crlover10

Hello Fodorites, we didnt make our planned trip to CR. Hard to write this but our passports were outdated. Thats the bad news. Maybe someone else can learn from our mistake.
We are trying to take the positive approach, cause our plan is to go the end of Oct./ beg. of Nov. This time we will have a better understanding of what we want to do.

Is the weather Ok this time of year especially since i've read that its rain almost twice as much in parts of CR.

our tentative plan is to spend
3 days in Monteverde
4 days in Arenal
2 days in Flamingo area
5 days in BdC

We are planning on renting a 4x4 for the front end of our trip and fly to BdC for the last part.

Is 3 days too much in Monteverde. Should we use one of them for a stop at Poas/LaPaz.

Shillmac, welcome back. Sounds like you had another great trip.
You are always good at suggestions. What do you think? Also, I read where you had spend a little time on a recent trip where you seen about 50 birds that you had not seen before? Is it located close enough to incorporate it in our plans?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated,
Thanks, Bill

hipvirgochick

crlover10 -- Oh, I'm sooo sorry to hear that. I can only imagine how you must feel. But, now that you have recooped and are staying positive, I'm happy to hear your perservering with you CR trip!

I think you would be happy with 2 nights in Monteverde. I haven't been there myself, but I have been to Poas/La Paz and it's definitely worth a day. I think your chances of having rain are good, maybe less so if you push your trip to end of Nov/beg of Dec. Don't know if that's a possibility...?

thit_cho

Sorry to hear about that. What does it mean to have an "outdated" passport -- is it (i) that it was expired, (ii) didn't have six months additional life (is Costa Rica a country that requires the passport to remain valid for at least six months after entry), or (iii) something else? Thanks

tunadoc

I've been there once, about 6 years ago (so that could be ancient history in CR).

As far as whether or not 3 days is too much for Monteverde, that partly depends on your tastes and what you mean by 3 days.

On the latter point, remember it takes quite a while (half the day) to get to Monteverde from San Jose or Arenal due to the rough roads. So, you might stay 3 nights but really have only 2 full days. This is what we are planning for our trip in about a week.

The cloud forest is a bit different from other areas, and between hanging bridge walks, canopy tours, daytime reserve tours, night time tours, horse back riding and a number of smaller (but charming) attractions (butterfly gardens, frogs, etc.), there is plenty to do.

But you may pick up some of that elsewhere, and from the photos I've seen it is worthwhile to include Poas/La Paz. Why not go from San Jose to Arenal via Poas/La Paz, then continue on to Monteverde?

volcanogirl

Oh wow, how awful. I'm glad you're still going to get to go though. Well, at least you still have something to look forward to.

We just got back from BdC, and I asked Phillip about September and October, and he said, "Who in their right mind goes to CR in October?" He's a straight-forward kind of guy! If you can, it might be best to push the trip like hip suggests.

We just did La Paz also, and I agree it is definitely worth doing - nice hike to 5 gorgeous waterfalls; we loved it. Best of luck with your trip. I was wondering if you were at BdC when we were there, but I couldn't bring myself to go up to people and ask, "Are you CRLover?"

Pat_Hewitt

I think that you would do well to keep three nights in Monteverde, and trade one of the nights at Arenal for the night at La Paz.

I think that the advice offered by "tunadoc" is right on. Two nights, really only gives you two full days in Monteverde. There is plenty to occupy your time in this very diverse location. When I plan itineraries for clients, I usually recommend at least three nights here.

I like the routing too. Start early in the day, and hit Poas before going to La Paz and the Peace Lodge for a night. Then head for Arenal the next day, continuing on to Monteverde.

Part of this itinerary confuses me. Do you plan to fly to Puerto Jimenez from Flamingo? There might be better ways to route this.

Are you spending any time in San Jose? What time of day do you arrive? Sometimes, it is a good idea to spend the first night in San Jose. You can spend the first night recharging after your flight, and starting fresh the next day. This also helps if you have a flight delay. If you arrive late, you are only check into your first hotel late. The rest of your plans are not spoiled.

This would make your flight to Puerto Jimenez easier as well. Don't forget that you have a 25 pound per person luggage limit. You have to pack for two climates. This will be a little tough. If you spent the first night near the airport, you could store excess luggage and start with Bosque del Cabo. Then pick up the extra luggage when you return, and continue with the above Poas / La Paz / Arenal / Monteverde route.

Also, what are you planning to do in Flamingo? I have been, and was not tremendously impressed. I think there are better beach options. What are you seeking here?

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Suzie2

I am so sorry you didn't get to go. Think on the bright side...so many of us are done with the excitement of planning and going and now have to start all over again.

Honestly, I wouldn't go in Oct/early Nov. Good chance of rain, particularly in BdC. Philip usually heads up to visit his family in Nicaragua so you would probably miss seeing him and learning so many wonderful things.

I agree with Pat also about Flamingo. My niece chose it as a place to visit so I spent some time there with her and her daughter. It was a good enough choice at the time for me because I had been traveling around for 4 weeks and was ready for a break. I was able to just fly home from Liberia.

It is a hike from any of the other places you will be for not much return. It is a pretty beach but at this time, things are pretty torn up with condo and store construction. Imo there isn't all that much to do around there either. If you are looking for a place to just sit for a couple of days it might be nice. Not much choice in food right there so you would have to take taxis or have a rental car to get to Brasilito or even Potrero. We weren't impressed by the breakfasts at Flamingo Beach Resort. Dinner and lunch were pretty good. I had the chicken Panini and the garlic shrimp. Both were very good. We ate at Maries once and it was as good as I remembered it from being there a few years ago. Very rustic. They have had to move, at least temporararily, from their original place because of the construction. The hotel itself is nice. Not a huge mega complex like Playa Conchal, Four Seasons, etc..

That would be a really long haul to get to BdC from. Were you planning on flying from Liberia to SJ and then on to Puerto Jimenez? It would be at least a 5-6 hr drive from Flamingo to SJ to catch a flight south. If you are really sure you want to go up there I would go first and then work your way back and drive from Arenal to SJ for a flight.

When you say 3 days in Monteverde do you plan on staying 4 nights then?

Shillmac was at Rancho Naturalista so I suspect that is where she saw the 50 species. That is a very intensive birding experience and you do see a lot. I saw my first Forest Falcon and snowcap there. Seeing 50 new species in CR is not hard if you haven't been birding for a long time. It is a wonderful country for birds. We were thrilled to see 6 new species this trip while traveling all over. We also saw a bird that we had seen in Guatemala but had never seen in CR. We ran into one of the Erwin brothers who do the guiding (I believe they may even own it now) at RN at a place we were staying. We also ran into him further north in La Fortuna where we were having lunch later in our trip. He was on his way back to Rancho Naturalista from Panama where he had been birding when we first saw him. If there is a bird nearby they will find it. It is located in the Turrialba area which is only a couple of hours south from San Jose. You could stop in Cartago to see the Bascilica or maybe visit the Orosi Valley area on your way if you wanted to drive there.

volcanogirl

Bill, if birding interests you, we took a early morning (6:30 a.m.) birding tour with Carlos at BdC, and it was great - he spotted lots of things we wouldn't have seen on our own and has a nice telescope for you to use for viewing.

gannetmusic

I agree that October / November will be very wet in the areas you want to visit. Suggest going another time.

crlover10

thanks everyone for their input, especially about the weather. I didnt want to go that late in the year due to the much higher cost for hotels. Mainly at BdC, where the cabinas are $70 more a night. But after reading all the comments about the weather there will be a definite change. I had thought about going over Thanksgiving but now that looks like what we will do. I just looked up about going over Thankgiving(Nov. 14 to Nov 30) How does that timeframe sound?

I will respond to your comments shortly. I need to check on a few other things first to make sure that this timeframe works. Thanks again for all your input

airwayvz

We have been to CR twice in mid to late November...once we returned to the U.S. the day before Thanksgiving, the other time we were in CR for Thanksgiving and a few days after.

The weather was gorgeous both times...that's considered the very end of the "green season" most places, and in my mind the perfect time to visit because you can still get green season discounted prices most places, but dry season weather for the most part.

hipvirgochick

Sorry to keep suggesting different dates, but December is supposed to be one the most beautiful months in Osa. Since you are now already into high season at BDC, what about changing to leaving that week of Thanksgiving instead (since it looks like you don't mind being in CR for the holiday) and spend the last few nights at BDC. Is it because other hotels have lower rates through 11/30? Believe me, I feel your pain on the high season $ crunch, I debated the same time frame myself. I am looking at Rancho Naturalista as well

hipvirgochick

Yikes! I can't afford Rancho Naturalista

crlover10

hello hip, will one week make that much of a difference? We have to fly with Continental cause that is who we have our unused(cancelled) tickets with and there rates are $120pp more the fly out later.

hipvirgochick

I'd just go with your Continental dates mid-November then. As Airwayz said, they experience gorgeous weather on both their trips...so chances are you will too! You will hopefully find decent mid-November rates at your other hotels too, because I notice some places don't increase until after Thanksgiving.

You're going to have a great time!

crlover10

Volcano, thanks for sharing Phillip's comment with me. That was the final deciding factor in changing our dates.
To bad we didnt get a chance to meetup, maybe then time..haha
I will definitely taking the birding trip. Sounds great. Thanks for the info

Tuna, sounds like there is alot to do at Monteverde. Just like Arenal, BdC. What to do?...haha

thit_cho, our passports were expired and CR has a really strict policy on entering the country.

Pat, we are considering going to BdC first. I wanted to save BdC last but as you said, it will probably work best doing if first. especially with our new flight times.

As far as going to Flamingo area. I used it as a point of reference. We have acquitances that live in Playa del Coco that we want to visit and also see the area.
What beaches do you think are better?
I ve read that Playa Cochal(?) is a good place which Suzie2 mentioned

Suzie2, as i said we would be visiting different area but i ve heard that Maries is a good place to eat.
Rancho Naturalista sounds like a great place to visit but guess its really expensive? Where approximately is it located at?

We havent made our flight bookings yet but we would fly in Nov 14(Wed.) arriving 9:40 PM and depart Dec 1(Sat.) 8 AM.

Does any places celebrate Thanksgiving there?

Thanks everyone for all the input. Glad that you were able to let me know before i made plan and came there and found out how bad the weather is.

Going to have to go back to the drawing board with our plans.
Thanks again.

volcanogirl

No problem crlover - we always travel around my birthday but deliberately changed our plans because that's when it gets so rainy. I think you've made a wise decision.

Not sure if you read my recent BdC trip report, but I was there on the 4th of July, and they had a celebration! We got hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, grilled chicken, the works, so I bet if you're in BdC on Thanksgiving, they could be having a celebration then.

It was quite fun to celebrate the holiday with our fellow BdCers; I had two Brits on my left and a Greek and Italian on my right, and they all wanted to celebrate with us. If the other places you're going are owned by Americans, they may celebrate as well. Have fun!

coolbluewater

We will be at BDC over Thanksgiving of this year--so if you are there...look for the bickering older Asian couple (my parents) and the pained looking younger Asian woman (me) and a nice man trying to disappear (my husband).

Have fun planning your trip!

crlover10

volcano, that would have been awesome to have been there then. sounds like you had a great time. I havent seen your posting. I have to use a library computer, so i dont normally have access that often and after what happened, I took a break to recoup, but thanks for letting me know. I will have to read your posting.

cool, I m not sure weather we will be there over Thanksgiving yet. Trying to figure a new agenda, but will definitely have to look for you if we are there. ) That a pretty funny desciption of your group.haha. What's your iternary when you are in CR? What facility are you staying at BdC?

Suzie2

Rancho Naturalista is pretty much just a birding destination. Not really a resort type place. We did spend some time with Kathy Erb's husband who took us out looking at property along the Rio Tuis. Beautiful area but tough to build on. Saw a beautiful Sun Bittern there. We then spent some time at their house. Other than that it was bird, bird, bird. Don't know if this is the type of place you are looking to go. We stayed at Casa Turire in that area as well. That was very nice. Turrialba is about 2 hrs southeast of San Jose. RN is slightly up in the Talamanca mountains-see #4. http://www.costaricagateway.com/maps/index.php

We used Costa Rica Gateway for our whole trip one year when we went to Rancho Naturalista. They did a very good job. The prices at Naturalista seem high but they do include the guides and all your food.

I am sure you will have some good weather in Nov. and this delay will just be a bad dream.

I hope you have sent your renewals. There was an enormous backlog due to the requirement change that went into effect in Jan. of 3 million applications as of the beginning of this month. Hopefully with the new people brought in to help they will get caught up and you will get your new passports in plenty of time. The wait is currently around 3 months according to recent news so you should be fine.