likemike

Hi everyone,

This is a question to scott, or anyone who has been to costa rica and both coasts..

I am planning on going next month, and i am torn between tamarindo/samara/pacific side and limon/puetrto viejo/the carribean side. I assume that i should pick one side; is doing both a possibility? how far is it from samara to puerto viejo?

The main things i want to know are...

Which side has better beaches?
Which side has any nightlife?
which side has more things to do?
which side is more chill?
which is more user friendly on getting there and being there?

also, I am curious some of the other diferences on the two areas.. If anyone can shead some light on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. you can reach me at [email protected].

mike

shillmac

Hi likemike,
You are asking tough stuff! First of all, these two coasts are worlds apart in almost every way! Both are beautiful. Here is what I can offer after having been both places.

Caribbean:
---No large hotels--small hotels/cabinas, less developed for tourism
---Tourists looking for "different"
---Limon not worth even a stop---
Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo
(south of Limon) are the areas you
want to head for
---Jamaican influence-Bob Marley rules
here!
---Reggae very popular
---Cahuita National Park worth a look, it's nice. . good wildlife
---WAY more rain (except perhaps in
Sept. or October)--it can rain here any day, any time. There really isn't a dry season/rainy season. It's always the rainy season!
---A lot of black sand beaches, some mixed. There are some beautiful spots!
---Some nightlife, particularly Puerto Viejo
---rough surf much of the coast--care in swimming
---About 3.5-4 hours from San Jose--good highway 2.5 hr. to Limon, decent paved road to Cahuita and points south

Rather than trying to include this side in one of our visits to Costa Rica, we made a special 4 day trip just for the purpose of going here. Unless you have LOTS of time (at least 10 days/2 weeks), you can't do both. Although the distance is minimal, the travel time from Samara would be about 9 hours. Completely different flavor here. . .but beautiful and interesting.

Pacific side:
---Very highly developed for tourism, especially Tamarindo
---Nightlife abundant in Tam/not so much in Samara
---More beach selection up and down the Pacific coast, from Samara to Tamarindo to Flamingo on up to the Papagayo Peninsula
---Definitely Spanish/Latino flavor here. .if you can escape the North Americans once in a while!
---Chill on both sides, lesser degree here, probably--an opinion
---Less rain particularly the further north you are in Guanacaste.
---Both user friendly--better roads in Guanacaste (infrastructure, etc)

Outside of those little pieces of info, I am stumped as to how to describe for you effectively! Many people wouldn't give the Caribbean side the time of day. . .we enjoyed it. .having said that, no desire to return anytime soon. Someday, perhaps. We have been to the Tamarindo area time and again.

likemike

thanks for the good info.

what about flying vs. driving from san jose to the coasts?...

We plan on staying about 10-12 days. and would like to spend it in one or two places. i think i am leaning toward puerto viejo if we go carribean.. or tamarindo if we go pacific..

are there any good places to stay in tamarindo that are private and secluded? how far is tamarindo from samara?

mike

likemike

If i wanted to do 6 days in puerto viejo, and then 5 days in tamarindo... what would be the best way to travel?
How should I go about booking flights, etc..

if we can swing it.... i would love to spend one night in san jose, then go to puerto viejo, and then tamarindo, and then a night in san jose...

any good travel agents that can handle this?

mike

LA_FadeAway

There are two local airlines that go to the Pacific Coast, Sansa and Nature Air, but no scheduled flights to Puerto Viejo or anywhere on the S. Carribean coast. Keep reading this board and you'll find all the info you need!

shillmac

Mike,

Regarding Samara, it is about 1.5 hr. from Tamarindo. The only drawback here (while it is a relatively "quiet" area) is that you are not close to any type of nightlife. That would be somewhat limited in Samara itself as well.

You could drive to the Caribbean, then return to San Jose for a flight to Tamarindo if you want to mix your options. What you have described looks something like this:

Day 1. . .overnight San Jose
Day 2. . .drive to Puerto Viejo--4 hr.
Day 3. . .Puerto Viejo area
Day 5. . .Puerto Viejo area
Day 6. . .Puerto Viejo area
(this is probably long enough!)
Day 7. . .transfer to Pacific Coast (will take the day whether driving or flying part way--you can fly from SJO to either Tamarindo or Tambor--should you choose MalPais--or Quepos--should you choose Manuel Antonio area). .overnight Pacific side
Day 8. . .Pacific overnight
Day 9. . .Pacific overnight
Day 10. . .Pacific overnight
Day 11. . .return to San Jose,
Day 12. . .flight

If you need to juggle this a bit or cut it back one day, I would suggest only 3 nights on the Caribbean. If you have only 10 days, you might need to cut one night on the Pacific. You mentioned 10 or 12 days.

You can certainly get a travel agent to do this for you. I would choose one in Costa Rica if I were you (Juan Carlos at the Hotel Don Carlos would be excellent--very personalized service, whatever you want to do. . .)
OR you can make the arrangements yourself online. . .also simple.

If you want assistance and when you have your plan stabilized, you might write to Juan Carlos. . .he has helped me with details of travel a couple of times when I wasn't even staying at the hotel. He is just very good at what he does.

There are other reputable travel agents there, and perhaps someone else could suggest an alternative for you.

Once you book your flights, then you can fill in the space in between!