Planning our honeymoon - would love feedback
 

We are planning a honeymoon in Costa Rica in august 2006 and I would love to get feedback on our planned itinerary. We are looking for a mix of relaxing and activities (canopy tour, taking surfing lessons, hot springs, hiking etc). I don't want to feel like we're contstantly on the go, but we do have 11 nights so would be curious to hear suggestions for one more place we may want to check out (I am on the fence on if Monteverde is worth the drive or if we can get a similar experience in Arena/la fortuna?). We want to get a sense of the culture, but since it is our honeymoon we also want to stay in nice places. This is what we are thinking:

Arrive San Jose in the morning, fly to tambor, rent car and drive to Casa Chameleon in Mal Pais - Stay 5 nights

Fly from tambor to San Jose, drive to Peace lodge - Stay 2 nights

Drive to Lost Iguana at Arenal/La Fortuna - Stay 3 nights

Drive back to San Jose - stay somewhere relatively close to the airport 1 night, fly home

One other question I had is that Casa Chameleon has asked us to book our reservation via wire transfer - is this normal? Thanks in advance for any help!

Actually your trip sounds very nice and well thought out.

The only question or concern I would have is when you arrive Tambor. You will probably need to have a transfer arranged to take you to Malpais/Santa Teresa. I have recently read that there is a small car rental here that has opened in this past year. But as far as a car rental at the airstrip, there is actually only a canopy to stand under and the runway. Possibly you can arrange for a rental car to be waiting, I just don't know?

As for Monteverde vs Arenal, well I think they are totally different. But you can't do it all in one trip!

Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy!

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I did read that you can arrange a rental car ahead of time in Tambor, which I am looking into now.

Back to one of my other questions - Is paying for hotels in Costa Rica via wire transfer standard practice? Having never done it before it feels a bit sketchy, but Casa Chameleon has gotten rave reviews (on this forum and others) so I assume others have done it without a problem? Thanks!

Sorry forgot to address that issue!

We have always paid for our lodging prior to arrival. Sometimes by personal check, credit card and/or wire transfers - it just depends on the hotel/lodge.

I did remember a couple of threads that discussed this particularly, after a quick search found these that may be helpful.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34720892

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34686033

And do let us know how the rental vehicle plays out. When we visited Montezuma we just opted for the transfer, but would enjoy a vehicle next time we are in the area.

I always wire the money for my group trips to CR and have never had a problem. It's a good way to move money fast.

Sandy

katygirl, a great place to stay your last night in CR, is Xandari. It is a beautiful property with a nice restaurant with a scenic overlook of San Jose and just 15 minutes or so to the airport. We were there last April and will be staying there again this April. We really enjoyed it!

katygirl, when we first visited Malpais/Ste. Teresa, we stayed at Tropico Latino and they required the wire transfer. We complied and it worked out just great. That is the only time we've been asked to reserve using that method, however. Perhaps it is becoming more common. . .at any rate, it shouldn't be a problem or a concern. Congratulations and have a great time. I think your itinerary is fantastic! :)

I just returned from CR with my boyfriend and we went to Arenal, Santa Teresa/Mal Pais and loved both. We did the fun activities in the beg. of our trip and then went to the beach to relax. You should read my trip report because we stayed at the LI and also Cama Chameleon. We loved both. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for all the great advice. We plan to book Xandari for our last night.

sll1031, just checked out your trip report and I'm so glad to hear you liked Lost Iguana and Casa Chameleon. I was looking into Milarepa too and now I'm glad we're not staying there!

Back to an earlier question on rental cars, we are still looking into specifics on rental cars for Mal Pais/Santa Teresa, but there are a handful of companies that will drop a car off for you in Tambor for a fee - Mapache, budget, Alamo, Adobe and Europcar (looks like between $30-100 in the low season). I'm not sure yet if you also have to pay the same fee to drop it off as well so I'm looking into it.