kaudrey

Hi,

I just booked our trip to CR though Gate1travel. It's an 8 day fly/drive package, including 1st night hotel in San Jose. I've been reading these boards for a while, so I have some ideas of what to do, but my BF is a spontaneous traveler, so we are just going to "wing it".

We know we want to raft on the Pacuare, so we'll probably do that the last day before leaving, since we have to get back to San Jose anyway. I think we'll head north, because I do want to see Arenal. But how long will we stay there? Don't know!

One question - if we were to head to the beach to relax after a few days, should we head east or west from Arenal? I haven't read to much about the beaches on here except for Manual Antonio, and I don't think I want to head down there.

I have a list of hotel options, but we are not booking anything in advance. So, we'll just stay wherever it suits us once we get there. I may have some interesting options for you once we get back, instead of the usual places talked about on here!

Thanks for any thoughts or advice on a "make it up as you go along" trip!

Karen

kaudrey

Oh, I forgot to mention - we are leaving in 18 days (March 25th)!

Can't wait!

Earthtraveler

kaudrey,
The wife and I love Playa Punta Uva south of Puerto Viejo about 5kms on the east Caribe coast. The north west coast of CR is more arid but the southwest gets very lush. I have pictures of some CR beaches including Punta Uva on this site http://rvincent3.photosite.com also take a look at Casa Viva located on Punta Uva in People and Places Album. Their tropical garden photo is the first photo of the Botanicals Album with some of the other pictures taken there. Besides the three houses Casa Viva offers two smaller units for much less $$. Still the houses are a great deal at about $85 per night or $500 a week.

Earthtraveler

www.greencoast.com has many offerings for the area of Puerto Viejo to give you some options before you get there including Casa Viva (click Viva)

allison04

It depends on how far you want to go, but you could consider the Nicoya Peninsula--lots of choices there. The only place I've been to on the peninsula is Montezuma, and that was great and even more laid-back than the other places we went. I do think it would be fun to explore there.

darbyvt

I spent a week in Mal Pais/Santa Theresa in February. It has BEAUTIFUL and deserted (except for tons of surfers) beaches. If you surf, great place to go...good little restaraunts too, we rented bikes and ATV's and went to Montezuma to see waterfalls (also a really cool area). However, very rustic and secluded. We winged it too and found places to stay when we arrived.

As far as Puerto Viejo (on the Caribbean side), we had planned to go there instead but my brother (who I was meeting for the trip) had arrived a few days before me and went there ahead of time. Although pretty, he said it was a very sketchy area, lots of drugs and people coming up to you trying to sell stuff, he didn't feel safe alone there (much less with an oversized surfboard bag). I've heard great things about it from other people, and am still a little curious how it would have been after settling in.

I'm going back with some girlfriends in early April, this time we've chosen to spend a few days in Playa Grande (close to Tamarindo) and the rest in Monteverde. We're pretty much planning as we go on that one too, it works out better that way much of the time. By the way, last time we stayed in Alalujea (about 15 min from airport) at La Guaria Inn, cheap, clean, and really friendly staff who speaks English too. Nothing fancy but a great place to crash if you get in late. Have fun!! Pura Vida

CorinneandPat

FYI the drive from Punta Uva to Arenal (or vise versa) takes 7 to 8 hours, depending on how many stops you make for lunch, stretches, etc. The last two hours is awful, awful roads. But it's a beautiful area and we felt safe, never had anyone approach us for drugs, although my parents were with us so that could explain that!

petite1

darbyvt,
My husband & I will be going to Santa Teresa in June & we're trying to figure out if we should rent a car. The thought of having someone pick us up from the airport & drive us to the hotel is very inviting since we just returned from Playa Grande & drove there from San Jose. That was a very long, rough ride. Do you think we need a car in Santa Teresa? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

guanacaste

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/samara...ome/index.html

darbyvt

We did not rent a car. We got a bus (I think it was Interbus) or Montezuma bus tours or something that picked us up from a hotel in San Jose area and drove us there. It is basically a minivan (nice one) that you share a ride with others, cost us $35 pp and took about 6 hours (including the ferry ride). Well worth it...the roads in and to Santa Theresa are HORRIBLE! I would not recommend renting a car, but definitely ATV's and go to Montezuma on them (if that is your thing) it's about a 30-45 min ATV ride. We also rented bikes to get around town or walked a lot---it is one Loooong stretch of places to stay and eat and it is a long walk between. However, some of the nicer hotels are pretty far out and will be a pretty good hike into "town". Maybe a car would be a better option depending on where you stay.

Also, how was Playa Grande, we are going in April and staying at the Rip Jack...any tips? We are flying to Tam from San Jose, do we just take a cab from there? Thanks! Let me know if you have more questions about Santa Theresa as well!

swim

We just returned from CR after spending there 4 weeks. It was our 3rd trip, this time we stayed mostly at the beach.
For beaches, Nicoya Peninsula is the best.

We like big, empty beaches, white sand, good swimming. Our favorite is Nosara and Samara. In Nosara we stayed at the Cafe du Paris, very nice, cabins, restorante, pastry shop, close to the beach. Very good for surfing too.

If you rent a car, ONLY 4WD !!! All the roads are horrible, unimaginable, HUGE potholes.

The other favorite is Playa Grande and Tamarindo.

From Nosara to Liberia it is 3-3,5 hours driving.

petite1

We will be staying at the Hotel Tropico Latino, are you familiar with it? After your description I'm going to try & convince my husband to take the transfers rather than rent a car. He's the one who really feels the need to have a car. He's a surfer & wants to be able to get to other beaches & it'd be a little difficult to travel by bike with his board. The hotel said there's a budget rent a car there so I'm thinking that we could always rent a car once we're there for a day or so if we really want to travel around.

We stayed at Las Tortugas. I would suggest 3 things to you...use bug spray at all times, DON'T eat at Kike's
and definitely check out the pizza at the new place by the surf shop, it's excellent. We never noticed any bugs
(hence the name no see ums) so by the time we thought of the bug spray we had tons of bites. I did post a trip report under "playa grande" if you want to read more. Tamarindo was about a 25 minute drive & I would think getting a ride from there would be easy..very busy.
Thanks for your help!

kaudrey

Thanks for all the ideas! darbyvt - ATVs and biking sound great to me. Earthtraveler and others - Punta Uva sounds good too.

We don't mind driving and exploring. How far is it from Arenal or San Jose to Mal Pais/Santa Theresa?

Thanks, and keep the ideas coming!

Karen

Earthtraveler

I've been told the drive to Malpais/ Santa Theresa from San Jose is about five hours including the wait in line to get on and travel by ferry. I always add more time to my schedual than I am told for photo stops, wrong turns, slow traffic, etc.

kaudrey

This may sound like a silly question, so humor me.

If we go down to Punto Viejo, it looks like we'll be right near Panama. Is it easy to get into Panama and back down there, if we go through the Friendship Park or some other way?

Earthtraveler

From Puerto Viejo you would cross into Panama at Sixaola. Some folks go by bus and continue on to the Bocas Del Toro Islands via boat and beyond by bus or plane into the interior. Ive never been much interested in Panama as Punta Uva and Manzanillo Reserve was just what I was looking for. I believe the border crossing there is easy to get through from what I've read. I don't believe you can take a rental car from CR into Panama though.

darbyvt

It took us about 6 hours to get from San Jose to Santa Theresa, it all depends on if you get to the ferry at a good time, or just after one already left, then add time! The ferry is about an hour and a half. Fun and cheap beer too

Try Montezuma Tours or Monteverde tours, our bus tour was something like that and it goes all over CR.

As for Tropico Latino, we wanted to stay there, looked great but full. It is tucked in the palms but right on the beach...now keep in mind nothing in Santa Theresa is "right" on the beach, you can look around on the beach and see nothing at all for miles but some hammocks and tents. There is really nothing over two stories in the entire area. The hotels on the beach are all tucked in the trees and you may or may not actually be able to see the beach, but a very short stroll either way. The food looked good there but fairly pricey. You'll like it there, and it's right in the middle of "town", much more convenient.

Try Brisas del Mar for dinner, yummy! Also we ate breakfast several times at this place up the road from you (go right) next to the ATV rental place. They have tree stumps for bar stools but I can't remember the name, good too.

Frank's place at the intersection of Mal Pais and Santa Theresa has good guide info. I hear there are lots of good restaurants (esp. Mary's at the end of Mal Pais) but we didn't make it to them.

Also, it is tougher to get transportation than I thought. The morning I had to leave (my brother stayed a month more) I couldn't find a cab and the people there told me I wouldn't be able to get one that quickly so...I had to hitch a ride with a local to the Tambor airport---a little scary!! Be sure to plan any transportation ahead of time!

FYI, a lot of the supermarkets take ATM's, I had VISA. There is also a Super Ronny up towards Franks next to Hotel Pacifica I think that cashes travelers checks. By the way, good surf break in front of here too. Ok, wow, I miss it there a lot! Have a blast, feel free to ask anything else you want to know. I'll try and brush up my names of places a little better!

petite1

It sounds great & I really appreciate all of your dining suggestions. I'll post a report once I return.
Enjoy Playa Grande!

kaudrey

Thanks everyone! I'm leaning toward Nicoya Peninsula, so we'll see what happens when we actually get there!

h0b0

We've made two trips to CR and both time we only had hotel reservations on the first and last nights. We loved Arenal and Tamarindo so much the first time, we returned on the second trip. Those trips were 5 and 8 years ago, and I understand it might be a little busier - but we didn't have problems finding hotels either trip (though we couldn't get one of our favorite "bungalows" at Capitan Suizo in Tamarindo our second trip).

It is fun to travel without a plan (and we did it with 3 very young children!) so you can linger where you like it, and move on if the vibe isn't right.

The Nicoya Peninsula is lovely but pretty rough going - lots of dirt roads (we had a jeep). Montezuma was "interesting" and I found the vibe to be a little creepy for some reason that I can't pinpoint.

Have a great time!