Hey PS Travelers! Tips on Costa Rica Needed!

[iheartscience]

Hi PS Travelers! I just bought tickets to go to Costa Rica March 7-17 and I''d love any tips about where to go/stay/eat/whatever if anyone''s been! So far it''s me, my fiance and my twin sister going. (One or two friends of ours might come depending on time off/money.)

I''m not that into super touristy stuff, so I would especially love some tips for things that are off the beaten path. But I welcome all tips and helpful hints! Thanks in advance!

 

[Kay]

Hi Thing2of2 (I always wondered about your screen name -- it is because you have a twin?)

I adore Costa Rica. We have been twice and I would happily go back again. I found the TripAdvisor and Fodor's forums invaluable in planning our 13-night honeymoon. My trip report is here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g291982-i813-k886058-Trip_report_for_Costa_Rican_honeymoon-Costa_Rica.html

You can view my pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/ye6o4n

It's not exactly off the beaten path, but we loved the Arenal area. We had incredible views of the volcano the 3 days we were there. There are tons of fun activities available there. We enjoyed hiking through the lava fields and the ziplines. Our favorite tour of the whole trip was the Pure Trek canyoning tour. The three guides were very safety conscious and friendly (offering to take pictures for everyone as they went down the waterfalls). Rappelling down 5 waterfalls and one rock wall was such a thrill, and I’ve never even done rock climbing before. The first time (on a 161’ high waterfall) was scary, but by the third one I wanted to go back and start over so I could really enjoy the first 2 once I knew what I was doing. We would definitely do this again if we return to Arenal.

With 10 nights, I would go to Arenal, a beach location, and maybe a 3rd location. I like to stay at least 3 nights in each location so I can relax, get a chance to see the area, and not feel like I'm constantly in transit.

Here I am rappelling down waterfalls with Pure Trek:

 

[Kay]

Arenal Volcano with lava fields in foreground (and me in my dorky hat to shield my pale face from the tropical sun):

 

[BigDiamonds]

Hi! I''m so excited for you

- FI and I went to Costa Rica around Christmas time in 2006 and LOVED it. We had a great time.

We stayed one night in San Jose only because of flight schedule. It''s a not a particularly attractive or interesting city, so I would generally skip it unless you have reason to stay. We spent our one night at Hotel Grano de Oro, which was terrific. It''s a small place with cute rooms and a great restaurant.

We spent the rest of our tme (only about 6 days) in/around Manuel Antonio. This is a popular spot because it''s a good balance between the more developed areas in the north and the less accessible rain forest in the south. If you have the time and inclination, I hear that the Osa peninsula is an amazing experience, but very rustic. We had the option to take a bus or a plane down to Manuel Antonio. We chose the plane because I get very motion sick, and after seeing the roads I was happy with the choice. That said, the domestic airlines are a little rough, and our plane was a 6-seater. I''m not really a nervous flyer, but it got to me a bit.

There is also a strict baggage weight limitation, so be aware of that when you pack.

Once there, we spent our entire time at Makanda by the Sea. We loved everything about it, from the rooms to the food to the staff. The only negative is the beach - it''s just not nice. They do have a great pool though, which was fine for us. There is a nicer beach that you can reach with a $5-10 cab ride. We spent a couple of days at the Manuel Antonio National Park, which was a very cool experience. They have guides that you can hire outside the entrance, and it is defnitely worth it. They point out all kinds of animals that you would never see on your own, and they have super high-powered telescopes to see the animals up in the trees. We saw tons of monkeys, sloths, bats, iguanas, Jesus lizards, toucans, and lots more. They also have a beach where you can stop and take a dip to refresh yourself.

The nearest town is Quepos, which is nothing special. We only went there once to do a bit of shopping and didn''t find any great restaurants. The most redeeming quality about the town is that is still feels very local and the people are great. Our best dining experience was at a street-side stand outside of the park. It''s food poisoning waiting to happen, but that''s part of the adventure for us. We got grilled chicken and pork, rice, fried plantains, tortillas, and Fantas for about $7 total. We were the only non-locals in sight. It was great!

We also did a zip line trip one day, which was really fun. It''s a completely different way to enjoy the natural beauty of the country. We saw some great animals up close on the trip, and the tour photographer did a great job.

One of our favorite parts of the whole trip was waking up in the morning to monkeys swinging around in the trees outside the room. Every morning they would come by around 6:00 and we would sneak outside in our robes to sit on the porch and watch them. After that, we would order breakfast to our room, which is included. They had amazing banana coconut pancakes that I still drool over!

FI did most of the research for this trip (well, all of our trips, actually

) so I can''t tell you too much about the other areas of Costa Rica. I do know that Tamarindo is the best beach area, and Arenal is obviously a must-see. I wish that we had gone there, but we didn''t want to spend our whole vacation traveling between places. The east coast is pretty undeveloped, so it would be a cool but probably inconvenient experience.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas! I''ll post some pics so you can see the area and some animals.

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, thanks Kay and BigDiamonds! I''m going to research all the info you gave me later on today! (I woke up at 4 am and couldn''t go back to sleep but I need to go try!)

P.S. My name is from Dr. Suess'' The Cat in the Hat. My mom always called me and my twin sister Thing 1 and 2 after the Thing 1 and 2 in The Cat in the Hat who make big messes and run around like maniacs. So we turned it into Thing1of2 and Thing2of2. (I''m 2 because I was born second!)

 

[Pandora II]

I saw a wonderful programme on the Aviarios del Caribe Sloth Refuge, which looked amazing.

If you are into animals, you can go and hug a sloth there! They also have a B&B on site.

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=157573

 

[BigDiamonds]

Okay, here are just a few pictures.

If you decide to take a local plane, here is what you''re in for. I think our first ride was our pilot''s first day on the job. There was a lot of reassuring and then congratulating going on by the copilot. Also a lot of weird alarms going off most of the flight. Not a warm fuzzy feeling.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I have not been there but it is on my list. I look forward to your full report!

 

[BigDiamonds]

This is the view from our porch. We had a large studio suite with a huge porch. We overlooked very dense jungle and then into the ocean. Made for some great mornings!

 

[BigDiamonds]

We saw this little guy sleeping upside down in a tree in the park. The picture was taken through the guide''s telescope, which allowed for much better resolution than using the zoom. Their fee is definitely worth it!

 

[BigDiamonds]

This is a sunset from a restaurant called El Avion. We saw it on a travel show for the best places to watch a sunset, so we made a point to go in the evening. The restaurant is built around an old airplane and sits high up on a hill. We got a table on the rail and enjoyed a pitcher of sangria while the sun set. It was amazing!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 12/2/2007 1:27:46 PM
Author: BigDiamonds
We saw this little guy sleeping upside down in a tree in the park. The picture was taken through the guide''s telescope, which allowed for much better resolution than using the zoom. Their fee is definitely worth it!

What a character!

I have a group in Puerto Rico in my biz. I was down there and there were these huge [5'' with tail] iguanas sleeping in the sun on the fronds of the palm trees. It was an amazing sight!

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, your trips are gorgeous

Looks like tropical paradise! I have 3 friend who went and love it; they did the zip lines! Thing2of2 what an exciting trip; I would love to be packed in your bags w/ya. hehee

 

[iheartscience]

Kay-I just looked at your slideshow (everywhere you went is SO GORGEOUS!) and read your great review! Thanks for the links!

BigDiamonds-Thanks for the links and pics! I will be avoiding that tiny plane like the plague! Yikes! The sloth pic is ridiculously cute! And the place you stayed looks gorgeous!

Pandora-that sloth refuge looks AWESOME! My fiance actually has a thing for sloths (I tell him it''s because he is one-he loves to nap!) and we''re all animal lovers, so I totally want to go there if we''re anywhere near it!

DBlu-I''ll give you the full report when we get back! I''m also hoping to see big iguanas-I hear they''re easily seen in Costa Rica.

Skippy-I bet you''re a great person to travel with! I''ll sneak you in my luggage if you promise not to tell them I knew you were a stow away!

Thanks again for the tips! And if anyone else has any other tips, please send ''em my way!

 

[kittygirl]

We just got engaged in Costa Rica over thanksgiving (link here) We only had time to go to Monteverde and Arenal. Both places were beautiful in very different ways. I would totally recommend doing the rain forest and volcano area over beaches, since there are plenty of nice beaches but the rain forest and volcano area are one of its kind!

Arenal must do: Eco Termales hot spring! Skip the Baldi, it''s like a theme park with loud disco music. Eco Termales is much smaller and cozier.
Monteverde: do a hike in the reserve, we saw the amazing queztal bird (same day we got engaged, I take it as an auspicious sign

and canopy tour of course!

We used this company called Desafio, their 4 day package (included hikes, canopy tour, safari float, hot spring, volcano hike, jeep-boat-jeep, etc.). It was brainless and really well planned out in terms of diversity of activities and good and not too hectic pace. http://www.desafiocostarica.com/

See some of our pictures of the trip here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sharonwong116/CostaRica

We stayed in Silencio del Campo in Arenal and Fonda Vela in Monteverde. I was so ecstatic about the engagement ring that I totally forgot my right hand ring at Fonda Vela. It''s a small .7 CT diamond and they are sending it back to me! Amazing staff.

 

[kittygirl]

This is the quetzal bird we saw. We took the picture through a scope. The bird is unbelievable.

 

[iheartscience]

Thanks for the links, kittygirl-you''re quick!!! It looks like you did tons of fun stuff, with the most fun being getting engaged! The queztal bird is gorgeous...definitely an auspicious sign if I''ve ever seen one! Congrats and thanks again!

 

[Kay]

I love the story behind your screen name. Here is the iguana that joined us for breakfast a couple of mornings in Punta Islita. He came right up to us, so we tossed him pieces of toast, muffins, etc.