oneicebox

We just returned from a two-week trip in Costa Rica. We hit the major tourist destinations: Manuel Antonio, Arenol, Tamarindo.

1. Bring enough US dollars or Traveller's checks for your trip as you may pay with US currency throughout your trip although you may not always get changes in US dollar. Almost everything you buy is listed in US currency. All tour operators and interbus service take cash only. The ATM machines are available sporadically. Watch out for the surcharges. We were hit by a 10% surcharge at Tamarindo ATM.
2. Prepare yourself for the bumpy roads. Bring medicine if you're prone to motion sickness. If you choose to drive, leave Absolutely Nothing in your car. We met travelers whose digital camera and sunglass were stolen. The thieves didn't break into the car, they just opened it.
3. Brings a GOOD bottle of insect repellent- the mosquitoes are relentless. There were dengue fever epidemic in Costa Rica last year as I read.
4. If you visit volcano arenal, try to stay at the observatory lodge. The ground is beautifully groom, and has the front row seats to the volcano. The room itself is nothing special; the amenity is basic. But if you get the Smithsonian room like we did, you may be lucky to be awaken by the thunder-llike noise from the Volcano, and watching it in action from your room. That was a priceless experience. The tours offered by the lodge are reasonably priced. However if you want to see lava flow and glow at night, Hotel mantana de fuego may be in a better location. The hotel itself was probably the worse we have experienced in our entire two weeks. The air condition is not efficient, the restaurant is over-priced, and worst of all, as it's building more rooms, so we were awaken 6 am by the construction nose. Furthermore, the room was right next to the road so we couldn't really tell if it's the volcano erupting or a truck driving by.
5. Canopy tours are everywhere, choose wisely.
6. Be aware, Costa Rica is not famous for good food.
7. Tamarindo is quite touristy and somewhat americanised. If you have time, we were advised by the ticos to visit the beaches further north, like playa hermosa or flamingo.

Molly2

Good advice .Re #1:We paid Interbus by credit card. Most of the tours we went on we arranged through our lodges or directly, and they took traveler's checks and/or credit cards. Some of the smaller operations, like museums in San Jose, did want cash.

and #6: We found the food to be overall varied and excellent.

oneicebox

molley,
we had wish interbus would take credit card... All our rides were arranged through hotels. we suspected that perhaps cash will make it easier for hotels to take the cut.

Molly2

oneicebox, you did things the very considerate way {: We were too chicken to bring a lot of cash.

We also stayed at the Observatory Lodge! We weren't fortunate enough to see the volcano erupt, but were equally wowed by the volcano and the grounds and trails {but not by the disorganized management}. Their restaurant turned out to be more reasonable than their website prices, and we thought that the food and service were great. The restaurant/lodge area is a great place to view wildlife, especially birds and coati.

sabby

Hi,
oneicebox,
Look like that you had bad experience in C.R.
We were there and we hada excellent holidays,we wos leaving every things in the car...we eated wery well,the hotel were we wos ,villas kalimba in Samara,wos quite and clean...may be you make the wrong choise...
Try again...!!!!!!!!!!!

poss

Oneicebox: Thank you very much for your report. It is objective and helpful (I am not surprised abt the mosquito report-- the postings claiming that mosquitoes are not a problem in CR somehow never ring true.) I hope you will include some details abt Manuel Antonio-- things you particularly liked and disliked. Of course it's lovely to read all the rave revies of Costa rica, but in fact the "negative" reports can be even more helpful. Thank you.

ewesthoff

Regarding Mosquitos, I guess it all depends on when you go. I visited the exact areas that you did last July/August, brought tons of repelents and did not use a single spray. Maybe we got lucky or maybe the time of year. Even in the jungles on cloudy days, did not get bitten once. As for food, to bad for you. I gained a few lbs. even though I was hiking all day. You need to ask the locals(Ticos) where to eat and if you like fresh fish and the sort, it is some of the best in the world. Again , maybe just got lucky, because I am a snob when it comes to good eats. Thanks for the review.

dncee11

1. I disagree, you can change $$$ for Colones at the airport and pay for restaurant meals and other incidental expenses with them. For larger purchases most hotels take credit cards. ATMs are located in most towns at the banks. There can be charges involved using them; 10% seems excessive, but you get the best exchange rate this way.
2. The roads may be bumpy by our standards but they are always pasable in good weather. Leaving items visible in a parked car is an invitation to thieves anywhere.
3. Mosquitos: depends on what area. We have been to most places without being bothered. Small flies at the beach areas bothered me the most - repellent helps.
4. Arenal is one of the most spectacular areas in CR; besides the volcano, don't forget the hot springs and the waterfall.
5. Very true
6. No, its not Italy or France but there is a good variety of food available; plenty of fresh fish, chicken and beef with the ever-present rice and beans (gallo pinto), eggs, fresh vegetables and salads, fresh fruits (don't miss a chance to eat a ripe mango) and juices. The water is safe to drink almost everywhere.
7. The same is true for Quepos/Manuel Antonio and much of the rest of the country. CR generates more revenue from tourism than any other industry! The reason? Its relatively safe, beautiful and tourist-friendly!

orewa

Would you have the name of a canopy tour company you would recommend?

soleil

oneicebox, you said, "choose wisely" when referring to the canopy tours. I also would like to know which tour you may have had problems with or which one you especially liked.

tully

In MA I was never bothered by mosquitos at all.....I guess it depends on where you go & what time of the year. If I had encountered swarms of them I would dutifully report so. I also had so many great meals in CR, I made myself walk more to burn it all off!

Jessie_

I have never had much trouble with mosquitos but there are plenty of other bugs that I do. We did have a friend who traveled to CR for the first time last year and as he sat at an open air cyber cafe he was eaten alive by them (we warned him to have the spray handy). Yes, he did come down with dengue. The hospital here didn't know what it was but my husband had them run a test for dengue and sure enough.

I have paid for tours through hotels with visa on occassion. We pay for most tours, hotels, and transportation ahead of time and then just bring cash for the rest of our trip. We very rarely use any type of card while down there. 6% seems to be the average for the extra bank fees to use them. Not everyone passes on these fees so ask if you are concerned.

We too enjoyed the Smithsonian room. It was so cloudy we could hardly see anything but when the volcano went boom and woke us up we could see the lava right through the clouds from our bed. This was before the lava viewing switched to the other side. We really enjoyed hiking on the old lava bed from there. Glad to hear the tour charges are not bad. There used to be an extra charge for all tours leaving from there because of the time and difficulty getting to and from compared to the other places along the road.

Thanks for the info.

oneicebox

Sabby,
We had a great time in CR although not without a few surprises, ie, more expensive than i thought, and for the most part, the food we had were not that great. We ate mostly in good restaurants. Perhaps had we tried street vendors we might have different luck. The country itself was fabulously green, the wild life there is better than visiting the zoo.

ewesthoff,
we didnt see much of mosquitos until the last two nights of our trip. We spent 4 hours each night at the Tamarindo beach waiting for leatherback turtles to show up. No turtles, instead, we were fed to tons of mosquitos. And these beach mosquitos were pretty relentless, Off spray didnt seem to work.

Poss,
I like CR, and I will go back to arenal and the nearby lake sometime soon. I can't say i like MA that much. I saw better shape of rainforests and beaches near arenal and tamarindo. In MA there were vendors everywhere on the streets or by the beach ready to "serve" you. You need to cross about 10 feet of water to enter the park when the tide is high. The locals lined up two boats for you to walk on so you dont get your feet wet. IN return, they want you to pay for it. Persoanlly, it just tinted my feelings about the place, also as i have mentioned, someone who stayed at our hotel had her digital camera taken while parking in front of the beach. Then we saw some street fightings while waiting for the rain to stop. I think it may just be our luck.

soleil,
I dont have a particular tour group I can recommend. However, we like ours that we booked through observatory lodge. It has combination of horseback riding and canopy tour for 45 dollars. Through various tour operator, the price will depend on how many plateforms. I have seen advertings for up to 11 platforms, ours had only 6. I have seen different canopy tours have different riding/hanging positions, not sure if they affect the price.

The cost to travel in CR was not as inexpensive as I thought. I would estimate that on average things cost about 3/5 of the US price in the most areas we visited, and that's including food, lodge, transportation, activities. The places we visited are tourist towns, that probably has made things more expensive. For example, i have seen canopy tours prices range from 45 dollars to 75 dollars per person. It will easiliy make $90-150 per couple. Large Fishing boat is about $400-600 / per day for 2-6 people, turtle tour is $25 per person, ATV tour is $95 for the driver, $45 for the passenger, horseback ride is $7-14 per hour, volcano walking tour is between $10-25 per person. These all add up especially if you are travelling with kids. I guess it all comes down to what you want to do. You can choose not to do any fancy activities but just sightseeing which is equally great.

I will still suggest future visitors to bring cash or traveller's checks- but who wants to get stuck with Colones that even locals call it "phantom money." Cards are fine too,
one more note, bring a good binocular! you will need it!

RufusTFirefly

Just adding my 2 cents on a couple of the points made: The Observatory Lodge is not the place to see if you want to see the lava at night. It's on the wrong side of the volcano now.

Traditional CR food is, overall, very bland and ordinary, and in many cases it is very bad. There are individual restaurants, often associated with hotels and resorts, that offer good to excellent menus--but it is not traditional CR fare.

Molly2

I guess we were fortunate with the smaller restaurants, Rufus {love the name!}. Perhaps that's because our guides knew which sodas to stop at. We also lucked out, though, in randomly choosing a soda in downtown San Jose - good food, friendly people.

shillmac

Call me weird, but I love getting "stuck" with leftover colones. I bring them home with me and they serve as reminders that I will return soon! We've found it handy to arrive in the country with colones (which we prefer to use--much easier).

Also, regarding the Ticos who offer their boats to carry people across the 10 feet stretch of water to Manuel Antonio. They provide a valuable service. I personally wouldn't care to wade across the distance, particulary since crocs inhabit the area. It is a job for these gentlemen, and we have never minded paying $1 for the ride!

tully

Agreed shillmac, a dollar is a small price to pay & those men only make money a couple of hours a day due to the tides.

In regards to money, I would suggest bringing some cash & an ATM and/or credit card. Travelers check are a hassle, ATM's are available in most places, plus I try as much as possible to use the local currency out of respect.

poss

Oneicebox: Again, thank you very much for your detailed reports. I'm finding them quite helpful because they are more balanced than many of the reports on this board (tho I much appreciate those also). Some of the reports read morelike chamber of commerce answers, i.e. a sort of "boosterism." As with movie/book reviews, etc. the ones that go into both the pros and cons are the kind we've alwasy found most helpful and believable.

Could you please tell a little more about what activities you did while you were at Makanda? I sense that you weren't crazy about MA, but were there some things you especially liked? Where did you stay at Makanda? Was the food good? Did they have a fridge in the room? Did you buy groceries, drinks, etc to keep in the room? Did you ever walk to a different restaurant for dinner? (We won't have a car.)

Thank you very much for your willingness to answer our questions. I have been so impressed by the posters on this board-- so many truly generous people.

oneicebox

Poss,
I am glad you find the information helpful. I am happy to answer your questions.
If i must pick one thing about MA, it will be the walk by the beach right after the rain. Igunas were out on the beach crawling...no vendors or tourists, just the fresh breeze of the pacific. It's clean and quiet. Someone at hour hotel saw a tree frog in MA, but i didnt see any wild life there.
we stayed at hotel makanda for 4 nights during our first week. Since we were there for honeymoon, we chose to relax instead of doing lots of activities. I also found the prices of activities in MA were a bit pricey. We read lots of good reviews about hotel makanda as it seems to be a good place for honeymooner. We stayed in a studio which was more like a suite in a regular hotel. We both think it's the best place we have stayed in, and we have been around quite a few places in the world. It's not a fancy ritz carlton kind of hotel. With villas and stuidos spread out on the well-groom vegetation, the place is a santurary. We woke up every morning with ocean view and green plants and humming birds right in front of our eyes. That's the way to wake EVERY morning! The room has a little kitchenette. If you want to do some mild cooking It shouldnt be a problem. we like the privacy of the place, were were just by yourself with nature. Breakfast was served in the room every morning. The hotel's restaurant- sunspot, is right by the pool overlooking the pacific. The food was VERY good, however, they are more like american cuisine. From the hotel, you will need to take a taxi to get to main street which cost about 3 dollars. We were advised not to walk at night (it's about 2 miles, my best estimate). According to the hotel staff, the street lights from makanda to the main street were knocked out intentionally by "bad guys" so they can take advantage of you. Not sure if it's true, but we thought 3 dollars was better than walking in the dark for 2 miles. We did try a couple of restaurants while in MA: Marluna and la cantina (recommended by a hotel janitor). They were both okay, i slightly prefer la cantina, grill/BBQ food.

paul_e

Oneicebox - which studio did you stay in? My wife and I are going in May and staying in #9. Also, as poss asks, is shopping for some light food to prepare in your room over 5 days really an option if you don't have a car and the "grocery store" is a cab ride up the hill and down the street? Did you have any concerns with the water - just curious. Thanks paul_e