judilie

My husband and his friend are going to do a Habitat for Humanity build in El Salvador in early November. From there they are flying to San Jose, Costa Rica; I will join them there. We are going to spend three nights in San Jose, to visit the museums and will rent a car and make several day-trips to outside the capital. The friend will then fly home, and my husband and I will have six more days to explore other parts of the country, flying home from Liberia. I would like advice on the best day trips out of San Jose and on places between San Jose and Liberia to visit during our six days after the friend leaves. We like to hike, bike, kayak, and swim, and enjoy seeing flora and fauna and beautiful scenery. We like good museums, quaint towns, and cultural experiences. I do not do well in hot, humid weather and am not interested in visiting beaches (except to see turtles) or doing ziplining or in other extreme sports. I have read that northwest Costa Rica is probably better than the south Pacific or the Caribbean in mid-November. Do you agree? Rincón de la Vieja National Park sounds interesting, as does Palo Verde National Park. I’d like to visit the Arenal area and the cloud forest, but am concerned that this may not be the best time of year for those. (If that’s correct, I’m hoping we can come back to Costa Rica in the future at what would be a better time.) Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

volcanogirl

For me personally I'd avoid spending much time in San Jose if you can avoid it. For the most part it isn't a very attractive city - think lots of razor wire, congestion, traffic, etc. Maybe a day to see the museums, but the real beauty of CR is outside the city. The Arenal area is one of our favorites; we've been there several times. November is a fine time to visit. You can hike the Hanging Bridges, visit a beautiful waterfall, visit the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center, do a volcano hike, visit the Bogarin Trail to see sloths and other animals, do the Cano Negro boat tour to see wildlife, and do the Penas Blancas safari float. Don't miss the beautiful natural hot springs - we like Tabacon for fancy or Eco Termales for smaller and charming. The cloud forest is actually a different area, Monteverde is the most popular one.

judilie

Thanks! I appreciate your suggestions about the Arenal area. We are planning to do day trips out of San Jose most of the time we stay there (at the Presidente Hotel), then take our friend to the San Jose airport and drive to other parts of the country.

I had originally planned this trip for April (and was not going to go myself), but had to cancel it because the friend broke his ankle. At that time, the guys were going to stay at Hotel Brisas Arenal. Have any of you stayed there?

Is the cloud forest worth visiting in mid-November?

judilie

We were planning to do day trips out of San Jose most of the time we stay there (at the Presidente Hotel), then take our friend to the San Jose airport and drive to other parts of the country. Day trips out of San Jose that I've read about are Irazu Volcano National Park, San Jose Waterfalls, Brauilio Carrillo National Park, and a coffee tour. Would it be better to only stay a day or so in San Jose, go somewhere to spend a night or so, and then take the friend to the San Jose airport? (I'm trying to avoid a number of one-night stays.) Another possibility would be for the friend to fly out of Liberia. He only wants to spend 3-4 days in Costa Rica, whereas my husband and I have 10 days total.

volcanogirl

Sure the cloud forest is worth visiting that time of year. Monteverde is great for hiking and bird watching. It's a long bumpy road to get there. If you don't want to drive it, Desafio offers a Jeep Boat Jeep Service for about thirty bucks a person from the Arenal area.

volcanogirl

There are a few day trips you can do out of San Jose - unfortunately Poas Volcano is currently closed due to activity or I would highly suggest that, you can also do the Doka Coffee Estate tour - very pretty, or visit the La Paz Waterfall Gardens - it's has a beautiful waterfall hike with five gorgeous waterfalls - it is touristed though, maybe look at pics and see what you think. I'm curious about the San Jose Waterfalls. We've been to CR about ten times, and I've never heard of them.

judilie

I think La Paz and Catarata del Toro waterfalls were described as "San Jose waterfalls."

judilie

Doka Cofree Estate and La Paz Waterfall Gardens both sound very good. If we did those, where would you suggest that we stay in that area? And what else might there be to see while based there (or on the way to SJO to drop off our friend at the airport)?

volcanogirl

Thanks for the explanation on the water falls. One other place I forgot that we liked is the Toucan Rescue Ranch - good spot to tour if you like animals.

Poas is close to the same area as the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Doka Coffee Estate, so if it's open again in November when you go, that would good to see in the same area. We stayed at the Peace Lodge and Xandari when we were in the area, but it's gotten pretty expensive, not sure what your budget is. If too pricey, there are other places you can stay. If you like a city hotel, we like Grano de Oro. There are also lots of American chains like Holiday Inn, Hampton, Marriott, Best Western.

volcanogirl

j, I was thinking you were planning a trip for April. Didn't you post that a while back? Is this a second trip or replacing your April trip, or am I confused?

judilie

Volcanogirl - You have a good memory! My husband and the friend were going to go to Costa Rica for a few days in April after spending a week in El Salvador on a Habitat for Humanity project. But the friend broke his ankle in three places, and they had to cancel that trip. They are now going to do the Habitat for Humanity project in El Salvador in early November and to go to Costa Rica afterward. The friend again is only going to stay in Costa Rica for 4 days, but this time I am going to join them in Costa Rica, and my husband and I will be there for 10 days total.

Based on feedback i've gotten here (thanks so much!!), our current plan is to spend two half days in San Jose and then rent a car and drive to the Doka Coffee Estate and the next day spend the day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. We will spend two nights at Villa Casas, which is between Doka and La Paz. Then we will drive our friend to SJO for his 5 pm departure (we're looking for something to do that morning; what do you think is the likelihood that Poas Volcano will be open by then?) and then on to ??? for the next six days till we fly home from Liberia. Possibilities include Arenal, Monteverde, Rincon de la Vieja National Park, .... Suggestions welcome, keeping in mind that we will be there in November.

volcanogirl

Poas is closed due to seismic activity so no one can tell when it's going to be open again, really just up to the people studying it. I think it's been closed about a year or so now. Sounds like your trip is coming together! Nice that you get to join them for this trip!

judilie

I am happy with our plans for the first four days. Now need to plan the remaining six. I am looking forward to suggestions from Fodorites.

volcanogirl

Since you also like flora and fauna, you might take a look at Selva Verde, maybe an hour or so from the La Paz area. We regularly saw toucans, aracaris, iguanas, poison dart frogs, etc. Did a fun river tour. It's hot and humid though. They have a cool open air restaurant that serves wood-fired pizzas and great drinks. Hopefully you'll get some other nice suggestions.

judilie

Selva Verde looks interesting, especially the guided nature tour (though what is covered seems similar to what’s at La Paz.) I had been planning on two nights at Villa Calas, which is between Doka and La Paz. Although I don’t like “one-night stands,” it may make more sense to stay one night at Villa Calas, after visiting Doka, then the next day spend the day at La Paz and spend that night at Selva Verde. We would be there during their low season, so prices of rooms look quite reasonable. This would save us from having to get up early to drive about an hour from Villa Calas to Selva Verde and would, accordingly, reduce the total amount of driving to be done that day (which includes driving to SJO to drop off our friend [a drive of about 2 hrs.] and onward to wherever we decide to go). The tour is at 9 am, which should work well with our schedule. The tour lasts 2 hrs, so we could have lunch after it and then drive to SJO and get the friend there in time for his 5 pm departure.

judilie

I looked at reviews for the Selva Verde Lodge and was not impressed (noisy, no AC), so I think I'll pass on that idea. So I'm still looking for suggestions of something to do for about a half a day between leaving Villa Calas, in Vara Blanca, Heredia, and dropping our friend off at SJO in the afternoon.

mlgb

If you don't like hot weather you might look at San Gerardo de Dota..Savegre Lodge . The road is paved and not as bad as getting to Arenal Observatory Lodge. BTW I agree with limiting your time in downtown San Jose..maybe just the Gold Museum. Or none at all if you've been to any other Gold Museum in South America. Driving in Costa Rica is challenging as basically nothing has an address and even GPS doesn't always work.

Home - Hotel Savegre

judilie

I've come up with an idea of what to do the day we leave Villa Casas and drop our friend at the airport: Go to the Sarchi area [1 h 7 min (37.3 km) from Villa Calas, 39 min (30.8 km) to airport] and visit the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden and the Eloy Alfaro and Sons Workshop (oxcart factory). Have any of you been to either of these?

volcanogirl

There are actually rooms at Selva Verde with air conditioning, just not all of them, but I understand if it's not your kind of place.

volcanogirl

We haven't been to either of those spots, but I have heard great things about the botanical gardens. If you go, let us know what you thought.