britomart

Thanks Tully. There will only be 2 of us. I prefer riding in a car vs. flying since it's a better way to see some scenery. And I was assuming that the price for a private driver would be comparable to flying.

Unbearable heat would be... I'm not sure, really. 90's with high humidity? I *think* we will be able to handle it, and I've read that the rainshowers cool things off?

Is there anywhere that would have good snorkeling in August?

tully

In some places it's a wash as far as flying. You can fly from SJO to Quepos (MA) on Nature Air for $54 per person, about a 20 minute flight. A private driver will run you (approx) $120-$140. You could go in one way and out another.

Many places in CR always have really good breezes, it's a constant sweat, cool-off, sweat etc. I've only had once (in Cabo Blanco Park) where I thought I would pass out from the heat and it wasn't even that humid, just direct sun and uphill.

Not sure about the snorkeling...have never really heard raves about snorkeling in CR, at least on the Pacific side.

hipvirgochick

Britomart -- I'm in Seattle too. It does take some adjustment to get used to the heat and humidity, but not unbearable. One reason I suggested Puerto Viejo is because of the time of year you mentioned (less rain), also less touristy and affordable accommodations...plus I really like the area. Snorkeling isn't that great in CR as a whole, but Cahuita and Punta Uva get the best mention in the PV area. With Interbus you are picked up and dropped off at your hotel and the legs are typically $35/$45 each. You often ride in a van, sometimes when there's more people you will have a larger bus. I've always enjoyed meeting people on these rides. As tully said though, the airports are so small you drive up, check in, and wait to walk out the door to get on the plane, no real terminals per se.

britomart

Hipvirgochick: Since you're from Seattle, can I ask what you've paid for airfare? What would be a good price?

volcanogirl

I've never thought of CR as third world either. They have something like a 95% literacy rate, good health care, etc. Regarding the heat, Manuel Antonio was really hot when we were there - in the 90s; we're from Houston, and we needed air conditioning. I'm sure it varies according to day and time of year; we were there in July. The afternoon showers were great because they helped cool things off. MA was not at all polluted when we were there, but the snorkeling was bad, the water has a lot of sediment in it that makes it difficult to see anything. The beaches and water are beautiful though.

hipvirgochick

If I remember our last trip was pretty high...I missed out when they were low(er) and then I think paid $670/per ticket. This was Spring break/and following Easter week. I think the year before about $100 less per ticket. For upcoming trip in June I used FF miles so I'm not sure what airfare is. Although, when I was watching it for my exact dates and flights it was swaying between $800-$1,100! Yikes! Hopefully, you're finding better? I would think it would go down in August. AA seems usually to have the best, 1 stop flights for duration and cost.

britomart

I signed up for a fare alert on kayak and got one today for $500 roundtrip. Should I snag it?

I'm still debating M.A. vs. Puerto Viejo.

MarthaT

If you are traveling to Tortuguero first that is alot of traveling from San Jose airport. Your best bet would be to fly there IMHO.
I know you don't want a tour but check Caravan Tours, I really liked their tour. It is only 1000.00 per person for 9 days and they go to all the places you want to go.

Andrea_loves_travel

I agree with Tully on his/her candid responses.
We recently got back from CR and did the same destinations you're considering except instead of Tortuguero we did Malpais (on nicoya peninsula). We didn't rent a car and we didn't go on a tour. Within Arenal, we took cabs to get between La Fortuna and our hotel, but you wouldn't need to if you stayed in La Fortuna. To go to hanging bridges, we joined a tour (Jacomar tours) because it was only a little more expensive for 2 of us to do that, than to take a taxi, and then we had a tour guide. Within La Fortuna you can walk from one end to the other of the town in 10 minutes.

Within Monteverde/Santa Elena, we stayed in Santa Elena and the little triangle you see in a map can be walked around in 5 minutes - it is not big. If you stay outside of Santa Elena then I imagine you would want to take cabs or walk. To get to Santa Elena Cloud Forest reserve we used the Selvetura bus and did the canopy tour that afternoon.

Within Quepos/Manual Antonio you could stay near the park/beach as someone else suggested. La Posada is literally right next to the park. There was a backpacker's hostel along the same street for $10 per person. I think it was Costa Linda. We stayed up the hill from the beach, which offers better views but is a "challenging" walk back up from the beach, due to the lack of sidewalks. However we did find a public bus (that you seem wary of) for only 210 colones which is like 50 cents and goes all the way to Quepos... or you could take a taxi.

Basically long story short, you won't have a problem at all without a rental car. We avoided it because they are very expensive, and the roads are bad.

From city to city we did the following:
San Jose -> Heredia (free airport transfer with our hotel)
Heredia -> San Jose Pavas airport ($20 cab ride)
San Jose Pavas -> Tambor airport (Nature Air)
Tambor -> Malpais ($40 cab ride, and return as well)
Tambor -> Manuel Antonio (Nature Air)
Manuel Antonio -> Monteverde (Private driver, $130!!!)
Monteverde -> Arenal (taxi/boat/taxi pre-arranged, $25 each)
Arenal -> San Jose Intl Airport (Interbus, $38 each)

We really didn't spend much on cabs the whole time except from Tambor to Malpais and back. Within Arenal for 2 days we spent maybe $20 total on cabs.

Also someone mentioned to you to wait until next year if you don't have the money to spend more - I don't agree. The private driver we had said CR is really hurting due to lack of tourism this year, and is a lot less busy than usual. I would even more recommend to go this year.

good luck with the planning.