bulldog_lover

My fiancé and I are getting married in front of the Arenal volcano Jan 31st and are spending two weeks exploring the Atlantic and Pacific sides of Costa Rica. Our trip consists of this- we fly into San Jose, rent a car and drive to La Fortuna de San Carlos to the Arenal Volcano for 3 days, then we drive to Puerto Veijo to spend a week on the beach. From there we go back to San Jose for a night, then drive to the pacific side to Playa Tambor for 4 days for some whale watching, back to San Jose to catch our flight home. We chose to drive to our destinations so we could take in ALL the beauty of Costa Rica and enjoy all it has to offer. This is a lot of driving for two people that have never been to Costa Rica and I have to admit, the closer the date approaches the more "nervous" I get. Not about the wedding, but about the driving-please bare with me as I get a lot more "conscious" in my older age.. I was hoping some of you could give me some tips, warnings, etc, of anything we should be on the look out for or activities and spots along our travel that we should not pass up! All the info is greatly appreciated since the trip is one week away!!

Thanks y'all

MichelleY

We had to drive from the Pacific side, Manuel Antonio, to Puerto Viejo. We were told it would take 9 hours and should probably break it up. I found a B & B about 1 hour outside SJ on the way called Casa Rio Blanco. It is just before Guapiles and we thought is was wonderful. Cabins high above the river. So tranquil and the hosts, Annette and Herbie were great. We would stay there again and spend more than just one night.

http://www.casarioblanco.com/

We had GPS, which was great in the cities. But not so much out in the boonies. We always got directions before leaving for our next destination from the locals. Be sure your always have a full tank and never pass up a chance to use a restroom.

volcanogirl

I wouldn't leave anything in your car unattended; car break-ins are fairly common. Congrats on your wedding! We love Arenal - fun things to do include the natural hot springs, the waterfall hike, the Hanging Bridges, the Penas Blancas river float, and the Cano Negro tour to see wildlife. If you want to zipline, Sky Trek is awesome. Don Rufino is a nice place to eat if you need one. I hope the volcano is visible for you; it spends a lot of time hidden by fog and clouds. We barely saw it on our most recent trip. What hotels are you staying in?

qwovadis

Hi BD relax have done this a bunch a few caveats but CR is the safest place to rent a car in SA and CA for me. servicecarrental.com mapache.com. I like 2WD sedan cheaper lockable trunk never need a 4WD unless I go off road.

mapcr.com for route info.Do secure your stuff.Do not speed through small towns the limit is 40KPH(28MPH) BIG fines
Gas stations best to pump your own they will scam you on price. Do not let folks help you fix flats just dirve on the rim to the nearest station. insuremytrip.com wise travel.state.gov for a heads up. There is a drug military check point to/from PV it is sort of rasta didgy a drug
transshipment point so careful there.

The Good news is all main roads on your route are nicely paved
You will have little rain in winter and the freedom flexibility of a nice car. Last road trip I did I went down to
www.corcovado.org www.lookout-inn.com itwas exotic far nicer
than Tambor PV might lood at that.

Congrats!

Arenalbotanical

Don't even think about driving after dark.
Pass right on through Puerto Viejo and continue to Cahuita.

MonicaKD

Hi BDL - My daughter and I went to CR last March and I was also nervous about the driving, which turned out to be a piece of cake. Our car got delivered to the place we were staying (Rancho Margot, which was amazing btw) near La Fortuna, so I don't have any experience driving from the airport, but driving everywhere else was a breeze. I think as long as you have a GPS and figure in extra time for travel you'll be fine. We got a great rate through Vamos and were very happy with them.

Deb15July

If you don't already have a place to stay for your overnights in SJ, check out Casa Bella Rita, Xandari and Alegria B & B.

bulldog_lover

Thanks everyone for the input and the congrats! All the info will be used I assure you! We do have our hotels already chosen and booked. We will be staying at the Marriott in downtown San Jose, then the Hotel Kioro Arenal, Le Cameleon in Puerto Veijo and Costa Coral in Playa Tambor. Our travel agent highly recommended those hotels is why we chose them, from the websites they look very nice.

MichelleY~ thanks for reminding me about the GPS, someone else recommended that. I'm assuming we can get it through the rental car place. I was also told to buy a waterproof map to take with us too. Did you guys get one when you rented the car or did they include it?

Volcanogirl~ are there many caves in Arenal area? There's a wedding photo I would like our photographer to try and capture for us and it's in one of the caves. I've never heard anyone mention the caves when they've talked about Arenal. I'm excited now about the hanging bridges! Think we could possibly get a wedding photo on any of those?

qwovadis~ we are renting a 4wd, our travel agent said it was similar to an American Toyota Rav-4. She took care of all of that for us. I wished I would have thought about one with a lockable trunk. Does that vehicle sound familiar to you and do you know which one I'm referring too. I've not seen any photos of it. The gas stations, if it's not self service they will try and charge you more? That's very good to know! Thank you!!

ArenalBotanical~ Our hotel is booked in Puerto Veijo, how far is Chauita from PV?

MonicaKD~ thank goodness! You made me feel so much better! I've had people tell me to hire a private driver and that it's not a good idea for two newbies to tackle all that driving. Good to hear from someone who has traveled it that it's not as difficult as some make it seem.

Deb15July~ we're staying the first night at the Marriott downtown SJ the first night then again between the drive from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But we will definitely keep it in mind in case we're not happy for any reason with the Marriott.

Thanks again to all for all the tips! About Our time in Puerto Veijo... I did hear Limon was horrible! Very dirty and somewhat dangerous, as any port city can be, and I know it's right outside PV. There is one place I was really hoping to visit and that was the Sloth Sanctuary. It's about 7kilometers outside of Limon.. You think it's worth it or should I stay as far away from that area as possible?

volcanogirl

Yes, there are - the Venado Caves; we haven't had a chance to do those yet, but they get great reviews. And you could definitely get photos at the Hanging Bridges too. The waterfall is very pretty as well.

Deb15July

If you can't do the Sloth Sanctuary, you could check out the Toucan Rescue Ranch near San Jose. They usually have some rescued sloths among over birds and animals.

volcanogirl

Proyecto Asis is another nice rescue center close to Arenal. We got to feed a sloth there.

Latitude9Lisa

re: gas stations. By law, all gas stations in Costa Rica are full service. There are no "self pump" stations and the price throughout CR for gas per liter is uniform to all stations. When you pull into the station, look at the pump your attendant is using and make sure the pump reads "0" before you fill up. This will assure that someone did not fill up before you and their purchases is added to yours. Additionally, the attendant will most likely wash your windows (and check oil and tires if you ask). Always nice to give a little tip for this nice service. (250 - 500 colones.)

re: driving in general. Road stops by law enforcement is very common. You do not have to be doing something in violation of the law for the officer to ask you to pull over. You may be asked for your passport, where you are intending to travel and your former destination. All very common and normal, just an FYI as many tourists think they've "done something wrong" to be asked to pull over.

Have a safe and wonderful trip in Paradise! Lisa in Playa Hermosa

MichelleY

You will get many different recs here on where to stay and what to do. Puerto Viejo will be fine for your stay. Cahuita is fine also and close to PV, but the road is terrible and slow due to the dodging of potholes. We stayed with family between the two. It was closer to Cahuita, so we usually went there for dinner, not wanting to hassle the road back to PV at night. If we didn't want to eat at 4 p.m., we had to drive at night to either PV or Cahuita. Sun sets about 5 p.m.

Also, people walk around on the roads at night. Lots of people out on the roads, hanging out,so be cautious, drive slowly, obey speed limits.

Our maps were paper and fine.

We loved Casa Rio Blanco, but it is east of SJ. The owners gave us a short cut around SJ, thus avoiding the gridlock and confusion in town. Instead of staying right in SJ, you should try to at least make it thru the other side of SJ for your trek to Tambor. Trying to stay west of SJ proper, thus making your travel time to Tambor shorter the next day. Not sure of any recs.