volcanogirl

Sorry about the typo above - should be "go" .

emmagus

O.K. thanks for everyones input and help. After careful thought....we think that going to Osa is going to be very expensive and that we should probably go to Monteverde and Arenal and save the extra money towards going back to Japan as soon as we can to visit our relatives.

volcanogirl

There's a good transportation service called Jeep Boat Jeep through Desafio that runs between Arenal and Monteverde if you want to look into it. It cuts across the lake and saves you a little time on the bumpy road. The views are really beautiful. It was between $25-30 a person the last time we used it.

Continental_Drifter

No one above suggested Samara as your beach destination. It's a tiny town with some great beach bars, a surf school and several good restaurants. It's a simple tiny place with a crescent beach. You can even get a fisherman to take you out to an islet just offshore for snorkeling.

You could split your week between Arenal/Monteverde/Samara.

Also - It was a great place for our kids.

emmagus

Oh boy....more confusion. O.K. Continental Drifter, I am going to look at Samara....because I gotta admit....I was a little concerned by Lonely Planet's description of Monteverde as being a paradise on a good day and Disneyland on a bad one! Yikes
I think this may all depend on whether we are too late for a car.

Kinkazote

emmagus--

Don't be disuaded from your plan by every suggestion that comes along. There are dozens and dozens of places that would provide enjoyment for you. If you allow yourself to be confused as they are dealt out one by one, it will be Easter of 2012 before you come up with a plan.

Your original plan, Arenal and Tortuguero, sounded great to me. No, for your situation, it sounds PERFECT! What kind of hiking were you planning? All day treks into the jungle? Probably not. We had a wonderful 40 minuite walk at Turtle Beach Lodge in Tortugeuro. Seemed great to me for 7 years olds.

Stick with your plan and book it ASAP.

volcanogirl

I don't think of Monteverde as Disneyish - if you go to the reserves, it's just beautiful hiking, wildlife, birds, cloud forest, etc. and the night hikes are cool.

emmagus

I know, I know, I know.....I am so friggin confused. We were just saying how hard it is to change gears. we were planning on visiting relatives in Japan and suddenly we are using travel vouchers for a totally different kind of experience!

aprillilacs

That I agree with, emmagus. We are sticking with Japan in May/June, which we had fully planned and reserved (all 5 weeks of it!), with the only change being cancellation of the Tohoku portion of our trip (we're now flying between KIX and Hokkaido instead of taking the train and stopping off along the way). I just couldn't get my mind around changing all those plans and finding someplace new, so we're going with it.

emmagus

I think by May/June you will be fine...especially going to Hokkaido. Our kids are in school and we just couldn't pull them out then....for us, summer would be tough since my mother in law has no AC and there may be limited AC in Tokyo this year (it really gets brutally hot there). It has been really tough changing plans....and hence all my indecision and confusion.

Continental_Drifter

We did not find Monteverde Disney-ish at all! We'd squeeze it in also...

Also - try Costa Rica Surf for a car rental. I have another post on here for www.crsurf.com. Go to their rental car site and post an inquiry. They'll find you a car if there's one to be had!

emmagus

Thanks everyone. We got a car we got our tickets (I was waiting for the prices to go down as promised on Tuesday night which they did). We are now just nailing down destinations. Small hotel or a house in Monteverde....and a hotel in Arenal.....and I think that may be it. Not sure we should squeeze the beach in or just enjoy two destinations over the 7 days (one night at the airport). It is hard to judge distances and I know the end of the week the beaches will be packed with locals on vacation

emmagus

So we got the car, we got a cabin in Monteverde, we got a place in Arenal. Next question if you can bear with me. We are leaving NYC at 6:00 a.m. which means we are getting to the airport about 4:00 a.m. We get to San Jose at about 11:00 a.m. and pick up the car. I am sure we will be STARVING but all the guide books say DO NOT LEAVE anything in your car. We will be driving right to Monteverde. Help. How can we last without eating? Anyone have a place we could grab take out for the car they can recommend?

Continental_Drifter

Ah... I'm actually quoted in the Costa Rica book on this one. Don't leave the car. Switch off. One of you go get the food and one stay with the car.

There's a little B&B a few miles before you get to Santa Elena called Satya B&B. I've got some prior postings on here about it. It's an organic coffee plantation with two rooms for a very inexpensive nightly rate. We loved the owners and they enjoyed having us and the kids there.

Good luck and let us know how your trip went! If anything comes up, we'll check your postings and help if we can.

volcanogirl

There are a lot of places to eat in the airport; you could grab something there. They have a lot of US chains in the airport for some reason, so it would be pretty easy.

hsmithcr

There are many places to stop where you don't have to "switch off." Thieves will be looking at all the spots where gringoes in rented cars stop. If you stop at a small, Tico-style place, no problem.

In fact, when you rent your car, there is a place nearby where you can eat - RostiPollo - which is very good.

So -- eat something at the airport before you leave (look for the food court before you go to passport control/Migracion), head for someplace close to the airport like RostiPollo or look for a suitable place along the highway.

In San Ramon (about 45 minutes to an hour from the airport), there is a shopping center on the corner of the highway and the road that goes into San Ramon. There are several restaurants here to choose from and a convenient stopping point. Bring something (or get something) to cover up your luggage. I don't think you would have any problem there.

glover

imho I would hold to the rule of "never leave exposed luggage in your car unattended." no matter where. Sorry to say, we're the voice of experience speaking. We thought a small parking lot with other cars on a busy street mid day in Cartago (next to a Starbucks like cafe) would be a safe bet. not. All that is necessary is to take a screwdriver to the back lock of one of those rental suvs. . . Didn't spoil our love of Costa Rica. We just got a little careless, as leaving anything of value in sight in a car is not something we ever even do here in our own city. Theft from auto being the biggest crime in our otherwise safe neighborhood.

volcanogirl

It happened to some people we met too; they lost all their clothes, camera, etc.

aprillilacs

On the drive to Monteverde from the airport, before we turned up into the hills, we passed lots of open-air cafes. They were right along the road. You could park your car in full view of where you are sitting and keep an eye on it at all times.

There were two times on our trip that we had to park somewhere with luggage in our car. Cafe & Macadamia, a nice spot along the lake between Monteverde and Arenal, fortunately had a young man watching the parking lot. The other place, the national park along the coast at Uvita, was a prime spot for theft but we took the chance anyway and came out OK. We made sure we took the GPS with us everytime we left the car.

hsmithcr

emmagus -- just curious-- how or why did you decide to visit Arenal and Monteverde for your two locations?