Just returned from first trip to Costa Rica. Thanx for those who answered my questions before I left. We are a family of four, our kids are 18 and 20. It was a great trip, and I highly recommend it. Our itinerary was pretty modest, we stayed at Arenal for two days and were blown out by the weather. There was an impressive wind and rain storm New Years Eve night, and the next day it continued to rain so we drove to Playa Hermosa for a night, then on to Capitan Suizo in Tamarindo for six nights.
A few observations, and things I wished I had known.
Montana de Fuego lost our reservation despite a call to confirm a week before our arrival. They did find us a room at the Arenal Country Inn.
We loved Capitan Suizo. Tamarindo is dusty and congested, but on the plus side has some good, reasonable restaurants. We liked Nogui's, the Lazy Wave, Gecko's and Capitan Suizo's. Service is slow by American standards but you get used to it.
This was primarily a surf trip and it was a bit small for my intermediate surfer son, maybe 2 to 3 feet at Tamarindo but better at Playa Grande. It's a matter of hitting the swells, apparently from December to March the Caribbean side has the bigger surf. Tamarindo is a great spot for beginners.
We did the turtle tour at Playa Grande Marine Turtle National Park. Very memorable--you have your hotel make a reservation for you, but then be prepared to wait outside for the groups to go through the museum and wait for the turtles to arrive. You may need to wait for three hours so be prepared. This also can be a very late night. It' very surreal being on a moonlit beach watching a 500 plus pound turtle laying and burying her eggs. You may also have to hike a bit to get to the turtles.
Bugs weren't much of a problem. There were very few mosquitoes. Sand fleas/and no seeums cause some itchy ankle bites.
The cash machine at Tamarindo is a little tricky. Make sure you punch in all your zeroes in your colones. Otherwise it worked fine, there's a line for it sometimes and once it ran out of cash.
The roads can be a challenge. The drive along the north side of Arenal after the windstorm was interesting--mudslides, trees, down, with just enough cleared for a car to pass, a band of coatimundis. It was fun. The worst drive was coming in to San Jose. The last 70 km was a crawl, with lots of aggressive drivers.
Allow some time at the airport to pay your exit tax--26 bucks apiece in either dollars or colones, I did a combo. Apparently they now take a credit card.
That's all I can think of. Happy to answer any questions. Costa Rica is great!

ttt

Pluto:

Lots of minor questions about your stay at Capitan Suizo:

Are there TVs in the rooms? Do they supply toiletries (e.g., shampoo)? Are there plenty of lounge chairs/umbrellas at the pool and beach? How was their breakfast? I think the rooms have mini-refrigerators--is there a convenience store nearby to buy drinks? (We won't have a car while we are staying there at the end of February.) THANKS!!!

Pluto, thanks for the trip report. Glad to hear you enjoyed Capitan Suizo!
Fluffandfold, we stayed at Capitan Suizo on 3 separate occassions so I can answer some of your questions. There are no TVs in the rooms. There are plenty of lounge chairs around the pool and each room/bungalow has 2 lounge chairs on its terrace or balcony. As to the beach, however, there are only a few basic wooden lounges in the shade and some hammocks. To me that was always more than enough as I don't like "baking" in the direct sun.

Breakfast at Capitan Suizo is very good with a nice selection of freshly baked breads, pastries, fruit. There is also cheese and cold cuts (that's the European tradition), cereal, yogurt, juices etc. You have to pay a couple of dollars extra for cooked breakfast (eggs, pancakes etc.).

There are a couple of good stores within walking distance where you can buy water, snacks, wine and other drinks. You will do just fine without a car. Just remember that walking along the beach is much preferable over the dusty roads ;-)

fluffnfold
I agree with everything Iza said. They do have a soap/shampoo/conditioner dispenser mounted on the wall. We were there during peak time and there was never a shortage of lounge chairs. One thing to bear in mind is that drinks are quite cheap from the bar, pop and beer although we did use the refrigerator. No need for a car staying in Tamarindo -- Capitan Suizo can arrange any tours you would like and they pick you up at the hotel.
Have a great time.

Good report Pluto. Sorry to hear about the surf there. My husband just got back from a 2+ week surf trip to Nosara area and there was no surf there either! However, we went last January and had the best surf we've had in 8 trips there, so it's not always better in the Caribbean that time of year!

to fluffnfold:
How long are you going for?
What are some of the tours you will be taking.
Turtle egg laying tours have to be booked in advance.
Are you flying into San Jose or into Liberia.
percy

Pluto:
What did you think of Arenal Country Inn? I drove by it on my last trip and it looked like a nice place. Would be interested in any feedback.

I stayed at the Arenal Country Inn last year and thought it was nice. The hotels with volcano views were all booked at the time, and this seemed to be the nicest place in/near La Fortuna. The grounds are beautifully planted, the pool is nice, the rooms (individual cottages) were nice and comfortable, and included a refrigerator, which really came in handy. The hotel is just a short walk into La Fortuna (maybe 10 minutes tops).

The only negative I can think of is that their kitchen only makes dinner if you request it in advance... we got into town late and wanted to grab a quick bite, but they couldn't make us anything. Breakfast, however, was fine and, I believe, is included in the price of the room.

Percy:

We will be in CR for a total of 9 days: 5 in San Jose (where we are flying into/out of), and 4 in Tamarindo. We're taking all of our excursions from San Jose (Poas/La Paz, Irazu, Arenal/ Tabacon, canopy tour, aerial tram) except for the turtle tour at Tamarindo. Everything is already booked, with the exception of the canopy tour--I still can't decide which one. It seems that many on the way to/in Arenal are temporarily closed for some reason, leaving only the Original Canopy Tour at Tabacon (which sounds really small). I'm leaning towards doing the one at Iguana Park.

TAGriffin
I agree that the Arenal Country Inn was nice. Simple rooms, very nice grounds. The breakfast was very good, had hot food which is unusual.
Ally
I'll have to tell my son that January can be good. Doubtless if we'd gone to the Caribbean side the Pacific would be good. Reminds me of fishing.

fluffnfold,
If you haven't booked any canopy tour yet, you should know that Iguana Park is closed. However, please look into Turubari park, which is located only 10 minutes from Iguana Park. Turubari (www.turubari.com) is a tropical park which opened only recently and has a beautiful Canopy Tour (6 or 16 platforms, depending on what you choose), aerial tram, butterfly farm, tropical gardens, great lunch and much more. I live only 15 minutes from Turubari, and I recommend it with all my heart to everyone!
Please let me know if you need any more help, you can write directly to my email!
Pura Vida,
Neta.

Pluto, Thanks for the great trip report. So much incredible information on this board as we plan our first trip to Costa Rica.

I read a post recently that described a very polluted Tamarindo beach because of all the horse action. We had decided on Capitan Suizo because of Iza's past recommendations (although her most recent visit there left us reconsidering) and because our 2 kids are beginning surfers. Did you find the beach to be polluted, and over crowded with horses? We're starting to look at Mal Pais and Saint Therese instead of Tamarindo, after reading again Iza's last trip report about her time there. Would love to know what think about the conditions of the beach area at Tamarindo -- Katie