal? ie, I see Hotel La Fortuna is in town, offers tours, could get view of volcano, expats and Spanish chat, all for a negotiated price of $45 by TripAdvisor travelers, who actually rated it higher than Tabacon. As it stands now, my flight from Managua gets me into San Jose May 5 (I think a Tues) at 9:40am. Do you know of a shuttle to La Fortuna, or if La Fortuna hotels can arrange pickup? Then maybe I'll spend my last night in SJ.

There's a shuttle service called Interbus that's really popular; check their website to see if it will meet your needs. We usually hire a private driver through our hotels, but that will run you about 120 bucks.

We stay at Lost Iguana and love it, but it's more isolated and pricey; Silencio del Campo gets good reviews if you want to check it out.

Hey Guys, Newbie #3 asking for help as well.

Leaving for CR at the end of May 09, staying at the Hilton Papagayo in Guanacaste. Any suggestions for activities from this area? My husband and I will be staying for seven days. I've read most of the previous entries, but most of them seems to advising staying in other areas. I will take infor offered to Filmwill, but could use a little help speciic to my area of lodging. Thanks in advance.