Just saw an 8d/7n flexible drive package through gotmyfare.com that I'm considering booking for this November. I've been to CR once, about 4 years ago, but my husband has never been. We're mid-30's, love nature and outdoor activities, and don't mind bumpy roads (I rather enjoyed the crazy drive when I was last there, with two other women).

We'd plan essentially the same itinerary that I used the first time:

Day 1: Arrive late San Jose, overnight in Don Fadrique (through the package)
Days 2-3: Arenal/La Fortuna
Days 4-5: Monteverde
Days 6-7: Manuel Antonio
Day 8: Depart San Jose

I believe that I had an extra day or two for my first trip, so I'm not sure if this is too rushed a pace - would love advice on that. I'd really like to avoid spending the last night in SJO, as it just really didn't interest me the last time that I was there.

Also, does anyone have any input on the following hotels? The package has a variety of offerings, which all seem more of the budget variety, but we won't mind:

Arenal:
-Thermales del Bosque
-Luigis Lodge
-Hotel Villas Vilma
-La Pradera
-Lomas del Volcan
-Tacotal
-Arenal Jireh
-Arenal Volcano Inn
-Sueño Dorado
-Lavas Tacotal

Monteverde Area:
-Las Orquideas
-Poco a Poco
-Swiss Miramontes
-De Lucia Inn
-El Bosque Lodge
-Finca Valverde
-Mirador Lodge

Quepos Manuel Antonio Area:
-Villa Romantica
-Hotel California
-Hotel Mimos

I've only seen a few of these hotels reviewed on tripadvisor and this board, so I would definitely appreciate the feedback.

Thanks!

Hi, DPT - for me personally, this would be too rushed a pace, you're going to spend a lot of time just driving from place to place, and I'm afraid you won't have time to enjoy them. We took a 9-day trip last year and spent 5 in Arenal, 3 in MA, and one in SJO. We were interested in Monteverde too, but decided to pass because it takes a long time to get from place to place.

Hi DPT...hopefully my advice is not going to start another war with the "experts" any way back to Costa Rica.

1- If you are the kind of person that likes to move around a lot...that itinerary is ok...for me is to much driving in a short period of time!

2- Maybe I will avoid Monteverde and enjoy more at Arenal and Manuel Antonio...Monteverde in many ways is similar than Arenal...is the same mountain system...more things to do in Arenal...

3- Hotel...in Arenal...La Pradera...and Volcano Inn..you can be ok with either one!! Good location...if the volcano wants to give you a show...you will see the lava from either hotel!!

4- If you go to Monteverde..Poco a Poco is a nice little hotel...kind of noisy and some dust ...because is very close to the main road...other wise...is OK!!

5- Hotel California and Mimos...in that order...

The reason why you do not see this hotels to much in this forum is because is hard to reccomend them..some people will love them or some just will hate them...and for "proffesional travel agents" they do not make enough money out of them!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

Thank you so much for the itinerary input!

I recall now that we didn't go to Monteverde on my first trip...and that's why I considered adding it in for this one. Ah, I'll save it for another time (keep meaning to visit Osa too).

RA Luis, thank you for the input on hotels. I just found this deal last night so I'm in the very preliminary stages of planning. I loved my trip to CR and can't wait to return!

Yes, definitely try to make it to the Osa someday - Bosque del Cabo is wonderful. This will just give you an excuse to go back someday!

I'd drop one location imho, which one would depend on what's important to you to see & do.

In MA Hotel California gets decent reviews, it's a little closer to the Quepos end than the MA end of the road but it's all relative.

Hi DPT,

We stayed at Hotel California last December and were happy with the place.

The hotel is set back a bit off the main road, up a steep-ish little driveway. It was nice and peaceful with no traffic noise from the busy road below. Many of the Deluxe rooms have Ocean views and the grounds are nicely kept. The room was clean and perfectly pleasant (if not overly fancy). The staff was nice and the onsite restaurant food was good.

The only drawback of any kind was lack of a hairdryer in the room, but it was humid enough that my hair was pretty hopeless anyway!

I am not sure when being a "Travel Professional" became a crime. I place this at the end of my postings in the interest of full disclosure. I think that it would be unfair of me not to let everyone know that this is my business. Not everyone who makes their living in travel is as straightforward. This was all discussed at length months ago, before more recent arrivals started harassing folks that happened to have a different opinion.

I don't send guests to Costa Rica as a "hobby". I take what I do very seriously. I support my family this way, and take a lot of pride in being an ethical person. I provide a service that is valued by my clients. It is free to them and I receive fair compensation from the suppliers. We do not "rip off" anyone. We charge the identical price that the hotels quote online.

Everyone here offers free advice. I don't charge for the advice I post online. Believe me. I wish I could. Over the years, all of us who post our advice here and in other forums, have made some hotels famous! Maybe we should all start sending them advertising bills!

If you are going to specialize, then knowledge of your destination is certainly important. I have done literally hundreds of hotel inspections throughout Costa Rica. And we constantly re-inspect the suppliers on our preferred list, and grill our clients for feedback.

But knowledge of your customer is at least as important. Everyone is different. Some folks will turn their nose up at anything that is not five star, others are happy with just a clean and friendly establishment. Others will stay in any ole dump (not the properties we recommend!).

The key is listening to your clients, and understanding their needs, wants, budget, and interests. You need to understand where they are coming from, then match them with the hotels, transportation options and activities that suit them best.

When I started in this business a long time ago, the travelers to Costa Rica were a pretty hearty bunch. Good thing too. Except for a very few exceptions, most of the hotels were pretty spartan. And if you didn't like rice and beans, well you were pretty much out of luck. Not that there is anything wrong with tipical food. But it is not to everyone's taste.

But these early adventurers could roll with the punches. On my very first trip to Costa Rica almost twenty years ago, I traveled alone on the public buses. I stayed in $10 to $15 per night hotels. I ate street food, and hung out with the locals. On my first visit to Monteverde, I stayed in a $3 room in a pension that had a shared bath, but included breakfast! I had a ball, and actually retain some of the same friends from that first trip.

A young adult on a budget can still have a similar experience. Grab a good guidebook, and backpack through (especially in the off season). You don't need a travel agent or a driver. The locals are still friendly and hospitable. There are lots of hostels and pensions, and it remains a safe country.

But everything evolves. The destination has matured. The hotel choices have improved and so has the food. I have changed too. I have a family now, and travel differently. I can relate to what a broader cross section of the population is seeking.

The typical traveler to Costa Rica has changed too, and has become more and more popular. The adventurous traveler who didn't mind a cramped and musty smelling room, has been replaced by families that want a clean well appointed room, and some amenities. Most North Americans require a little more, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get it. You just have to shop smart, and that is were a "travel professional" can help you.

We inspect every hotel that we send customers too. We never recommend sub-standard hotels because it eventually becomes a problem for everyone. As a business person, you only have to eat a couple of hotel bills before you start looking more closely at your choices.

I have inspected almost every hotel listed in the initial post. We found many of them lacking in some way. There are certain standards that even a budget hotel has to meet. But there actually are a few of them from the list that we do utilize for our budget clients. And they are appropriate for the price that the aforementioned website charges.

And by the way. What happens if when all is said and done, you still encounter a problem? If you charge your purchase on your credit card to a US based company, you have substantially more recourse than if you share your payment information with a foreign entity. And if it is all the same price anyway, what makes the most sense?

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Pat I appreciate your posts immensely. Often us travelers hit or 1 or 2 different places per location, it is noce to have someone who has been to many many more than that in each location and can offer first hand knowledge. I think this forum is great as it offers opinions from people all across the spectrum and as we are all different, the possibility to disagree. Unfortunately a poster here seems to have an immense grudge here upon several posters, especially anyone who offers a differing opinion, or sometimes for no apparent reason whatsoever. I try (and have failed a couple times) to just ignore the posts or report them to the editors. The usefulness of this forum is defined by the variety of posters, and I hope that doesn't change.