braz37

By the way all of the BDC, Peace Lodge and Arenal Nayara reservations are booked by me at this point so I am solid in my lodging. Looking for any comments on which units to ask for and perhaps some activities etc. See below and thanks in advance Braz.

Dates : Feb 4 - Feb 13 2009

Feb 4th - Depart Appleton, WI on frequent flyer miles trip to Cincinnati to New York to CR arriving at 10pm in SJO.

Looking for lodging very near to Airport since flight to OSA area will be out early in morning - looking for recommendation of 5-10 min from airport max.

5th-8th - BdC. Flying out early on Nature Air in morning and spending 3 nights in a deluxe cabana and then out on 8th in morning to Arenal area again via Nature Air.

8th/11th- Arenal Nayara (using deluxe rm can't seem to justify for 3 nights another $300 in fees) - Suggestion on which unit anyone?
Anyone know if any meals included here like Breakfast, unlike our next stop of Peace Lodge where you buy your own even after spending $400/night with taxes?

Feb 11th/12th - Peace Lodge staying in a deluxe - anyone recommend a particular unit I should request?

Morning of 13th - drive back to San Jose to catch a flight to home outbound using same route as inbound leaving SJO at 9am.


Seems like BDC wants cash up front for 1/2 about 2 months prior and I know its their practice but makes me nervous - that's a lot of coin up front and I see they want me to carry in the other 1/2 into a country that has some thief issues which doesn't make me all that comfortable just to help them with their cash and carry policy. I probably will make them take the other 1/2 via cc and just deal with it.

I am obviously not needing a car until Arenal area and even then with trips/tours to hanging bridges, volcano hike, canopy tour and definitely the cano negro rio frio tours don't think I need one. I was thinking of getting one to go from Arenal to Paradise area and then onto SJO airport but the stories I hear scares the you know what out of me.

I drove all over Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns while in Australia when I was there, even along the Great Ocean rode near the cliffs, on the wrong side of the road on the other side of the car and that seems like a cake walk compared to this place. Heck the rode to Hanna in Maui seems like a more fun drive. So debating on getting a driver to go to those too spots vs car rental. Anyone talk me into one way or another please?

Regards - Braz

Jim_Boo

Mango Inn, Garden Court Hotel and the Hampton Inn are all very close to the airport, less than 5 minutes!

braz37

Thanks Jim.

Anyone ever use Hotel Casa Roland it seems to get good reviews and close to Nature Air terminal in SJO?

volcanogirl

braz, you don't have to pay BdC in cash; we paid with a check when we checked out. I wanted to pay with my credit card, but they said I would have had to give them 24 hour notice.

Yep, the standard is half up front via check.

braz37

Wow I know cash is king but you would think that a cc for a business has more backing and chance of collection then a personal check. Most places in US don't do checks then prefer the other 2 forms of payment. Well I can do a check then cause I would hate to add more cash then I need to carry. Thanks for that tip Volocanogirl. This board is awesome with the little tips and suggestions - thanks again.

ttraveler

I rented a car on two of my trips to Costa Rica and we were just fine. I grew up in rural area with lots of curvy, dirt roads so I didn't feel out of my element. I think you will be completely fine. I also drove the road to Hana and it's not that bad. I think I would be more concerned with theft.The last time we rented a car it seemed as if there were so many people along the road at dusk.People riding bikes ect.. so just be aware of that as well.

shillmac

LOL ttraveler--well said. I, too, have driven the Road to Hana (it deserves capital letters!).

braz37, if you are flying Nature Air out the next a.m., Casa Roland might be your best option. Someone stayed there several months ago and posted a report on this board. You might try a search. It wasn't an entirely positive report, but as I remember, the hotel was okay.

From SJO, Pavas and Nature Air terminal is about 25-30 min. With rush hour traffic going into the city early, you'd probably be better off staying near Pavas.
The traffic could add another 30 min. to your early a.m. transfer. What time is your flight???

Otherwise I'd recommend Hotel Villa Bonita, tico-owned, great couple, 5 min. from SJO.

volcanogirl

No problem, braz; I think the credit cards are a hassle for them - I think maybe the credit cards take a percentage and also they have to get online to process it. I thought it was funny they would trust us to write them a check too. How did they know we were good for it? They're just good, trusting people. As we were leaving, the owners asked us if we could mail some letters for them back in the states, and we said sure, so they handed us a stack of bank letters, bills, etc. I guess we must look trustworthy - lol.

braz37

Some people have recommended Grano de Oro Hotel for the night stay in SJO. I don't think it is near the airport for Nature Air at all. What does anyone else think of that recommendation?

volcanogirl

We stayed there and loved it. It's a nice property built in an old mansion. It has a great restaurant on-site and excellent service. Don't believe it's near the Nature Air terminal though. Nice rooftop garden with hot tubs. Check out the reviews on tripadvisor.com; I think they're pretty accurate.

sftravelers2008

We just back from Costa Rica and want to share my insight:

grano de oro is beautiful, deserves more than just the last night. nature air is about 3 miles from there.

Arenal nayara is gorgeous! property is a bit small compared to others but the colors are amazing.

Got to check out a new restaurant in Fortuna called Down to Earth. Is amazing, very creative, out of the ordinary.

my vbest recommendation is to hire a driver in fortuna, no need for rentals there. we used a great guy, actually Romanian immigrant, his name is DORU and can be reached in his cell, 506-8360-2530. He is reasonable and with a great service attitude.