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 The Costa Rica Forum
 Travel to Costa Rica
 First time trip - help!
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| Author | Topic: First time trip - help! |
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hopeulikejammin2 Recent Member Posts: 4 |
posted 05-20-2009 05:58 PM
  
I am planning an 8 day trip to CR at the end of June and would like your recommendations/suggestions!! The types of things I'm interested in doing are rainforest hikes, canopy tours, ziplining, and relaxing on the beach. I definitely want to check out the volcano and Monteverde. I was also thinking about Playa Manuel Antonio. Is Tamarindo worth it? I'm not into going to a super touristy place, but I've heard it's worth going to. I was also thinking Dominical. I'm flying into Liberia. Any information you could give would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! |
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samlee Recent Member Posts: 3 |
posted 05-20-2009 07:56 PM
hi, first if you want to enjoy your holiday, you need to planning for each & every thing. you know the budget, according to your budget you can manage your things |
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jdocop Full Member Posts: 563 |
posted 05-21-2009 02:23 AM
First, eight days is not enough time. Second, which volcano are you referring to (there are seven of them)? Third, Tamarindo hasn't been worth visiting for about eight years (too touristy/too expensive). Personally, I don't care for any of the beach destinations anymore, 'cause they are too hot, and too expensive...... |
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hopeulikejammin2 Recent Member Posts: 4 |
posted 05-21-2009 04:12 AM
I was referring to the Arenal volcano. I am in the process of planning each destination, but there seem to be so many great things to do, I'm trying to narrow it down. There are no beaches you recommend?? Is it pretty easy to travel among the different beaches along the gold coast? Please forgive my ignorance on this subject, I'm in the beginning planning/research stage |
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mediatica Full Member Posts: 181 |
posted 05-21-2009 05:46 PM
Hopeulikejammin2: Don't let Jdocop discourage you. There are plenty of beautiful beaches in Guanacaste (I know because I live here and have for the last several years). If you want less touristy areas, try Playa Conchal (south end--not at Reserva Conchal), Flamingo is nice too. Tamarindo is nice for some, not for others. We rent out properties there and it's still our most visited beach area. There are good dining options there and the beach is for surfing. If you are looking for the 'fiesta', you'll want to be in Tamarindo. If you want something more laid back, I would encourage you to check out Pirate's Bay, south end of Playa Conchal, Sugar Beach...among my favorites. The most popular route of 'places to see' if flying into Liberia tends to be Arenal then Tamarindo/Flamingo area. Dominical (which I just visited a few weeks ago) is beautiful and remote, but is far--a 5 hour drive south of Tamarindo. I think planning more than 2 destinations in only 8 days is simply too much. Driving in CR takes a lot longer than it seems on the map. Mostly single lane roads and you can only go so fast. If I can be of assistance, feel free to email me mediatica26@yahoo.com ------------------ |
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jdocop Full Member Posts: 563 |
posted 05-22-2009 03:59 AM
I was not necessarily trying to discourage anyone from anything.......I simply cannot reccommend any beach, 'cause I personally don't care for that sort of thing anymore.....Medicatica is your best source for info about beaches, and you also can see that she did echo my sentiments that 8 days is likely not enough time to truly see and appreciate this wonderful paradise.....my normal advice to folks planning on traveling here is to not bother unless they can count on having much more time than 8 days.....minimum (imho) is at least two full weeks (14 days), and ideally, at least three to four weeks...... |
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wanda messer Full Member Posts: 72 |
posted 05-24-2009 05:09 AM
hopeulikejammin2, Have to agree with JD and mediatica on time frame. We stayed at the Lost Iguana in Arenal, beautiful place, sat on porch at night and watched volcano erupt, also close to Tabacon Springs, We have stayed at TAbacon Resort in past, but quite frankly Lost Iguana is much nicer and a very much better view of the volcano. the cost for entering Tabacon Springs was around $30.00. Then we traveled down to the Pacific Coast to Quepos, stayed at Parador Hotel, sat right on Pacific Ocean, beautiful location, beaches are not what you see in US, we live in Fla, so are used to white sandy expansive beaches, which are not in Quepos, but is close to the National Forest, was able to take in nature, watching the troops of monkeys, seeing the sloths, in fact at the beach area in Quepos, the monkeys came down out of the trees, were so close to us, also saw sloths at the hotel. both places, the rooms ran in the $200.00 range. We flew into San Jose, drove to Arenal, were there for 3 days, then drove to Quepos,Manuel Antonio which was about a 6 hr drive, along the way, stopped at the bridge to see the crocs, what a sight! We were in Quepos for 4 days, then drove back to San Jose, stayed overnight in San Jose to catch flight. You might want to take a rain jacket, they have showers which don't last long, and to buy a cheap rain jacket at the National Forest was about $10.00. If you try to go to Montverde, that is closer to Arenal, hard road to travel, will definitely need a 4 wheel drive, from Arenal, it is about a 3 or 4 hr drive, doesn't look a long distance on map, but roads are really bad. We have been to Monteverde, but that was my least favorite place, We used these two places as our base and took in sights from these locations. When you rent a vehicle in Costa Rica, the insurance is the "kicker", expensive, but is necessary. On our last trip, LaTigre gave us a name of a rental place that rented used vehicles, which was cheaper and was large enough to carry all of us plus our luggage, and it was 4 wheel drive which quite frankly is necessary in Costa Rica. Hope this helps you, but Mediatica and Jd are more knowledgeable about the "whole" of Costa Rica. I have some great pictures and if I find out how to import I will share them. |
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hopeulikejammin2 Recent Member Posts: 4 |
posted 05-26-2009 09:04 AM
Thank you all for your helpful comments! I wish I had more time, unfortunately 8 days is all I can do at this point in time and I would definitely rather go for a short time and only get to do a few things than not go at all. Plus I know I will be back in the future. A few people have recommended Malpais. Have any of you been there and if so, what do you think? |
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mediatica Full Member Posts: 181 |
posted 05-29-2009 08:53 AM
Malpais is nice, but the trip to get there is a challenge. If you plan on coming into SJO airport, than you would want to take the Puntarenas ferry, which is an adventure in and of itself. Make sure you understand the distances between point A and B. As Wanda said, everything is MUCH longer than it appears on the maps! I would do no more than 2 destinations if all you have is 8 days. ------------------ |
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SolLifeStyles.com Full Member Posts: 29 |
posted 06-04-2009 02:48 AM
If you are into ecotourism and do not want to go super touristy, I would say Dominical is your best bet. Not because it is not super touristy, it is just like Tamarindo in that way. It is much closer to amazing, of the path eco-adventure. The south has some amazing and less crowded mountainous rainforests and beaches with more nature. Tamarindo and the surrounding area is pretty great too. You've got monteverde cloud forest near by (great canopy tours) and arenal (most active volcano and hot springs) is not too far of a day trip. You'll be fine either way! |
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hopeulikejammin2 Recent Member Posts: 4 |
posted 06-10-2009 05:02 PM
I think we have settled on Manuel Antonio. In checking the weather forecast over the next ten days, I see nothing but rain and thunderstorms. Does it typically rain all day, or in short bursts? |
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travel0833 Full Member Posts: 10 |
posted 10-03-2009 05:40 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtKfCLeBXlk |
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dirkinoz Full Member Posts: 24 |
posted 11-06-2009 03:17 PM
We've been to Manuel Antonio several times and in fact are going there again in January. We've also been there both "rainy" and "dry" season. The one time we were there in rainy season, it only rained during the day ONCE in two weeks. Mostly, it rains unbelievably hard during the night and you wake up with wall-to-wall sunshine in the morning! It is wonderful! You will love Manuel Antonion. Although more touristy, but beautiful!! |
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