lhookerr

Hello all,

A good friend and I are traveling to Costa Rica (SJO land/depart) Thur 23rd (7pm arrival) and departing Tue 28th (afternoon departure 2pm). We are looking for recommendations on locations to visit, things to do.

I am pretty experienced traveling internationally and have visited Costa Rica once before (Arenal/Jaco/Manuel Antonio). My friend has never left North America. We are both 30ish males looking for part adventure (ziplining/atvs/rafting/hiking), part relaxation.

We essentially have 4 full days Fri-Mon to explore but I am not sure where to start. My friend requested spending part of our stay in an all inclusive resort but I can sway him from that if needed. I would like to travel to Guanacaste if we were to do that but I am having trouble figuring out the best way to fit in multiple locations while returning to SJO early Monday reasonably. I can get a rental if needed, I have driven around myself before there.

We are looking for any itinerary recommendations you may have! This is my first post here and I hope to make many more, thanks in advance.

MichelleY

With only 4 days, one location is probably the best use of your limited time.

fricknisht

We had Elena Monge from Costa Rica Expeditions write up an itinerary for us. The only thing that she does is plan trips in Costa Rica. There was no obligation. My husband and I took our 30 year old kids to Costa Rica and had the adventure of a lifetime. We stayed at a place that you could only access by whitewater rafting there, went whitewater kayaking (with a guide), rappelled down waterfalls, ate breakfast in a treehouse that we got to by ziplining, etc. Look up Costa Rica Expeditions and their reviews. They will help you. They were fantastic.

volcanogirl

I would lean towards just staying in the Arenal area the entire time - there's tons to do there, and it's the adventure capital of Costa Rica.

lhookerr

Sorry for my delayed response, I didn't get any notifications , will have to check my account settings. I am leaning towards the La Fortuna/Arenal area but I know my friend wants some beach time. I am going to sit him down and lay out the options and go from there. I wish we had a few more days so that we could visit two locations. I think Manuel Antonio would give us a little bit of both, adventure/beach life.

Thanks for the trip planning recommendation, I will look Elena up!

Munchin_Mishelle

I have to agree with Michelle that one location is probably your best bet with the limited time you have. I'm also a big fan of the Arenal area, but if your friend wants some beach time I would recommend Tamarindo as it should be a good compromise as it has a lot of "adventure" options while still being on the beach: http://www.vacationscostarica.com/tr...ide/tamarindo/

It also has some of the bigger hotels your friend seems to be looking for some of which have bars and casinos for nightlife activities.