faciar

We are planning our trip for January, 2005 for a total of 17 nights, but because of our flights we will have to spend the first and last nights in San Jose. Everyone has been so helpful with suggestions on this board, I was hoping you could help us as well with our itinerary!
We are two adults and a 4 year old. Because we are bringing our daughter and will not have a babysitter, it seems that many activities will be out of the question (certain canopy tours, rafting, etc). So we need to go places where there will be interesting things to do for the pre-school set. This is what we were thinking:
2 nights Arenal
2 nights Monteverde
3 nights Guanacaste beach (Tamarindo? not sure yet)
. . . After that we are lost! We know that MA seems to be a "must see" but are also intrigued by the Montezuma area.
We will be renting a car for the whole trip - is it possible to drive from the Tamarindo area to Montezuma? How long does it take?
Finally, we are looking for lodging priced in the "moderate" range, preferably with some kitchen facilities (refrigerator would be nice). It seems that many child-friendly resorts run close to $200 per night, which strains the budget. Do you have any suggestions for us?
Many thanks for sharing your insights with us!

Iza

With a 4 year old I would suggest that you pick places that have child friendly pools and lots of shade on the grounds - she'll want to play in the water and run around and you don't want to worry about sun stroke!

Tamarindo would be a nice place with a child - we like Capitan Suizo which is very family friendly, has a great pool for the little ones and kids menu at the restaurant. Their regular rooms are probably in $130 range (not sure as we always go in the green season) and those are very comfortable for a family of 3. There is a small fridge in each room.

I think I would prefer Manuel Antonio over Montezuma which seems to attract more of a young hip crowd. In Manuel Antonio, Si Como No is great for families but it is on an expensive side. We heard great things about Tulemar Bungalows but that may be up in price as well. You should check Villas Nicholas - I believe their units do have kitchens and the prices are definitely more reasonable.

shillmac

Tamarindo to Montezuma--about 5 hours. You can take the new bridge near Nicoya, drive down to Puntarenas, catch the ferry, then drive the 1.5 hour to Montezuma. OR you can stay on the Nicoya Peninsula, skip the bridge, skip the ferry, and drive on down to the ferry landing town (Paquera), then over to Montezuma. The first option would give you better roads, the second option would free you from having to wait for the ferry and then ride it for 1.5 hours. The roads are poor only for about 20km just before you get to Paquera. Get a map and look it over. Either way, not a problem.

Don't you have time to do Montezuma and Manuel Antonio both? How's this?

2 nights Arenal
2 nights Monteverde
3 nights Tamarindo (or nearby--See suggestion at bottom of post)
3 nights Montezuma
3 nights Manuel Antonio

With this plan, you will see a really nice overview of the country. There are a couple of extra nights if you get somewhere you really like and want to add time and there are a couple of nights built in if you need to stay near the airport first and last nights--depends on your flight times.

In the Tamarindo area, actually about 30 minutes north, there is Playa Flamingo with a great resort (about $120 high season) right on the beach. Flamingo is one of the prettiest beaches. It is close enough to Tamarindo for you to spend as much time there as you would like. I mention this because Flamingo has such a nice clean beach (one of the best in CR). Your plan looks good! Since you have so many days, you can afford to move around a bit.

Times: San Jose-Arenal 3 hours
Arenal-Monteverde 3-4 hours ??
Monteverde-Tamarindo 5 hours
Tamarindo -Montezuma 5 or 5.5
Montezuma-MA 6 hours
MA-San Jose 3 hours

The transfer times will usually take half of your day. You'll want to depart each location early morning (8:00 or so, depending). Some consider the transfers a waste of time, but think of it as part of the sight seeing. However, we've never done it with a 4 year old! Enjoy!

shillmac

Oops, why do I always forget something! You should know that during the green season, Guanacaste is beautiful, BUT during January, it will be very hot, dry, and dusty--certainly not so green. The beach areas are still pretty, but the surrounding area is not nearly as pretty. Will this make a difference to you?

faciar

Thank you, one and all.
We have revised our thinking a bit. My husband really wants to spend more time in Arenal/Monteverde, so we are going to do 3 nights at each. Then we need some beach time (We live in one of the snowiest cities in the US!) . . . He likes to snorkel/dive so we may do Playa Flamingo as suggested by shillmac- 3 nights perhaps?
Then we need to find another place for 2 nights . . . we have booked a room at the Marriott Los Suenos (using reward points) for the last 3 nights.
Is the Marriott within driving distance to Manuel Antonio for a day trip? Where would you suggest we go for the 2 days between Flamingo and Herradura?
You have all been most helpful!! Thank you!!

shillmac

Hi Faciar,
Your itin. looks good. I think you will enjoy Flamingo. There's a great little restaurant on the beach about 10 minutes away in Brasilito called Camaron Dorado (Golden Shrimp). It is right on the curve as you come into Brasilito on your right. Seating right on the beach--great service--beautiful in the evening!

Two days. . . .I'm thinking you might book a couple of days extra at the Marriot and not do so much packing/unpacking, checking out/in! You can easily do daytrips to MA from Herradura. There is quite a bit to do in this area. You would enjoy a tour of the Carara Reserve or nearby Turubari Park--both closeby. Also the Rio Tarcoles and its ever present crocodiles!

Another option: Stay an extra night each place.

OR: Head back toward San Jose early and spend a couple of extra days exploring areas nearby. Within a very close proximity of the city there are wonderful day trips. One of the best ones is the Highlights Tour--check it out online. This may make for a long day with your little one, but you can do great half day trips also. Leave town in any direction and you will find neat little towns and beautiful scenery.

Other things to do in this area:

Guaybo Archaelogical site (near Turrialba)

Orosi Valley and Lankaster Gardens (could also include Irazu Volcano)

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

Sarapiqui River and La Selva

Braulio Carillo National Park

Sarchi--great for shopping

Zarcero--lovely church gardens with --what do you call it?--topiary? Animal trees!

Poas Volcano--included in Highlights Tour, but you could also do it for a short trip on your own in one morning. Beautiful crater!

Butterfly Gardens, the list goes on!!!

It's great that you have all these days because your options are vast! If you think you've had enough beach between Flamingo and Herradura, I'd definitely tack on the days near San Jose--you will be delighted, I think!

debbrown

We were in CR in April and did the Kanon tour at Rincon de la Vieja with my 5 year old granddaughter. She loved it! She was harnassed to a guide and they took excellent care of her. It was a wonderful experience for the whole family.

At Arenal we stayed at Los Lagos and she got a personal tour of the butterflies and frogs from the gamekeeper. She also hiked the Hanging Bridges and to the La Fortuna waterfall.

Kids have boundless energy so don't underestimate your child or sell yourselves short on this trip.

Deb