bugswife1

We are going from April 19th to April 29th. Visitng Arenal, Monteverde, Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste, and Alajuela. I had thought that packing a few pairs of those quick drying zip-off pants/shorts would be fine, but in all the pictures I look at on the internet, people are wearing regular shorts and/or jeans? Aren't those too heavy? I have no idea what to pack at this point.

Iza

You can probably wear jeans in Arenal and Monteverde and Alajuela if you have cool weather but if those jeans get wet, they will stay wet until you can get them to dry back home! I usually pack 1 pair of zip-off pants, 1 pair of lighweight cotton long cargo pants and several pairs of shorts (any kind you are comfortable in).

Catmomma

I wouldn't bring jeans. Against my advice, my husband brought a pair with him. He wound up not wearing them again after a while because they chaffed him even when we were walking up steep hills just to get to restaurants in Monteverde.

Then I was dumb about advice by the time we were in Arenal. The air was so totally damp there. We didn't get to see the volcano at all in the beginning of March because we were totally fogged in. I washed some socks, and three days later they were still wet. Even the quick dry sports bra I washed was still damp after three days. Virtually everything in our room was damp---moisture collected on the tile floor. The couch and sheets were damp. It was hard to stay warm.

I re-washed that moldy smelling sports bra in Manuel Antonio, which is hotter and drier, and placed it under the fan---it was dry before the day was over.

Bring synthetics, a couple of synthetic fleece shirts, cool max, and other wicking fabrics. Note to the ladies: I was at a Lilly Pulitzer and saw some cute Cool Max sundresses---wished I had seen those before my trip.

Tess_Durberville

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T-R-O-P-I-C-S
My first trip to CR in 2001, I overlooked that very important element; I packed as I do when traveling to Europe -- meaning, that I planned to wash a few light weight shirts, socks, underwear in the sink and be able to pack light. As others have described, hanging up things to dry in Costa Rica ... it just don't happen ! It's the tropics and you have a humidity level that'll challenge any drying. In fact, I ended up leaving a pair of jeans behind as I'd worn them hiking in Monteverde (not a smart choice) --- at end of the day, they were damp & "fragrant" and there was no way I was putting them back on OR in my suitcase.

All that being said, I DO think you can bring one pair of jeans to wear when you're going out to dinner in evening OR doing very relaxed, casual things. Do NOT hike in jeans ! And be aware if you get your jeans wet, then they'll stay that way for the rest of your trip.

LA_FadeAway

Not that I'm planning on bringing jeans, but aren't there laundry facilities at or near some of the hotels? We're going for 18 nights, so I'm hoping to pack light and do some laundry along the way.

Iza

Yes, most hotels have laundry service which we have used although they tend to be rather expensive. On our last trip we used a little "lavanderia" in Tamarindo which was great: drop off your dirty clothes one day and you get them clean and nicely folded the next day. Very inexpensive too! We haven't tried having jeans laundered, however ;-)

Suzie2

I pack a relatively small backpack for a whole month every year. I use hotel/lodge laundry services when necessary or when in areas where things will dry, I hand wash. I can't imagine wearing jeans down there because of the heat and humidity but you still see a lot of ticos in them.

debbrown

So... do we need long pants at all? We will spend most of our trip in the Guanacaste area and two days at Arenal in April. Can we get by with shorts and bug spray?

Deb

Suzie2

I would have a pair. It can get cool in the evening in Arenal. Not always but you never know. They would also come in handy for horseback riding if you wanted to do that.
I travel very lightly but do have 2 pairs of zip offs and a pair of shorts.

Catmomma

I wore a fleece shirt and a pair of long pants the whole time in Monteverde. I wished that I had brought a second pair of each. There were high gusting winds in the area.

Arenal was a little warmer---but I would get really cold in our hotel room because of all the moisture in the air.

bugswife1

Catmomma-is it really that cool in Monteverde? What time of year did you go? Does that play any part in the temp, or is it pretty steady year round? I always travel with sweatpants and long sleeves for the hotel rooms because my husband blasts the A/C no matter how much I pout, chatter, and shiver. The louse. : - ) But I never even considered bringing a fleece to the tropics. Also, the zip off pants are really thin, will I need something sort of in between that and jeans?

RufusTFirefly

There's no way to predict what the weather will exactly be like. But we were in Arenal and Monteverde in January and it was cool in Monteverde and warm in Arenal. Even though it was cool in Monteverde, we wore shorts almost all the time since we were out hiking, ziplining, etc. Mrs. Fly wore long pants more often than I did. We had waterproof jackets--light weight, unlined--and they were plenty for the conditions we encountered.

fluffytails

A nice CR weather link is

http://www.costarica.com/weather/tem...-humidity.html

It gives the monthly averages of temperature, & rainfall for various CR towns/regions. Plus a current 5 day forcast can also be found thru that link.

I agree with the no jeans thing, they just weigh too much. We love those zip off pants. By the time we left for home after 10 days, one of our bags was full of nothing but wet clothes, that just wouldn't dry! We ended our trip at Tabacon & they of course charge a lot for laundry - about $4.00 for 1 shirt etc. we were kicking ourselves for not getting an entire load done for only $5.00 at Delfin Amor at Drake Bay. Don't forget a few plastic bags for your bathing suits.
http://www.fluffytails.ca/costarica.asp

Iza

I would take long pants and a long sleeve shirt for Arenal just in case. They are also handy when staying at higher elevations in Alajuela where it can get really cool at night (I was glad of them at Xandari). You will also want long pants for horseback riding (lightweight cotton is best). I usually bring two pairs of long pants and two long sleeve zip sweatshirts (wear one on the plane) and they always come in handy.

Tess_Durberville

Certainly if you're spending most of your time in one location, or even two locales, then you can take the time to have your clothes laundered. In my circumstance, I was in CR with a tour group and we moved around quite a bit (one night in SJ, then a night in Arenal, on to Monteverde ...). When I abandoned my jeans in Monteverde, it was the second day there and we were to leave early the next morning. Laundry services at hotel couldn't guarantee they'd be ready by our departure (leaving @ 7:30 am next morning).

debbrown

We're spending the first week at a timeshare where we have a washer/dryer in our condo. This is going to come in handy!

I only asked if we needed jeans at all because people report the chafing and moisture problems. If I don't have hiking or wicking pants, maybe I'm better off in shorts.

We leave 4/10. I've been mentally packing for weeks.

Deb

jozep347

I'm an habitual overpacker. Thanks for the advice! I'll plan on the synthetics and dry-wick clothing! Suzie! You are a saint! Maybe you should write a book!