Rent a car? Planning too much???
 

We're headed to CR in 1 1/2 weeks & would love any advice on our plans. We were planning to rent a car but the $950US deductable coupled with reports of horrendous road conditions put us off the idea. How are the bus and Travelair flights? Convenient or do you wait around and end up re-routing to San Jose a lot? <BR>Also - in 7 days we're planning to hit Quepos/Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Monteverde & the Arenal volcano - spending a night or two in each area. Sound good or not? Any suggestions appreciated here or to our email. Thanks!

some quick reccomendatios! Concerning the car- yes it is expensive and yes the roads are bad- especially around monteverde- but you do get some versatility. I suggest you take a bus from San Jose to you Quepos (about 5 bucks and 4 hour trip- great scenery though) Stay in Manuel antonio in a hotel by the park for at least 2 days. Give yourself some time to enjoy the beach and truly explore the park. Take the bus back to San Jose (forget Jaco- you already saw Jaco when you were in Manuel Antonio). Take the bus to La Fortuna. Stay a day or two and check out the volcano and hot springs. Wonderful!!! At night- there usually seems to be some local nightlife- pretty fun. Take a horseback riding trip to Monteverde (about 50 bucks and a 6 hour trip) this includes a trip across arenal and some of the most outstanding scenery I have ever witnessed. (they will take your luggage in a separate vehicle). ONce in Monteverde find a good lodge and head to the santa elena park early the next morning. its cheaper than monteverde and less touristy (just as close). This is really all you can do in this amount of time- I don't suggest anything else. One last thing- buy your bus tix in advance and always carry the bus schedule with you!. Hope you have fun, and if you have any other questions email me.

your original plan too ambitious. <BR>Recommend the Arco Iris in Santa Elena as good value. Do not miss the Hummingbird Gallery across from the Monteverde Reserve entrance.

Chris, <BR> <BR>What is the name of the hot springs you are refering to? Is it the Tabacon Resort?

Andrea, <BR>we rented a car for a week when we were in CR in August of this year. Driving is not easy but I found having a car very convenient. The roads are in bad shape and there is a lot of trafic on the main "highway" so you have to be very careful, but in some areas a car is very useful. In Manuel Antonio you can get around easily by taking a bus or a taxi. In Volcan Arenal area a car is very handy as the various tourist attractions are spread around. <BR>Follow Chris' advice and skip Jaco, you are trying to see to too much in 7 days. Traveling from one place to another takes a long time. <BR>If I were you, I would probably fly to Quepos (either Travelair or Sansa are fine, we flew them both, small planes but we had no problems), then fly back to SJ, rent a 4x4 and drive to Arenal and then on to Monteverde. <BR>Do a search in this forum and you should be able to find my long trip report that I posted in August. <BR>Have a great trip.