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Original poster

Anyone been to Costa Rica? Any tips?

28 replies

Nifflernancy · 29/12/2019 22:34

Holiday planned for February. Very excited for nature, wildlife, beaches etc... any advice gratefully received!

Smile
OP posts:
PutYourBackIntoit · 29/12/2019 22:38

Have you booked flights or accomodation yet?
Do you have an itinerary in mind? How long are you going for??
Who are you going with?

You'll have an amazing time, I can't wait to go back....

Original poster
Nifflernancy · 29/12/2019 22:58

I’ll be going with some friends but I don’t know them that well so I might end up doing some bits on my own! It’s two weeks, yes have booked accommodation - visiting Tortuguero National Park, Tenorio Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio.

Any suggestions of specific things to do in these places/places to eat or any other info?!

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PutYourBackIntoit · 30/12/2019 01:17

We were restricted with young kids but loved Manuel Antonio,. We made friends with a Coati on the beach and watched baby sloth play for about half an hour. Wildlife is abundant and it's an easy walk from memory.

About 45 min north of Manuel is a fairly easy but highly rewarding route through rainforest, along rope bridges, waterfalls etc.
We enjoyed eating at the cafes in Quepos where we were staying but the most memorable meal was in an old aircraft on the road between Quepos and Manuel.

At La Fortuna, I really enjoyed the 3k zipwire, and a couple of the fancy hotels where you can pay to use the waterslides into the thermal waters. I'll try and post links.
My DH and 5 year old ds claimed part of Arenal and walked down the hardened lava flow, both said it was their highlight.

LittleMy77 · 30/12/2019 02:42

Yes, I loved it, went twice! It's really clean, great fresh food, beautiful scenery and not too Americanised and the people were great. I spent time down between Playa Herradura and Playa Hermosa and learnt to surf down there

My advice would be to investigate transport if you want to travel around as it can be a bit sparse and there's often only 1 road to get places- when we went we hired a car but they were all really beaten up (i.e. the back doors didn't open!)

Stompythedinosaur · 30/12/2019 03:07

Yes, we went at Easter. It was amazing! My top tip would be that it's an easy place to get around independantly so you don't need to join a tour.

We spent a week in Arenal and a week on the Pacific Coast. Both areas were very different, but very beautiful. In Arenal we stayed in a hotel, but on the Pacific Coast we were in a rental that felt really surrounded by the rainforest, which was wonderful.

Tashtegotoo · 30/12/2019 03:19

I've never been but your title reminded me of this:

HoldMyLobster · 30/12/2019 03:41

We did La Fortuna, then Monteverde, then Playa Hermosa. It was probably my most favourite ever holiday.

We hired a tour guides to take us on guided walks quite often, and we hired drivers to drive us long distances. It sounds expensive but there were 6 of us and it worked out really well. The drives are long and windy - we took a LOT of Dramamine with us. Everyone survived all the drives. Some of the roads are terrible.

My favourite place was Selvatura in Monteverde. We'd already been ziplining at La Fortuna, so we did pretty much everything else on offer there - the butterfly garden, suspension bridges walk, hummingbird garden, reptile and amphibian museum. The whole day was just magical.

We also hired a guide to take us birdwatching in Monteverde, and we saw Resplendant Quetzals and lots of other beautiful birds, and it was just a gorgeous walk.

At La Fortuna, I really enjoyed the 3k zipwire, and a couple of the fancy hotels where you can pay to use the waterslides into the thermal waters. I'll try and post links.

Yes - I think the Royal Corin was one of them. My kids adored it.

If you go to the Tabacon hot springs I'd say go in the day rather than at night. Mainly because there are some really massive beetles wandering around, and at night there's a good chance you'd step on one.

cheeseismydownfall · 30/12/2019 08:28

We had an incredible holiday in Costa Rica two years ago. You are in for a treat!

We travelled around a lot using Airbnb and our itinery was different to yours, but we did go to La Fortuna as our last stop. When we first arrived in the town I felt my heart sink a bit because it was quite touristy compared to the wilder places we had been. But we decided to embrace it and got a two day pass to The Springs Resort & Spa ($70 per person for the two days) and oh my goodness it was utter heaven on earth and ended up being on of the highlights of the trip. We also spent some time at the "natural" river you can access free of charge by scrambling down a bank (Google and you will find it) - that was pretty cool, being in a hot river!

One tip I would suggest is definitely take a waterproof case for your mobile phone, you will want one. A small waterproof box for valuables would also be useful.

Have a great trip, it's an incredble place.

PutYourBackIntoit · 30/12/2019 11:07

Oh my Goodness, @Tashtegotoo that is hilarious!!!
Also, my neighbour is on the panel. Had no idea he was that famous!

Original poster
Nifflernancy · 30/12/2019 13:15

Yay I’m glad about the positive reviews! Is there anything I need to book ahead? @cheeseismydownfall like that spa?

What did you wear to walk in the rainforest? I am scared about snakes and other biting things (well most bugs really!) and some people say wear rubber boots?

OP posts:
Honeybee85 · 30/12/2019 13:22

I loved Costa Rica!
Manuel Antonio is lovely but there are many tourists!

We went to Sierpe, about 2 hours driving from MA, where we did a boat tour to the mangrove with a guide, it was fantastic! We booked another excursion with the same company to Corcovado island which is fantastic. Our tourguide offered us to take us on a night hike in the jungle, just me and my friend and him and another guide. It was great, we saw all kinds of animals including tarantulas.

My favorite beach were those around Marina Ballena National Park
www.bahiaaventuras.com/national-parks/marino-ballena/

Original poster
Nifflernancy · 30/12/2019 13:26

And I am looking at waterproof phone cases, thanks!

OP posts:
froggers1 · 30/12/2019 13:35

We are thinking of going next xmas with an 11 and 8 yr old. Do you think it's better to book a hotel or is it easy to do air bnb etc?

Honeybee85 · 30/12/2019 13:42

I wore long sleeves and long pants with sneakers in the rainforest during the day.

During night hike I wore same clothes but rain boots, provided by tourguide.
And lots of mosquito repellent.

Landlubber2019 · 30/12/2019 13:42

Went 20 years ago, best holiday ever and I am sure you will love!

Things I am glad we knew....

san Jose near the station felt very unsafe, keep your wits about you!

Landlubber2019 · 30/12/2019 13:44

We also spent all our local currency not realising there was an airport tax to pay and no, dollars weren't accepted. This may have changed but was extremely worrying!

Purplewithred · 30/12/2019 13:50

Went for our honeymoon, absolutely loved it. Do a night walk through something (cloud forest, rain forest, whatever), magical. And the treetop walks. Guides are lovely, mostly enthusiastic experienced graduate students who love their country and wildlife. Interesting history and politics. Food good enough but not a highlight. If you do a coffee plantation trip be aware the finale will be coffee tasting: Turns out DH and I can’t tell the difference between finest hand ground perfectly nurtured top price coffee and the mud it grows in.

HoldMyLobster · 30/12/2019 14:14

We wore either sneakers or hiking sandals and tried not to think about what we might step on.

We did actually see an Eyelash Pit Viper on one of our walks - my son stepped right over it without noticing. Our guide freaked out. That was on our first hike on day one.

HoldMyLobster · 30/12/2019 14:15

Guides are lovely, mostly enthusiastic experienced graduate students who love their country and wildlife

Yes - the guides were wonderful, and made our trip so much more interesting and educational.

Which is probably good as I took my kids out of school for the trip Grin

Original poster
Nifflernancy · 30/12/2019 14:43

@HoldMyLobster arghhhhhh!

And I’m confused now, I don’t know whether to just bring sandals (I have some really ugly walking ones!) or proper boots.... do you think most places where you do a guided walk rent out the rubber boots? Seems silly to pack wellies!

Would you recommend a day trip from San Jose to places I’m not already going to (Tortuguero National Park, Tenorio Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio).

I’d really like to go to a few places off the beaten track but I’d be by myself doing that so it would need to be safe for me to travel to etc!

OP posts:
Original poster
Nifflernancy · 30/12/2019 14:44

And I don’t drink coffee so that part will be lost on me Grin

OP posts:
Stompythedinosaur · 30/12/2019 15:49

We wore hiking boots mainly and took flat sandals with us. It's not the sort if country for much dressing up smart. I found hiking boots ideal protection, but it probably depends how many outdoorsy things you are planning on doing?

PutYourBackIntoit · 30/12/2019 17:53

@froggers1 we did a bit of both.

We stayed in an Airbnb for the first 4 nights, another Airbnb for next week (both with pools, both great value), which meant we could then afford a very child friendly and all encompassing hotel in Arenal for last 3 nights, which had the hot springs. It was completely unreal. You sit in natural hot springs, then notice little details such as perfect glass holder shaped crevice carved into the stone for your cocktail 😆

Place near Manuel Antonio in Quepos
abnb.me/i9COrAywQ2

Beach house in beautiful, laid back Samara.... absolute heaven..

abnb.me/S6PzJOEwQ2

Arenal hotel
www.thespringscostarica.com/

froggers1 · 30/12/2019 18:06

Brilliant! Thanks for the info! I'm desperate to go!

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