anthroplogist

Hi! My husband and I are traveling to Costa Rica for the first time in August. We are really excited about this trip (10th anniversary)...
We are flying into San Jose and leaving from Liberia. Any suggestions for our week long stay? Montezuma and Monteverde, as well as the Arenal Volcano are at the top of our list. (Can we go to all three in just one week?) We are budget travelers (taking buses and looking for budget/mid-range accomodations).

We'd appreciate some tips or your experiences...

Thanks in advance...

BenCaynan

Just a quick forewarning: Montezuma is populated mainly by underfed young girls and overimbibed young guys. I'd say the average age there was between 19 and 21. If you've been married for 10 years, you might feel a little old. My wife and I visited Montezuma just for a day on our honeymoon, and we did. We couldn't get out of there fast enough!

Barbarian

I couldn't agree more about Montezuma - it is definitely a place to skip. However, Arenal and Monteverde should fill up a week nicely. First night in Alajuela (near the airport), from there take the bus to Fortuna (Arenal), then to Monteverde, and return to spend your last night near the airport.

And you can do all the transfers via public bus, which is how I prefer to travel because you meet the nice folks along the way. Just make sure you pack VERY lightly (one small bag per person that you can hold in your lap on under your feet - no more or you will have to store your luggage in the compartments under the bus, from where it very well might be stolen).

LA_FadeAway

It sounds like you guys are looking for some beach time in addition to Monteverde and Arenal. Manuel Antonio, Samara, or Mal Pais / Santa Teresa could be other options for you besides Montezuma, but keep in mind that you won't get to spend very much time in any one place if you decide to visit three place.

Also, you might want to get a few more opinions about Montezuma. I think it depends on what type of thirty- somethings you are as to whether or not you would enjoy it there. My husband and I are 33 and have decided to include three nights in Montezuma at El Sano Banano in our upcoming trip. Maybe that will be a mistake, but we don't mind the young "hippy" crowd really. I spent many years following the Grateful Dead and Phish, so those folks don't bother me at all. I also don't mind being older than the majority of people in an area. Other, more conservative, people could find them creepy or annoying, so it all depends on your personal feelings. We are planning on doing a day trip to Tortuga Island and maybe some horesback riding while we are there. I mainly just wanted to see the Gulfo de Nicoya and the Nicoya peninsula and thought Montezuma would be a good place for that.

trevorjoyce

Since you say you are leaving from Liberia, perhaps Playa Hermosa (the one near there) or Samara would be nice. I haven't been, but friends tell me they are nice beaches, and get less rain in Aug,...but are green and beautiful then since it is Aug.Then you could visit Rincon or Palo Verde. Playa Hermosa or Playa Panama would be the closest to Liberia so you wouldn't spend a lot of time using transport to get to the airport at the end.

anthroplogist

Thanks to all for your replies!

My husband and I have been talking (and talking) about this trip... we are thinking now of going to Monteverde, Arenal and Manuel Antonio. We really want to see things that one can only see in Costa Rica, namely wildlife...especially monkeys my husband says...birds, insects, lush vegetation, flowers..... We're hoping to see a sampling of these by going to the above-mentioned places.

Is it possible to catch buses from the San Jose airport directly to Manuel Antonio or Monteverde? Do we have to go to San Jose and catch buses there? We'd really like to catch a bus the first day we arrive (at noon) to one of our chosen destinations. Is this possible?

Thank you again for replying and thank you to everyone who has contributed to this "travel talk" - there has been some great tips and sharing of experiences!

tully

Interbus would work on your trip. Their website is http://www.costaricapass.com/ You can catch them from SJO to Arenal, do the boat/car transfer btwn Arenal to Monteverde, catch Interbus from Monteverde to MA and then Interbus back to SJO. You can send them an e-mail with all kinds of questions, they are very good at replying back quickly. Have a great time, I'm thinking of exactly the same 3 for my next trip there.

LA_FadeAway

Interbus is going to cost you about $60 per trip for two people. I noticed that you are looking for Budget travel. The local buses are cheap, but they may take you a little longer. There are several web sites containing bus schedules, fares, etc., but I'm at work and don't know them off hand. I'm sure you could do a quick search and find them. Also, the jeep-boat-jeep from Arenal to Monteverde would probably still be your best bet due to the time savings. I think you can do that for around $25 each.