cmerrell

I have a couple of friends who have booked airfare to CR for the end of Jan/beginning of Feb 2011. This will be their first visit. They tend to be the type that don't do much pre-planning; kind of fly by the seat of their pants... I've warned them that they'll be traveling during peak tourist season, but I don't really have a good idea for exactly what that means since I've never been to CR during that time of year myself!

They'll have ~9 days. They are interested in Arenal and possibly the Osa, but that's about as far as they've gotten in their planning phase. I'm trying to help them out by supplying suggestions and info. Obviously, if they want to stay at an Osa lodge, the sooner they line up accommodations the better, but what about Arenal? I've recommended places like AOL, Silencio del Campo, Arenal Lodge, etc... How far in advance do they need to act if there's a specific place they decide they'd like to stay? I'm sure most of you will "sooner the better", but I don't think they're ready to make decisions right now. How long can they wait before the popular options fill up? Or is that even likely that everything will fill up for the end of January?

Thanks for any feedback!

shillmac

Hi cam, it's been good to "see" you on the boards again lately!

With the current economy, one might assume your friends would have no worries waiting a couple of months. You know how it is, though; if there is a particular place that is really important to you, it is best to snag it early during the high season. The good thing is that there are so many nice places to choose from, particularly in the Arenal area.

Are you up for another GTG?!

cmerrell

Thanks Jill!

I know it's actually sort of a vague, open-ended question to ask how far in advance you should book. I guess I was trying to get a feel for how busy Arenal typically is during that timeframe to help them plan a little better. They have actually suggested that I consider joining them for the first part of their trip (would probably equate to a long weekend for me, which is easy enough to do from Florida provided I can find decent airfare...). So now I'm doubly motivated to help them plan!

Definitely let me know if you set the wheels in motion for another GTG. I have a couple of irons in the fire for upcoming travel opportunities, but nothing is solidified yet.

RAC

If they want to stay at the AOL, they should do so ASAP. It fills up 6 months in advance.

colibri

As RAC says, AOL fills up early, but I think they are fine on waiting for any other Arenal lodge. There are so many to choose from that even if they can't get first choice, lots more offering roughly the same.

RAC

True, we've just found that if you want your first choice of hotels--especially if that hotel is especially prominent or unique--that one needs to book way in advance.

We booked this time of year for a February trip a few years ago--6 out of our top 9 choices in Monteverde were booked solid and we were only able to get one night in a Smithsonian at the AOL.

cmerrell

Thanks for the input Colibri and RAC. AOL was one of my top recommendations to them, and I was figuring that they would probably need to act soon if they want to stay there. I was just hoping that they'd still have some other good choices available if they do decide to wait awhile to book. I will pass this info along to them. Thanks!