jwell

Hi All - I've been reading your posts and researching for several weeks now. I am going to CR with my husband and 2 kids (ages 17 and 11) 6/18-6/28/08. First time. Flying into San Jose, then headed to MA for 6 nights (3 at Tulemar bungalows and 3 at BVV). Then off to Arenal for 3 nights at Leaves and Lizards and our last night at Pura Vida outside of San Jose so we're close to the airport. Our plans were dictated by the hotel availability and I know that MA and Arenal are not close. I am worried about travel time and driving in CR. We planned to rent a car but there are some horrible stories posted about accidents/theft/general driving conditions. I thought it would be fun to have our own car and explore but now I'm wondering if we're better off with a driver? Also, someone suggested to me that 6 nights is too long in MA. Not sure I can cancel my reservations now but I think there will be plenty to do between excursions and having time to chill on the beach and RELAX. Any and all comments/advice is greatly appreciated! We know we'd like to zipline and go horseback riding (L&L in Arenal has horses on their property) but other than that, we have no set plans. Any thoughts on mangrove tours, hot springs (Tabacon/Eco termales/Baldi) or in general, anything you can offer is welcome. I'd like to get an itinerary together. Thanks to all of the CR "regulars" who are willing to share so much info. It puts us first-timers at ease to know that we have some good information to go by. I look forward to hearing from you - Jenn!

meliss35

My family went to CR two summers ago. We drove all over CR and had no problems. The driving takes longer than here because of the conditions of the roads. We stayed in Tulemar Bungalows and loved it. The private beach was great with lounge chairs, boogie boards and kayaks. The view from our bungalow was amazing and the pool was great. In Arenal we took the kids waterfall rapelling. It was the best thing we ever did. It was scary but worth doing it. My kids were 11 and 15. Definitely go to Tabacon especially during the day. Have a great trip.

shillmac

Hi jenn,
You've already done your homework, I think, and your plan sounds like a winner. Please don't fret over having a car and getting around safely. Driving is never foolproof, but the roads you will be traveling on are decent (except in just a spot or two) and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Relax about that!

We always have a great time driving around, even when we were green and didn't have a clue where we were going--only our trusty Berndston & Berndston map! Get yourself one ahead of time and become familiar with it. The roads are marked much better now than they were even 3 years ago.

Use normal precautions regarding driving after dark, not leaving your car with your things in it, following the speed limits (which are really fairly slow, usually not over 80 kph, which is about 48 mph), and drive defensively, always alert. Like you would anywhere!

You'll be very glad to have a car at Arenal which is all spread out. You really don't need one at MA, but since you'll have one and 6 days on your hands, you can take a day to explore down toward Dominical--now THIS is a rough road, between MA and Dominical, but I think you'd enjoy the day's adventure to some of the more southern beaches. Check out Playa Ventana. . . .about 30 min. south of Dominical.

It will be nice to have 6 days there to allow you time to do NOTHING at least some of the time!

Enjoy yourselves--and don't worry!!! The horror stories are few and far between, but they stand out. The vast majority of folks have positive and fun experiences.

tully

It's hard to say too much/too little. I would say if you weren't going to be penalized to add 1 night to Arenal and do 5 in MA. The park is a great place to enjoy the whole day, you can take lunch in or keep your stub and go have lunch near the entry (though you may have to wait to get back in id they're full). You may want to look into the Rainmaker tour, haven't done it but it looks fantastic. Canopy Safari is good for ziplines, Iguana Tours can set up a lot of different activities. Can't comment on renting a car as I never do, but MA is pretty easy to get around without one while Arenal is a little more spread out. Plus I know L & L is a little further out so having a car may be a great use to there.

volcanogirl

In Arenal, definitely do Cano Negro, Tabacon if you like bling and EcoTermales if you like more low-key hot springs, maybe zipline at SkyTrek, do the Hanging Bridges, and volcano watch. In MA, hike the park to see wildlife, do the mangrove tour, and maybe horseback ride with Finca Valmy. Have fun!

Suzie2

6 days is a little long for MA in my opinion but I am sure you can make the most of it. Having time to relax is never a bad thing on vacation. Heading south for the day is a good idea. The kids, and you, might enjoy Hacienda Baru. We were in the Dominical, Uvita, Ojochal area last year at about that time and had great weather. Weather is always unpredictable but at least you know you will have a chance of it being nice.

Driving always takes me a little time to get used to. I grew up not too far outside NYC so chicken is a driving game I understand. I live in Ohio now where most people are pretty polite so I have to adjust. Night is a bad time to drive. People, kids, animals are all out on the roads.

A couple of things to remember, you won't leave anything in the car..will you? I don't know how many times we hear from people who say they knew not to do it but did. If you do have an accident do not move the car until the police tell you you can.

The government is really working on the roads. There are supposed to be 7 big improvement areas this year as well as smaller local work. Except for a trip to Dominical you will probably not have much in the way of bad roads. Watch out for pot holes but even those are getting better on the main roads.

These days in the more touristy areas a lot of people are going to be North Americans who follow the rules so you won't be alone. Do watch out for speed traps and if you get stopped do not give anybody any money. Some rental companies will tell you to bring the ticket to them and they will take care of it.

Problems are always dramatic. You don't see postings with exclamation marks saying DRIVE IN COSTA RICA!!! NOT ROBBED IN COSTA RICA!!!! and yet, more people go and have great trips with no problems than those that do. So.....go, have fun, and take lots of pictures to share with those of us not down there.

jwell

I can't change my Tulemar reservations to add one more night in Arenal (as Tully suggested) but I'm sure we'll keep ourselves busy over our 6 nights in MA. Plus, staying 3 nights at Tulemar bungalows and 3 at Buena Vista Villas will break it up a bit. The car rental for our entire trip is going to be about $800 so I'm thinking it may be more economical to have a driver take us from the SJ airport to MA (since we really won't need a car for our 6 days in MA). My question is...if I have a driver take us from MA to the next part of our trip at Leaves and Lizards, could I rent a car there and then drop it off at the San Jose airport? Or we could rent a car before leaving MA and drive to Leaves and Lizards on our own. I'm not even sure if it's an option (to rent a car in MA or Arenal that would allow us to leave the car at the SJ airport at the end of our trip). Do any of you know the answer to this?

I am still torn between Tabacon, Eco termales and Baldi. People have very strong opinions about noise level/authenticity/being too "touristy", etc. I'd enjoy a quieter, less-crowded place but if Tabacon is more "teen friendly" with slides and such, my kids may like it better there.

I am sure I will have more questions as our trip gets closer. Thank you all for your input and for taking the time to give advice to all of the first-timers! It is greatly appreciated! I am not going to stress much over these decisions b/c I know that we'll have a great time.

ONE MORE THING...if you have any favorite eating spots in MA, Arenal/La Fortuna or on the ride in between, PLEASE SHARE WITH ME!!
Thanks so much - Jenn

volcanogirl

I think Tabacon is very teen friendly. My husband loved the water slide there, so I think teens would definitely go for it. It's expensive though, so when we go back this summer, we're going to EcoTermales. Also EcoTermales limits the number of people they let in and has a rep. for having good food.

For restaurants in MA, we loved Ronnie's Place/Mi Lugar, liked Barba Roja, Salsipuedes, and Cafe Milagro too. Cafe Milagro is good if you need a little Starbucks fix. Try their expresso shakes. Ronnie's Place is known for lobster and fresh seafood.

In Arenal, El Novillo has good steaks. We also like La Choza de Laurel - they're known for rotisserie chicken, but we had casados and enjoyed them.