Thanks for all your previous help. I'm sort of narrowing things down at this point.
We are coming down for a too-short trip in late June. We arrive on Wednesday evening and are staying at the San Jose Barcelo San Palacios (where my son's graduation from his year of study down there will be held). Graduation will be Thursday night.
Will you all let me know if this will work?
Friday morning we plan to fly to Manuel Antonio for 2 nights. (Found a hotel on tripadvisor). Sunday morning we plan to have a driver pick us up and take us up to Monteverde and stay there Sun/Mon/Tues nights, and the driver will pick us up at 7:30 am to get us to San Jose for our 2 pm flight back to Atlanta.
While in Monteverde, we have some horseback/zipline/atv tours in mind.
Is this all do-able? Any suggestions?
Should I buy the airfare soon?
Thanks so much,
Tammy

p.s As far as buying the airfare, I meant while IN the country, from SJO to Manuel Antonio. We have our tickets from the US already

And also, do you know how long the drive is from Manuel Antonio to Monteverde?
Thanks

Hi tamtot,
Sure, everything sounds very doable and enjoyable as well! Good locations, lots of varied activities and landscape!
We haven't done the MA to Monteverde route, but have done all the parts of it if that makes sense. Very close to 4 hours, I would think.
Enjoy--and congratulations to your son! I'll bet he has had a great time and is speaking great Spanish!

By the way, yes, you could purchase the airfare soon, but I don't think you'll have a problem (that time of year) waiting until a couple of months before. You might be interested in Nature Air as their terminal is closer to San Jose where you will already be. Many people seem to prefer them over Sansa.

If I remember correctly, the drive from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio is a solid 4 hrs. Driving is quite a challenge near Monteverde.

Thank you all so much! I'm so glad about this--I love having a plan

Do you have any recommendations for Monteverde? As of now, we have a small place called Hotel Vista Golfo, I think?--it has on-site ziplining,etc. but the rooms themselves don't look all that fabulous. Any experience? Or better suggestions?

Thanks again.

Tammy

Figure four hours to four and a half hours between Monteverde and Manuel Antonio.

When you get close to Monteverde, stop at Soda Garabito for the best cerviche in the country. (That will ignite some controversy!)

If you are staying at the Palacio, it is better to fly on Sansa. This hotel is just off the autopista (freeway) that leads to Juan Santamaria airport. Much easier than Pavas.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Pardon my ignorance--what is cerviche?
And thanks for the info on Sansa!
How far would the Barcelo be from the Sansa airport? (roughly)
Thank you

Ceviche is raw seafood that's "cooked" by lime juice, and it usually has onions, tomatoes, cilantro and that sort of thing thrown in. It's good stuff.

Hey There,
I'm back again! Just have a quick question. In doing some reading on this boards, I see that we might have a luggage weight issue for our little flight aboard Sansa to Manuel Antonio.
My question is this---if we conquer the weight issue, how much time would we need to allow to be at the airport,etc. I'm thinking of hiring a driver to get us from SJO to MA, just leaving early in the morning so we can have time at the beach on that Friday. (like have an 8 am pickup). Any other ideas?
(Our luggage issue is this, we are leaving from Manuel Antonio and then heading to Monteverde. We have a 17 yr old daughter. 22 lb luggage seems a virtual impossibility
Thanks,
Tammy

I am a reformed packer. Prior to taking Sansa, I always had 50 pounds worth of luggage and always used a big rolling bag on wheels. I bought a weekender convertible bag on ebags.com and filled it, and I weighed in at 21 pounds. It's doable - I brought 7 different tops, swimsuit, a couple of pairs of capris, shorts, jacket. My husband was proud!

45 min-1 hour should be plenty of time to arrive before flight. A good tip for light packing is to start with a lightweight bag. I like the weekend convertible bag from Ebags and there are some good colors too. Also, most hotels provide 24 hour turnaround for laundry, not too expensive, which we've used a few times. 2 pairs of shoes are plenty and a pair of flip flops. The last 2 trips we've taken were 2 1/2 weeks, so with a little encouragement I think even your teenager could make the weight limit!

Totally agree; we got to Sansa about an hour before our flight, maybe a little less. The thing about Costa Rica is that it is so casual, more so than anywhere else you've probably been, so you just don't need that much stuff - jewelry, dresses, etc. that you would normally bring can all be left at home.