This will be my first trip to Costa Rica and the travel agency set up this 8 Day itinerary for us. I need advice or suggestions before booking. This trip is planned for mid-November.

Day-1
Arrive and stay at the Alta Hotel.

Day-2
Do white water rafting during the day on the Pacure and return back to the hotel.

Day-3
Rent a 4x4 and drive to Tamarindo. We will be staying at the Captain Suizo hotel.

Day-4
Go snorkeling from a 30ft. sailboat.

Day-5
Day to relax

Day-6
Go to Rincon De La Vieja/Buena Vista Canopy & Natural Spa Tour. Do the canopy tour and then ride horesback to the volcano for spa treatment.

Day-7
Drive back to San Jose and stay at the Alta Hotel.

Day-8
Fly back home.

All this is costing me $2,285.00 for the both of us. What do you think?

I think this is nice itinerary if you want to do white water rafting. Capitan Suizo is a great hotel and in mid November it should be fairly quiet. See if you can get a bungalow there (but keep in mind the bungalows do not have A/C) - number 4 is best. A day trip to Rincon de la Vieja is fun - it is a beautiful area, not very touristy.

I don't know anything about Alta Hotel.

You may want to check into the costs of booking everything yourself. I find that it is usually much cheaper. Although, being your honeymoon, you may want the convenience of letting someone else handle it.

The cost seems a little high. When I ran your hotels and itinerary through my head, I came up with about $1600 total. Perhaps a lot of meals are included that you didn't mention? We always book everything ourselves. . .it really isn't a lot of trouble. . .usually just a few e-mails on the computer. You can price virtually everything from the websites. Again, seems a little high.

Sounds like a fun itinerary... we are booking our honeymoon there in September, and we're just getting started. Can you (or all of you wonderful Fodorites) recommend some places to compare packages and/or starting from scratch? Websites, mostly. Assume we'll be scouring this site regularly. We are looking for self-drives and fun activities!

Does your price quote inclue air fare? What about taxes?

Dear LeighNewland,
there are 3 very strong travel agencies that dominate any search you do online for Costa Rica. They are:
www.vacationscostarica.com
www.centralamerica.com
www.crica.com
You can see some of the packages they use, and then design one on your own that suites your needs and budgets (and either book it yourself or use an agency).
Since you are in the preliminary stage of your trip planning, I recommend you read an old post called "some thoughts about planning a trip to Costa Rica". You may find it helpful, as there are some specific things to think about when planning a trip to Costa Rica.
Please feel free to write me directly for any more information and with any more questions.
Pura vida,
Neta Talmor

Thanks for all the posts. My itinerary did not include airfare, so maybe we should look into booking ourselves, since it seems a little high.

If your package does not include airfare than it is WAY TOO HIGH! And I've never heard anyone mention Alta Hotel so that makes me nervous too. Capitan Suizo is great, but is only about $125 or less for a room in November. Yes, I say do it yourself!

Agree. Way, way too high if it did not include air/taxes/etc.