DolcLaRox99

Hi,

I will be travelling with my husband and a friend for 14 days in the middle of December. We are staying with a host family in Quepos for the bulk of the trip but want to see the rest of Costa Rica while we are there. I am having trouble deciding where to start so that we use our time the most efficiently. We want to see as much of Costa Rica as possible but the must see places are the Carribean side, La Fortuna/Arenal/Tabacon Hot Springs, Monteverde and Isla Tortuga. We would really like to see even more of Costa Rica but don't know how to plan it on a tight budget and are not sure of the places really worth going.

I really need some help with these questions if anyone can assist:

1. Where should we start? (we fly into San Jose and have a home base in Quepos- don't know if we should drop our luggage in Quepos or start right away and head to the Carribean side)

2. What are the must see cities and excursions to take in. If we never had another chance to come to Costa Rica what must we see?

3. What are safe and inexpensive places to stay along our route- would like to keep hotel costs at an absolute minimum but have it be a safe, clean and service oriented atmosphere.

4. We really want to visit the Tabacon Springs, visit Fortuna Waterfall and possibly go waterfall repelling, go zip lining in Monteverde and take an all inclusive day trip to Isla de Tortuga. (Wouldn't mind if horseback riding was included with an excursion) Is there any place we can find deals on these activities and does anyone have advice having done any of these before? Are there timeshare companies that offer free trips if you partake in a presentation?

5. What should we pack for two weeks in the middle of December? What do people dress like in Costa Rica?

I know I have so many questions but I greatly appreciate any feedback for those who take the time to read this post! Our age group is mid 20's-30's. I am a "starving" college student excited to finally get a break off and my husband has taken a pay cut to work out of his field... This is why we need to be easy on the pocketbook. We are willing to sacrifice staying in nice resorts this time around if it means we can see more and do more. I look forward to your feedback!! Thanks in advance

Linda137

What fun! The thing you might not realize is that it takes a lot of time to get from place to place in Costa Rica and transportation isn't especially cheap. Keep doing research and you'll come up with a plan that fits your group. Weather might be something to think about. The rain isn't cold but it can get in the way of some activities plus is makes unpaved roadways a bit of a challenge.

TripAdvisor might help you decide where to stay. With the economy like it is, you should have no problem finding deals.

hsmithcr

First of all, look here: www.yourtravelmap.com for distances and travel times from place to place. You won't be just zipping quickly around Costa Rica to visit all these places. Plan on two or three days in each area. It will take half a day or most of a day to get from place to place.

In the Arenal area, there are several places that have hot springs and not nearly as expensive as Tabacon. Look here: www.arenal.net You can also find a wide range of lodging here as well as things to do. I would skip Monteverde and consider heading for Tortuguero and then south to the Caribbean coast.

www.tortuguerovillage.com
www.puertoviejosatellite.com

For transportation, you can use shared van shuttles or the public bus - www.interbusonline.com or www.thebusschedule.com

For clothing: Costa Ricans wear what everybody else wears except for things like long underwear. Bring lightweight clothes that dry easily. It is humid. I always recommend not bringing blue jeans which are heavy and take forever to dry.

shillmac

For a different perspective, as much as I love the Caribbean coast, I think you are stretching it to attempt to swing from one side of the country to the other given your time constraints. hsmithcr is correct about the transfer times. You will lose 2 days getting to and from the Caribbean side.

Instead I would focus on Arenal/Monteverde since both are closer to where you will be based. You can do a jeep boat jeep transfer between the 2, and can do whichever first that you would like.

It would even make sense to go there first, spend some time at each location, then head down to Manuel Antonio. Or vice versa, putting those locations at the end. If you go back and forth between Quepos and the Arenal/Monteverde area, you will give up a good chunk of time needlessly.

During your time at Quepos, you can explore the interesting area to the south if you'd like. This will give you a very decent view of Costa Rica's attractions on one side of the country, more or less.

It would help to know just how much time you plan on staying at your home stay and how much you can be away. When you say "the bulk" of your time, I take that to mean maybe 10 out of 14 days. In that case, you would be able to visit Arenal and that's about it. There is a LOT to do in that area--you could easily enjoy 4 days there.

qwovadis

Road trip a lot in CR which is what you are talking about

You have 2 weeks total in CR but you do not say how much

of that will be travel time.

Bus or www.interbusonline.com back to SJ

www.costaverdeinn.com

www.servicecarrental.com cheap cars from $150/wk or so

www.mapcr.com

head up to www.arenal.net negotiate for deals

by asking for a 50% hospitality discount

I have done this with www.tabacon.com for $149

hot springs are best FREE if you stay there otherwise

$70 or so per person hot springs admission

the drive to Caribbean side www.bananaazul.com

nice there then back to SJ..

Congrats on your trip have fun,

HappierWithLess

On the Caribbean side, a great place to stay is Hotel Palmas in Punta Uva. Punta Uva is about 20 minutes south of Puerta Viejo. Perfect beach right near a reef where you can go snorkling all day. Perhaps some of the best snorkling I've ever done outside of Tahiti.

The reef is right off the shore line, so you don't need to spend any money at all.

I've quit my job and moved to Costa Rica permanently after visiting, You are going to love it!!!!

My blog www.happierthanabillionaire.com

hipvirgochick

So when you say "spending the bulk of your trip" in Quepos, how many days to you have to actually travel? This will help guide you to how many places you have time for. There are some things you could do from Quepos such as a trip to Dominica/Uvita, but for areas like Arenal, Monteverde, Puerto Viejo...all require at least an overnight or more like 3 in most.

DolcLaRox99

Thank you everyone for your responses. We plan on spending at least a week in Quepos. We really want to see the whole country and don't want to budge from the list too much. Is it possible to see the carribean side in a day? I'm thinking flying may be an option to save time as long as we can make up the difference in hotel cost somewhere. In response to qwovadis - I have read that there are other hot springs that are less expensive but the reviews are subpar in comparison and the photos of the other springs tend to look more unnatural... can anyone else provide any additional feedback on that matter?

tully

CR isn't, for the most part, a day trip sort of place. Driving from Quepos to the Caribbean side would run you around 7 hours at a minimum. With only a week to fill, in addition to a week in Quepos, I'd stick with only 2 other locations like Arenal and Monteverde.

Though clarify please - when you mention Tortuga, are you referring to the small, day-trip oriented island on the Pacific side or (because you mention flying there & the Caribbean) do you mean Tortuguero? Which is on the East coast and you can fly in for a quick 2 or 3 night stay.

I would highly rec looking up on the site above (yourtravelmap) that hsmith posted so you can get a better feel for the length of time it takes getting between locations.

mlgb

Easy to get from Quepos to Dominical the road is now good. Recommend Hacienda Baru inexpensive cabins and lots of trails slightly different than Quepos/MA more South Pacific coast influence.

hsmithcr

When you say "see the Caribbean side" - you can "see" it in a day - but why bother? Just so you can say, "I went to the Caribbean side?" If you want to see and enjoy it and understand it a little bit, you will need at least a couple of days. It's not really that easy to get there --- or anywhere in Costa Rica for that matter.

To do everything you intend to do, flying would be a must. The problem is -- the airport in Limon is only open to charter flights so that makes flying to the Carbbean coast a little more tricky.

I would much rather pick a couple of places and really enjoy all they have to offer than hop around like a grasshopper, not really able to see or enjoy much. A good rule of thumb is 2 locations for a one week trip. (Unless your two locations are very close together, of course.)

Since you will be visiting Quepos already, I would recommend heading for Arenal and then the Caribbean coast. Or -- head for Arenal and then to Tortuguero. All this can be done on a medium to low budget but not if you fly.

marysmommy

I'm so jealous of your trip! CR is so fabulous we are seriously thinking of retiring there. My husband and I went there last year and the best advice we received on clothing was to invest in a pair of Keen's (basically a hiking sandal). You can get brand new ones on eBay for less than in the stores; we got the H2 kind that are water friendly. We wore them everywhere and we still wear them back in the city. We credit them with keeping us upright on all those steep hills in M.A. and the Arenal. Flip flops will not work there! We also took rain pullovers (like golfers wear, but with hoods) which came in handy in misty areas.

I definitely over-packed for our first trip. The next time we go to CR, I'm taking my Keen's, shorts, tees, a sweatshirt or jacket, maybe one cute skirt and top, and bathing suits. That suitcase full of sassy sandals and dressy clothes can stay home!

Deb15July

You have too much on your plate for this trip...what are the most important sites for you. Arenal and Monteverde are great sites, but it takes about 4 hrs to travel between them. If you list your real priorities, it might be easier to give recommendations.