The internet is a great resource for trip planning! I'm one of those people who do all my reserach for a trip between a guide book and the internet. This way I get the kind of trip I want. Had I not picked up Fodor's Costa Rica, I wouldn't have known about the FORUM. What a great source of information and communication! Thanks to reading posts on here I have changed some of my reservations and travel plans. I realize that if there are 10 people who have done the same thing, there will be 10 different opinions. Have said that, I have realized that when lots of people recommend the same thing then it is usally a good thing. My husband and I are leaving in less than 48 hours for our first visit to Costa Rica. We are really looking forward to visiting this diverse, beautiful and interesting country. I will post a travel report when we come back. I think it is a good thing that there are reports from "newbies", "locals" and "returnies". That gives it a nice blend. Oh, did I mention it is supposed to snow in New England while we are away...

Hi vt_girl,

I was totally enraptured with CR on my first visit (just this past December), and am deep in the planning stages for trip #2.

Hope you love it as much as I did. Please do share your impressions when you return.

vt girl, where are you going? I'm coming up soon on trip #4 and probably wouldn't of had such great times without the great ideas & advice here at fodors. Have a great trip!

Same here--Fodor's gave us a good start on our "wandering adventures" around CR. I still am learning beaucoups from this board. And you are right, the blend of expertise is priceless. It's always fun to see CR from the eyes of someone who has just visited for the first time, and to anticipate with those who are planning their first visits.

I wonder if there is another board on Fodor's with so many devotees to one particular place. I find this board fascinating in that such interesting connections seem to develop here--friendships with some substance even--something one wouldn't expect to find.

Hope you have a great time--looking forward to your report!

You guys all hit the nail on the head very nicely.

I started out reading several different travel forums in my quest to research CR last year, but quickly settled on Fodors as my favorite. There's just a real welcoming sort of feel here and a genuine desire to help on the part of so many of the regular posters (shillmac and tully among them...). Reading people's trip reports and being able to post my own questions definitely enhanced my first visit to CR.

I was naturally pre-disposed to love Costa Rica, because I love beautiful natural scenery and am such an 'animal' sort of person (as in I love animals; not that I am an animal...for the most part anyway ). The Fodor's forum helped me put together a wonderful vacation that exceeded my already high expectations.

I feel like I should be reading this on television as some sort of commercial that ends with "Thanks, Fodors!" Lol