Mochi7

Our family was planning to take 1-week vacation in Costa Rica begining of the next week. I have been reading about news that due to heavy rain and tropical storm, CR's highways are severely damaged and many roads are closed. I just checked Policia de Transito site, and found out that the road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio (where we plan to stay for few days) is closed as of today.

I would appreciate advise from Fodor members who lives in CR. Is it wise to reschedule this trip?

We got non-refundable air ticktes and made deposits or paid in full for hotels in CR as that was their policy. It would be sad if we end up losing all of that, but I would still take safty over risk. (We are also travelling with our 4-yr old son). Am I over reacting to the road damage reported by the news media?

Thank you for your help.
Mochi

Latitude9Lisa

Mochi, I will be in the Manuel Antonio/Quepos today and report back via this forum on the conditions in the area. It is my understanding at this point that the road is closed for repair between Quepos and the park; however, the "old road" has been repaired enough to facilitate traffic to these areas. It is inconceivable to me that the area is shut off entirely so maybe patience is what is needed to get thru this glitch. Lisa

tully

If you scroll down and find the thread "Rain Emergency in Costa Rica" a poster just returned from the area and posted comments about it. They did not seem to have any issues.

hsmithcr

There are some roads that are still closed but many of them are in rural areas. Any of the main roads that are closed will have people working on them to get them back open. Typically, during a repair of this sort, the road may be closed for a few hours in some sections in order for heavy equipment to work. Keep checking the transito site.

There are always alternatives to get around any road that is closed. Don't cancel your vacation - you will be fine.

octalon7

Yep, that was me. I was just there. You will be fine. The road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio is open again. They also have a dirt road between the two that was open when the main road was down, so that's there as a contingency still. We had no issues driving from San Jose to La Fortuna/Arenal and from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. Some of the roads were beat up and being worked on, but all passable.

I want to go back...

Mochi7

Thank you all so much! I was seriously thinking about canceling this trip last night. I’m relieved to see your responses– it seems that we should be able to handle it…..am glad that we reserved Toyota Rav4.

My husband and I been to CR twice (before our son) and drove around – we saw some of the roads being washed out but we handle that just fine. However, seeing the recent pictures of the collapsed roads and major landslides was alarming.

It is good to hear that we could still drive to the major sites we plan to visit.

Lisa – I look forward to reading your post.

Thanks again,
Mochi

Latitude9Lisa

The road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio is open and traffic is flowing well between the two areas. You may be stopped for a few minutes to allow for work vehicles in the area. From what I observed (and the multitude of people I spoke with) this area is absolutely fine for a visit (and the weather is getting better day by day too!) Additionally there is work on the Parrita bridge and two sections of road between Parrita and Quepos. Just some slow ups but absolutely nothing significant nor reasoning to cancel your vacation IMO. If you had not seen pics of the damage, I'm not sure you would know that such an event transpired a few weeks ago. It would simply be roadwork and repair which is so entirely typical throughout the area esp. at the end of the green season. Have a safe and happy vacation!

Mochi7

Thanks Lisa. Hope you are having a great time in Costa Rica.