Slinkie_dawg

I will be staying at the Peace Lodge for 2 nights in three weeks, with my own car. Is a trip to Sarchi worthwhile? How long should I allow and what time of day is best?

Of course Poas Volcano and LaPaz Waterfall/Gardens are higher priorities.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

Percy

I do not know where you are going after the Peace Lodge , but you might as well do Grecia, (lovely clean place), Sarchi and Zarcero.

In Grecia...see the Red Metal Chruch with white windows.

In Sarchi...see ( you cannot miss them) the painted oxcarts and wheels, even the bridge has painted murals as you come into Sarchi.

Also in Sarchi ..see the lovely church.

In Zarcero...see the Topiary gardens right in front of another lovely church.

Just start out on the morning and you can do all three places by about noon to 1 PM(depends how much shopping you want to do !) and pick a place for lunch on your way back.

Percy

dariow

Sarchi is "the place" to buy Costa Rican handcrafts. The selection is large and they are much cheaper in Sarchi than in other parts of CR that I travelled.

The crafts are beautiful. I bought many jewelry boxes and rocking chairs.

shillmac

Yes, do go to Sarchi. Fun little place, and Grecia has the distinction of being the cleanest little town in Central America. Zarcero is fascinating. Wonderfully cool, Colorado like climate with pine trees! The topiary garden in front of the church is beautiful. If you can get an early start, try to be at Poas by 8:00, then you'll have the day to tour through the 3 towns. It's all in the general vicinity to La Paz. Perhaps an hour and a half at the most distant reach.

LaPaz/Poas area to Zarcero (the most distant) is sort of a "U" with La Paz being on the right tip and Zarcero on the left--Grecia and Sarchi in between. I'd suggest heading on over to Zarcero, then visiting Sarchi and Grecia on your way back. 30 minutes in Zarcero and Grecia each will be enough. You could easily spend a couple of hours in Sarchi. This would be a very nice way to spend a day in "small town Costa Rica"--we've done it a couple of times and always enjoy ourselves.

On your 2nd day you can stay at La Paz and enjoy that property. Sorry for the wordy response--others do a better job of making their point quickly!

RBCal

In my opinion, the painted oxcarts in Sarchi are hideous.
Nearly all the wooden souveniers and chairs you will see in Sarchi can be found at any other tourist area.

dariow

They can be found in other areas but they are much more expensive in Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio.

I LOVED the oxcarts. I ended up buying rocking chairs and various wood jewelry boxes.

tica_traveler

While it is true that Sarchi has a lot of touristy souvenir shops, it is also a living, breathing community with a great little personality. (A dear friend owns a Christian bookstore there as well as another in Naranjo.) If you do go there for souvenirs, be sure to go to the Women's Cooperativa where you will get the best prices and the money goes more directly to the artisans who crafted the stuff you are buying. You can often see the ladies and gentlemen working on tomorrow's treasures in the back. (If your coming from Naranjo, I think it's the first such store on your left in town. If not, look aroiund. It says COOPERATIVA in big letters on the front. IF YOU GO TO SARCHI or ANY of the coffee towns (or any small town for that matter) in the Meseta Central, be sure to stop into any pulpería (little mom and pop corner store) and get a locally made coconut popsicle. They are the BOMB! They are made in Naranjo or Grecia and DELICIOUS!!! They come in a slew of flavors but after a month-long tastetest, my kids and I have decided the coconut is the best! Everyplace sells them....

Happy travels,

Julie, the tica traveler

RBCal

The rocking chairs I bought in Quepos were cheaper there than in Sarchi.

dariow

Hmmm interesting. You might want to post the place you purchased your rocking chair and what you paid. My personal experience was that everything was greatly inflated in Quepos.

RBCal

I don't remember the name of the store. However, they FAXed the order to Simesa, who shipped it directly to me. The prices in the Simesa catalog are slightly higher than what I paid ($90 per chair vs. $97 online). Shipping from Costa Rica cost $50 per chair and they arrived the day after I got home.

http://www.simesacr.com/

tully

tica traveler thanks for the info, I will be there a couple of hours in 2 weeks & will check out the Women's Co-Op. I'm having a driver run me around that day to Sarchi, Zoo Ave and .... whatever else comes up!

dfarmer

Interesting post! Thanks Slinkie for asking.

We drove through Sarchi once, searched out the churches - which I always do!, stopped for one bit of shopping. But since I admittedly do not enjoy lots of shopping, I would have said No!

I have learned lots here! Thanks

For those of you that have purchased the rocking chairs - do they get to you in good shape - I love these chairs.

shillmac

I, too, purchased a high back leather rocker (in Sarchi) in 2003. I paid $90 and the shipping cost was $30.

dariow

Those rocking chairs are wonderful. I schlepped a bunch of them on the plane.

The big ones were 100 bucks last month.

solis1721

Well, In my opinion the trip to Sarchi is definitely worthwhile. Sarchi is the center of the "Costa Rican Artisan Community". Their are lots of painted oxcarts (the countries national symbol for work) and handmade arts and crafts. One shop I recommend stopping at is in Sarchi Sur (South Sarchi) and is very popular- Joaquin Chaverri Souvenirs and Oxcart factory. I agree with others on the priority to see physical resources like the volcanos and the rainforest. However, the crafts made in this small town are great as gifts and souvenirs. The best time of day to get their is probably in the morning hours. Many tours have Sarchi as a stop either on their way to Poas or on the way back, and most tours begin in San Jose (approx. 30-45 mins away).

teacherkab

If we stop at Sarchi on the way to Arenal from the airport, would it be safe to leave luggage in the rental car?

Karen

flycatcher06

Hi there, We wnet to Sarchi and i have to agree found it overrated. The best gift store we found so far in Costa Rica with the best prices was Souvenir World in Liberia. The people were wonderful - the prices terrific! We too bought a high backed rocking chair which we carried with us on the plane for just under $100. Sarchi to me i could not find as many carts and the prices were more expensive

RBCal

In my opinion, the reason Sarchi is more expensive is because of the handcrafted hype and tours that stop there.
The tour buses have captive audiences and the stores they stop at can charge more.

dariow

I find this so interesting. I found the crafts in Sarchi MUCH cheaper than what I saw in Arenal/La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio.

Clearly, I was not shopping in the right places. Folks who found less expensive stores, please list them. I am going back in June and plan to buy lots of stuff.

shillmac

dariow, same here, everything in Sarchi seemed less money than other locations. I suppose some tour buses do go to Sarchi, but the several times we have been there, I haven't seen one--go figure! The Joaquin Chaverri oxcart store is definitely the place to purchase oxcarts. The selection there is amazing--there must be literally hundreds, in all sizes. And if you go out the back door into a little courtyard area to another building, you can watch them doing the handpainting. Very interesting.

The times we have been there, it has been very quiet, not a lot of traffic or people. In addition to the Chaverri store, right next door there is a shopping mall of sorts with a courtyard in the center where you can buy all kinds of souvenirs (including those beautiful rosewood bowls)--there are a couple of good restaurants there as well.

Tica Traveler makes the best point, I think. Taking the time to travel through (and spend a little time) at these small towns is a pleasant way to pass a few hours. As mentioned, each has a beautiful park and church (all different and unique). I don't think anyone has said that Sarchi should be placed in the Top 10 of "don't miss locations in Costa Rica", but, if one has a few extra hours, visiting there (and Grecia, because it is right next door) would be a good way to spend them.

Also, just outside Grecia is a serpentarium. I think it is World of Snakes? We haven't been there, but it looked like an interesting place to visit--again, if one finds they have a bit of extra time.

Lair--I appreciated your remarks about the gringos in the park! Gee, you're doing exactly what I'd like to be doing in a few years--at least part of the year! You described quite a pleasant scene--thanks for the little glimpse that revved up my wishful thinking! And thanks for the heads up on La Casa de Miguel. We'll know where to eat next time we're hungry in Grecia!

Also, thanks Flycatcher, for the mention again of the souvenir place near Liberia. I've seen it as we've driven by, but never stopped.