nine_lives

I' just booked my flight for my second trip to Costa Rica in early December. On my last trip we spent most of our time in Tamarindo and I was pretty disappointed with all the development. This trip we want to see more of the "real" Costa Rica. We also spent one night in Arenal but it was raining/cloudy so we never got to see the volcano.

We will be in CR for 16 nights and were thinking staying in Alajuela our first and last night leaving us with 14 dais to spend exploring with a rental a 4x4 and staying in Puerto Jimenez and Osa, Dominical, Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Montezuma, Mal Pais, and maybe going back to Arenal (hoping to see lava)

Is this itinerary feasible and if so, how much time should we allow for each place? Since Arenal is probably closest to the airport should we go there at the beginning of our trip or at the end?

cmerrell

Hi nine_lives,

Some of the best advice I got when I was planning my first trip to CR, was to plan to spend 3 to 4 days in each location to really get a decent feel for each place and avoid spending all of my vacation in transit from point A to point B. I've found this to be really sage advice!

You can do a lot in 2 weeks, but still have listed points of interest spread all over the country. I suspect you might feel quite rushed trying to hit all of those places!

Where to go really depends on your primary interests.

For wildlife viewing, the Osa is phenomenal! MA is fun but more developed and touristy than some of your other destinations, plus you'll get more 'pristine' wildlife encounters on the Osa, so maybe if you have to make a cut, MA would make sense?

Are you a surfer? Jaco gets a lot of mixed reviews here. It's frequently described as being rather seedy. I have not been myself so can't definitively comment, but unless you are a diehard surfer, Jaco isn't at the top of most people's lists. Domenical on the other hand, also appeals to the surf crowd, and seems to have a much more positive reputation.

Arenal is definitely worth some time. Your one night there previously couldn't have given you a good feel for that area. There's so much to do there. Where to work it into your trip is really a matter of personal preference.

I have not been to Montezuma or Mal Pais, but have heard good things. You'll need to factor travel times into your itinerary to see if you can work everything in.

The great thing about CR is that there are so many great locations to choose from! It's hard to narrow things down, but fun working through the process.

shillmac

Great advice from cmerrell, as usual.

It does help to know your interests as most of us would write Jaco off in a heartbeat. For surfing, definitely a thumbs up to Malpais (and general Montezuma area) as well as Dominical.

I'd plan 3-4 nights Arenal, 3-4 nights Malpais or Dominical (choose one, but Dominical would be a nice way to break the long drive to Puerto Jimenez), and 3-4 nights on the Osa. Good surfing at Cabo Matapalo. . . You might break up the return to SJO with an overnight and partial day at Manuel Antonio.

Have fun!

nine_lives

Thanks for the info - we are not surfers but do want to spend the majority of our vacation lounging and swimming on the beaches. I'm guessing that we will skip Manual Antonio in favor of Puerto Jimenez and Osa. I've also heard negative things about Jaco but I figured it might be a good place to spend one night on our way from Dominical to Montezuma or somewhere else.

One question that i have is will we need reservations during that time of year? I hear that there are not very many places to stay in Puerto Jimenez and I was thinking that it might be a good idea to at least have reservations for there.

Also, if we get an early start from Alajuela could we realistically make the drive to Puerto jimenez in one day? If not I was thinking of stopping in Dominical for a night or would somewhere else be a better choice?

shillmac

Dominical would be a good halfway point. Stay a couple of nights, nice area. Expect the drive from Alajuela to PJ to take about 8-9 hours. Road between Manuel Antonio and Dominical is horrendous, about 1.5 hour for a little less than 30 miles.

Definitely reserve ahead for early December. It's not as busy as Christmas and New Year's, but is the beginning of high season.

cmerrell

Are you planning to stay in Pto Jimenez proper, or looking to stay at one of the jungle lodges in the area? For places like Bosque del Cabo (beloved by many on this forum), you definitely want to book as early as possible -- and it's well worth the effort!

As CR becomes an ever increasingly popular destination, it becomes more necessary to book in advance regardless of time of year; especially if you have specific hotels you'd like to try. Early December is not peak tourist season, but I would still make advance reservations to make sure I could stay where I wanted.

In another recent thread here, someone had posted that it was about an 8 hour drive between San Jose/Alajuela and the southern Osa. If you plan to make the trek in one day, do get an early start. Remember that sunset occurs around 5:30 each day and you will not want to be driving after dark.

Also keep in mind that many beach areas in CR have strong riptides, so you'll want to ask at your hotel before setting out to swim.

Both of my visits to CR have taken place the first week of December. It's a great time of year to go down there!

nine_lives

We will probably stay in Puerto jimenez proper as the lodges outside of town seem to be out of our budget ($75/night). We are looking at The Palms - anybody stay there?

Another question - should we hightail it direct to Puerto Jimenez along the Pan American highway possibly staying somewhere along the way or would it be better to head to Dominical by way of San Isidro el General and then head to PJ the next day? We were thinking that we would come back north along the coast and spend a few nights in Dominical as we worked our way back north towards Montezuma