jdp867

Percy, yes you are correct. They are leaving the planning to me, b/c they've never been and we've been twice. I would like to give them some ideas and then let them choose. I am thinking Finca Rosa Blanca or similar calibre (perhaps Xandari?) We stayed at Xandari in 2004 and loved it. Have never been to Finca but always hear good things. My folks won't do hanging bridges or anything w/ height, so I need to stick to hiking, tours, etc. Thanks

Percy

I have no arguement with either of these choices.

From either of these places they can do a few day tours each day and then on the 3rd day they are ready for home.

If their flight from San Jose is in the afternoon, then I would take in Zoo Avenue in the morning...which is very near the airport.

There are many choices they can go for a few days tours.

Percy

jdp867

Thanks. Is Zoo Avenue the city tour in San Jose? Our driver took us the marketplace in San Jose last time (we had never been to the city) and his wallet was stolen. I was glad to see it once, but would not be inclined to send my folks. Perhaps Zoo Ave is nicer?

dfarmer

Jill here is something I learned back in Jan 05, from a friend here on this forum.

"If you decide to go to Zoo Ave and take a taxi be sure to ask for Zoo Ahbay. Ave is bird and not avenue. They might not know where you are talking about. It is a good place to see some of the great birds of CR up close and personal"

As you can see from the above reply - I had asked a similiar question about Zoo Avenue!!

Also, if you are interested the subject I was exploring was things to do in the Central Valley. There were quite a few good recs. If you want to read the others suggestions, click on my name and look back to Jan 05, around post #550 or so. (didn't realize how much I talk!!!)

I am not a big fan of the city of SJ or any big city for that matter. But your parents may enjoy some of the city tours. One thing we did that was so memorable was the Orosi Valley/Cartago tour. Beautiful scenery. It was just my husband and myself, along with our guide. We visited beautiful churches, Lankester Gardens, the Cachi Dam and Lake, had lunch overlooking the lake, took several stops along the way, stopped at a market to purchase coffee, just a easy paced very nice day. More info can be found somewhere in my trip report back in about Feb/Mar 05.

Also, with a driver your parents can pretty much plan the type of adventure they prefer to have. We have found drivers in CR to be very accomodating and knowledgeable about the country.

Percy

I agree with what dfarmer has outlined.

I also had a private guide and did the whole Central Valley area.

I also did enjoy Cartago ,Orosi Valley and the Lankester Orchid place, plus the Cachi Dam, as dfarmer has so well pointed out.

With a private Tour guide your choices are almost limitless, and also the Guide himself will know of some nice places to take you to.

Also the Guide will know of the nice little out of the way good Tico places to eat.!!

About Zoo Avenue:

This is nice place to"kill" a few hours if you are flying out in the early afternoon.

It is very near the airport and here you will see many of the birds and animals that you wish you could have seen in ther wild.

I spent 1 hour and 40 minutes there and wish I had had a bit more time.

I mean you can spend 10 minutes just looking at the Quetzal !!( But of course this bird has to mean a little something to you.)

I can say that I really enjoyed my tour of San Jose (I am probably one for the few !!!), but I made a list of all the places I wanted to see in San Jose..

Then I had my private Tour Guide take me to all these places.

So I well informed myself of what I was going to see and its significance.

I have to agree with dfarmer that with a private tour guide ,you can almost say to him:

"I am here for two days, take me to some of your nice highlite places"...and away you go.

You know the bottom line is , is that they really cannot go wrong ,no matter where they go.
Just sightseeing is pretty.

Happy Travelling
Percy

dfarmer

Forgive me - I got really stupid today!!!

Here is the discussion I was talking about above!

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34549116

jdp867

Dfarmer and Percy- you both are so great. thanks for all the wonderful tips. I can't believe we are really going back so soon! Guess we are totally hooked. Just can't come up with better option! J

GigiCO

Hi,
We are going to Ocotal and to Playa Flamingo next week, and want to know the price and how to hire a driver - can you give us a heads up on that/ We originally thought of renting a car, but a driver who knows where things are sounds better.

Also, I hear that US cell phones don't work in CR - what cell phone did you use that you mention here/ I'd sure like to know.
Thanks!
Gigi

jdp867

Not sure who mentioned using a cell phone but it wasn't us. We signed up in advance with ATT (we use them at home) for int'l calling plan, so you can pick the country you will be calling (to or from) and use your calling card- it gets billed to your home. It's 9.95 per month minimum but calls you make go towards that amount. It is about 25 cents/min. Then you cancel the plan when you get home.

As for drivers, we relied on the hotels to hire drivers and we have never been let down. The rates are competitive for the most part, and car rental, esp. for 4 by 4 is pretty expensive, so for us, it was worth the peace of mind. Good luck!

GigiCO

Thanks so much, jdp867! We are getting really excited about our trip. I will contact ATT about the phone card - did you just use the hotel phone to call on the card, then?
-Gigi

GigiCO

We just got back today from Costa Rica - what a joy. We had superb weather. We stayed at condos of the Mapache Group for Coco Beach - I plan to buy one to rent out so stayed there to try it, and it was beautiful, and perfect, great price for a two bedroom sleeps at least 4, could make it 6; great kitchen even micro, fridge and hot cold water, etc. just like here at home in the USA; very good A/C.

Got our food mostly at the new supermarket (best pineapple I ever ate, only $1! ) The Tico cheese - mmmmm couldn't get enough of the cheese and butter, or the prepared black beans or breads. And the homemade tortillas! So fresh.

Will write more this week, but just wanted to say everything went beautifully, and I was sooo impressed with how clean & tidy everything is everywhere we stayed, restrooms even at the river or a soda stand were CLEAN and tidy, including the little cantinas/sodas where we ate a LOT 'cuz it's so good. No mess ups of any sort at Coco or Flamingo (body surf heaven for me) Beaches, but the electric power did go off for a bit both places, which is apparently common every few weeks - happens here in Colorado daily in the Summer during thunderstorms, so no big deal to us. Same with the mildly rocky roads all over; our country roads here match theirs except some of the ruts there beat ours... the rocks are much smaller in CR than the ones that fall onto California Hwy 1 between Santa Barbara and Carmel... ooh baby! And CA has their highly paid CalTrans! Overall it is true that the going is slower from Coco Beach up to the volcanos at Rincon de la Vieja and getting to Flamingo than even I expected, but once there, I forgot the road and loved the nature-ness.

The most tiring ride was in around Flamingo and going to Playa Grande as we looked around a lot. The shoulder to the paved road/hwy was actually better on its incline than the hole-y roads, so our driver used those. Overall, I was amused, but think that the road conditions actually save Tico lives 'cuz they can't leadfoot themselves into each other as easily on those as smoother roads; at least I can hope!

Kindest, gentlest human beings in CR that I have ever had the honor of acquainting and being around (they're just not timid drivers, that is certain). Super grande bravado in the car/truck driving experience, but the taxi and pro drivers know the wheels of their car to the pulgada (inch).

More Later,

GigiCO

GlenDR

A group of 10 of us are going to CR for the first time and we are arguing about what to see and what to leave out. One idea is fly into SJ and spend a couple of nights to have a look around, then down to Manuel Antonio for about 4 days of beach and exploring. After than we thought about bussing/driving up to the Monteverde/Arenal area for a couple of nights. Finally, we would spend 4 or 5 nights around the Tamarindo area before leaving to Liberia for a night or two and then on home.

Is that too ambitious? Should we add in or leave out?

Comments would be welcome.

Glen

shillmac

I'm a little confused; are you flying out of Liberia or just thinking you might stay there a couple of nights before driving back to the airport near San Jose?

The first part of your trip sounds fine. From Manuel Antonio, I'd go to Tamarindo area (be sure and do a daytrip into the Rincon de la Vieja National Park). Then, assuming you are going back to San Jose for your return flight, spend the last few nights at Monteverde (or Arenal), but you'll want to return to the airport area the night or day before.

Sounds like you have about 6 or 7 nights after leaving MA? Reserve the last 3 for your last destination. Hope this helps!

shillmac

Actually, rereading your post more carefully (sorry), it sounds like you have more like 8 or 9 nights after Manuel Antonio. Be aware that Monteverde and Arenal are not anywhere near the same area. Although it may appear so on the map, they are hours apart and represent 2 very different locales, each deserving of at least 2 nights. Certainly, Monteverde, as difficult as it is to get to, works out better if you can give it 3 nights.

Could you do San Jose area 2 nights, Manuel Antonio 4 nights, Tamarindo, 3 nights, Monteverde 3 nights, and Arenal 2 or 3 nights? You could also drop a night at Manuel Antonio since you'll have beach time near Tamarindo as well. It's a good idea to end up at Arenal or Monteverde since they are both closer to San Jose than Tamarindo, which is 5 hours away. Monteverde is about 3.5 or 4 hours from SJO, and Arenal is 2.5-3 hours from SJO. If you go to both Monteverde and Arenal, the logical progression is Tamarindo-Monteverde-Arenal-San Jose.

If you do have the full 2 weeks, then 4 locations is not a stretch. I think your idea to spend the first couple of nights near San Jose is a good one. Visit Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, go rafting on the Pacuare, do the Highlights Tour. . .there are plenty of things to do in this area and starting out (or finishing up) with a couple or 3 days in this area is always a good idea. It's actually one of the best parts of the country!

You don't even have to go into San Jose (the airport is a few miles west of town). If you do, you could easily spend a few hours in town if you are interested in things like the Gold Museum, Jade Museum, National Theatre, Central market, etc.

GlenDR

I apologize for tacking my question on to the end of this thread. I am new here and I didn't see how to start a new thread...

Thanks for your advice. Actually, we are flying into SJO and leaving from LIR. So... we should do SJ for a couple of days, Manuel Antonio for 3 or 4, then taking your advice, on to Arenal for 2 days and another 2 or 3 in Monteverdes and wind up in Tamarindo. We will likely spend the last night in Liberia since a large part of the group flies out at some obscene hour of the morning.

Thanks again for reviewing our itinerary.
Glen

shillmac

You are welcome. Sorry, I didn't understand about flying out of Liberia. Yes, that changes things a bit. San Jose-Arenal-Monteverde-Manuel Antonio-Tamarindo.

Or San Jose-Manuel Antonio-Monteverde-Arenal-Tamarindo.

You could even do San Jose-Monteverde-Manuel Antonio-Arenal-Tamarindo to mix up your rainforest vs. beach locations.

Those are some lengthy transfers, but you seem to have the time. Besides, the sightseeing along the way makes the driving worthwhile! Have a great time.

BTW, Welcome to the Fodor's board--you'll get lots of good help here, from folks who love and know Costa Rica well!