Need help planning 10-day trip
 

Hi all,

I've used this forum before for trips to Hawaii, Paris, etc., so I know you guys won't let me down for Costa Rica...please please help!

We are planning a trip from August 15-24 to Costa Rica and would like help on the following:

1. Where should we fly into/out of?
2. What are the absolute major highlights we cannot and should not miss?
3. What's the best Canopy Tour?
4. Should we fly from one region to the other or drive/take a bus?
5. What areas should we visit for the 10 days, how many days should we try to spend in each area, and what hotel should we stay in?

As you can see, we haven't gotten any of this planned out yet, and I still don't know enough about the areas to actually plan days to go there. We are a couple of 20 somethings without kids, married 2 years, and are adventurous and love activities (flying through the jungles, horseback riding, sailing, waterskiing, diving, snorkel, hiking, etc.), so please keep that in mind if you have suggustions for us.
THANKS!
LSUsajani

LSUsajani, we just returned from C.R. after spending a week in Manuel Antonio. The scenery is beautiful, beaches good for surfing, the best one on the Manuel Antonio park, safest for swimming.
They have canopy tours "zip lines", horseback riding (one that goes to a remote waterfall), kayak tours (ocean and mangrove), ATV riding, deep sea fishing.
We stayed at Mango Moon. It is beautiful. The hosts, Jeff and Joni
are super friendly. Prices are reasonable, including breakfast.
We flew into San Jose and drove through
dangerous roads for about 1-1/2 hrs, then it gets better, then it gets bad
(some old bridges, if you can call them that).
Understand there are flights into Quepos (which is probably the best way to go). If not, I'd advise you hire a driver, or even investigate bus service.
Buses are modern, public transportation is very good. Driving your own vehicle is becoming a problem because of theft.
I hear the Arenal area is very nice, drier. The Osa Peninsula is more remote, but everyone says is less crowded.
Weather-wise, it rains almost every afternoon during this time of the year, but it was still very enjoyable.
Have a great trip.
P.s. restaurants in M.A. I'd recommend are karola's (next to Barba Roja), Mar Luna grill, and Cantina Salsipuedes
(across the bank) with a nice view, and great tapas.

for years I have been telling people that a lot depends on when you arrive/depart and what you are interested in.

Your 10 day trip could actually translate into only 8 travel days within the country. for this amount of time 2 places is recommended rather than spending a lot of time racing around seeing very little.

Flying can save travel time a little. If you are just flying to someplace from san jose it is quick. If you have to fly to san jose and change planes to go to another place it could end up taking longer than driving.

are you comfortable driving in a foreign country? costa rica does have its challenges. Hiring a private transport can be more expensive...starts at around $95 per trip. There are private buses that start at about $25 depending on where you are going. disadvantage to these are departure/arrival times but they are comfortable.

a good combination for an 8day trip would be a few days in La fortuna/arenal and a few days in Manuel antonio. It gives you cloud forest, rain forest (day trip to sarapiqui), and coastal rainforest. also, live volcano, canopy tours, waterfalls, and the ocean. You will see lots of monkeys, iguanas, possibly dolphins if you go out into the ocean, and sloths.

Believe it or not costa rica offers so much more but those are generally the must sees for a first timer.

wow, those are great suggestions. I really appreciate it. Manuel Antonio sounds right up our alley, and I agree, we will probably just do 2 areas in the amount of time we have. We do feel comfortable driving in foreign countries, but with the theft and bad roads/bridges issue we may end up taking a bus. Arenal sounds great too, so I am going to research hotels in the M.A. and Arenal areas.

Thanks again!!

Well, I was wondering if everyone has as much trouble getting a response as I have at Los Lagos Hotel in Arenal and Hotel Don Carlos in San Jose. I can't get through to Los Lagos' fax, so I can't get my confirmed reservation through. And noone responds to my countless emails to them about this. I can't seem to get a copy of the reservation I keep trying to send to Hotel Don Carlos, and when I email them about it noone responds there either. Thank goodness Mango Moon is being cooperative. But that doesn't help our stay in Arenal 4 nights and San Jose 1 night. Any suggestions or tips?

Thanks!

Email in CR is yes, sometimes slow, their service is not nearly as reliable as we have come to expect. Each year we have the same problem, some that respond immediately and some that take emailing for 2 weeks. When this happens I usually make a phone call.

As for driving - the two areas you are visiting are some of the most visited areas, and as the roads are certainly not to the standards of US highway travel, they are normally in pretty good shape. You will have a few bumps, some winding curving roads and a few one lane bridges, but if you want to drive, you really should not have a problem.

We did not need a vehicle in MA, but would be nice if you want to drive down the coast a bit further to Dominical or so. The buses run all day and are a very easy transportation mode while in MA and very inexpensive. Plus you have taxies readily available.

In Arenal we enjoyed having a vehicle. And we very much enjoy driving through the Central Valley with a few stops at some of the towns.

Hi there,
Just returned from Cr- 12 days. We spent 2 nts Peace lodge/2 nights Arenal/2 nts Monteverde/5 Nights MA Sis Como No/1 night Marriot on points.
If planning again I would have either gone for a longer time, or cut a destination. My suggestion to you is Arenal and MA. Covering rain forest, volcano and beach. It is a great combination, and you can relax. We rented and drove and loved the freedom it bought us.....

We just returned last night from CR from a 10 day trip. Los Lagos had a beautiful view, but that was my least favorite hotel. We met people who stayed at Lost Iguana and raved about it. Also, I heard at the arenel Lodge, they had a great view of the volcano at night. It rained during the night when we were there so I barely saw the Lava. However, we had great daytime views. The hotel was nice, but the service and staff did not compare to our other stays. We also did not care for their breakfast buffet. While in arenel we went into La fortuna dor dinner. we ate at La choca de Laurel. It was wonderful. Great service and great food. Any other questions just ask.

Hotel don carlos is very reputable so I would keep trying. as was mentioned, it can sometimes take a while. I sometimes think that a lot of the places like Los Lagos etc are just overwhelmed by the amount of visitors and emails. Tourism in Costa Rica has really taken off and the whole system down there is not quite what we up north have come to expect. Personally I would hate for it to become as automated as other places. It would loose a lot of its innocent charm but I know how frustrating it can get.

We will be going in two weeks for 10 days. Our itinerary is Arenal(4 nights)-Pacuare river rafting(1 night)-Tortuguero(2 nights) , plus two nights in SJO before and after rafting. The rafting and Tortuguero trips are with CR Expeditions. We thought about Manuel Antonio for a long time but decided to ditch it because a) both Arenal and MA offer lots of similar activities and b) we go to Florida Panhandle every year so beach is not exactly our forte.

By the way, are you from LSU? We live in Baton Rouge.

Hi,
We just got back from 10 days in CR on July 11, you can search for my trip report if you want to see where we stayed by clicking on my name. I would recommend all the places we stayed. Mango Moon was really great in Manuel Antonio, and we had a great time although we didn't rent a car. Renting would have allowed us to stop and see some more places along the way, so maybe we'll do that next time. Let me know if I can answer any questions. Have a great trip!