Packing for Costa Rica

[Stompythedinosaur]

We're off to Costa Rica in May with dds age 8 and 6. Can anyone give me any advice about what to pack for the dc? We are doing a couple of nights in San Jose, then 5 nights in arenal and 5 nights near Manuel Antonio park.

I have a few specific questions (and would generally be grateful for any advice)!

We are going to be doing a fair few activities which include walking, will the kids manage in trainers or is it worth getting walking boots for them? Walk a lot at home and the kids generally prefer their trainers but I'm aware May is the rainy season so they possibly need something more substantial.

Dd2 has a strong preference for dresses, but will she be eaten to death by the insects? Do the dc need their arms and legs covered because of insects/sun/whatever?

TIA

We went in the rainy season - I wouldn't personally bother with walking boots, good trainers were fine for us. I did stupidly wear sandals one day on a jungle walk, slipped over & developed a weird infection under one of my toe nails that took ages to clear up & made it hard to walk so I'd suggest covered feet in the jungle but otherwise, sandals are fine! In San Jose & Arenal my DD had shorts & t-shirts on with a liberal coating of factor 50 & Deet & dresses in the evening. I covered her up head to toe when we went into the rainforest (there were loads of mozzies) but s few of the other kids were in just shorts & t-shirts (I was really paranoid about Zika & Dengue which were present in the area so didn't want to take any risks!). She didn't get a single bite so it did work but maybe I was a bit full on! It's a very very relaxed place dress code wise - San Jose is most definitely not Milan so I'd pack for comfort in heat, not style (my dressier stuff just didn't get worn & would have looked out of place). Because of the humidity and heat, you will get hot & sticky a lot so may get through a couple of changes of clothes in a typical day

Thank you! That is very helpful!

I went recently and wore trainers in the jungle and Manuel Antonio area. Manual Antonio starts on wooden boards and continues on paths which are easily navigated in trainers.

It does get VERY sweaty and hot therefore breathable fibres are essential. I wore Jungle Spray with high deet but still got bitten to buggery as did the people I was with but we didn't get ill. However longer sleeves might provide better protection.

The beach at Manuel Antonio is beautiful. Do be careful in the ocean though as rip tides are very common in that area.

It's a beautiful country though and you will have a ball

Don't do what I did on my trip to Costa Rica, and forget to bring any money or a functioning bank card..... Fortunately my travelling partner can't have been too put out at having to bankroll the entire trip, as he proposed on a deserted beach half way threw the holiday. Happy memories.

Have a great trip. Its a great place.

I've been to Costa Rica twice, it's an amazing country! As pp said, trainers are fine, just one other thing to be aware of in the jungle is ants so for this reason alone sandals are a bad idea!
Also be aware that the sun is VERY strong, you can burn even when it seems cloudy.

Costa Rica has an amazing amount of wildlife but sadly this also includes the insect and spider kind. I got eaten alive in the late afternoon/evenings so good bug spray is essential.

Yes! I forgot to mention about money. Nowhere in Jaco where we stayed would exchange English money. Not even the main San Jose Bank. There is an exchange place on the departure floor at San Jose airport who will. I would suggest obtaining us dollars before you go and changing them for colones as and when you need to once you are there

Oh and random fact. The moon is upside down there

We really loved our holiday there, trainers were fine for us and we had early rains. We did need a lot of insect repellent, it was very hot and humid and sunscreen and repellent slid off us.
Dollars are the most useful currency to have.
We wore shorts and vest tops. Dresses aren't great in jungles.
We also took anti histamines everyday to reduce the impact of any insect bites.

That is all incredibly helpful! I'll stick with trainers.

Massive thank you for the tip re taking dollars.

neolara that is my idea of a nightmare! Re the money, obviously, not the proposal.

witchofzog really? Do you know why?

I had to be bailed out money wise too. Not my finest time. One of my travel companions had to take money out for me and I gave them it back in English money

I am not sure why the moon is upside down. I have googled it and apparently it is in the southern hemisphere but Costa Rica isn't in the Southern Hemisphere

're dollars - everywhere takes them BUT our experience was that they give you change in Costa Rican currency, usually at a really bad rate of exchange that benefits them not you. They're far better to have than pounds but you may be better of buying Costa Rican currency in advance at a good rate of exchange so you don't get screwed. Americans have been visiting CR for a while & the expectation of tips is the 20% that Americans usually pay - sometimes this was added on to the bill so make sure you check them so you're not paying two lots of tips. It was a really great place - San Jose is a bit grim but it's safe grim & from a politics/culture point of view worth at least a day while you recover from the flight. Realise this has bigger all to do with clothes & packing- apologies!

I really appreciate all the tips!

Quick extra question - what shoes did adults wear there?

Also I've seen a couple of suggestions on various website for bring water shoes, is this something people would recommend?

At Manuel Antonio we had to buy them (the supermarkets & tourist tat shops sold them) as there were sharp rocks just as you got into the sea at the beach at our resort. I guess as many places were selling them it’s a common problem on the beaches in Manuel Antonio & it would have been cheaper buying them at home. I wore a mixture of sandals and trainers. Our resort in MA was spread across a really steep hillside and after a rain, wearing sandals was a bit treacherously stupid on the paths but I guess it depends on where you stay

Shoes wise I wore sketchers, not crazy trendy but very practical. I had some sandals for city/hotel.
Our hotel was on a cliff but the closest beach was sandy, although strong winds meant the water was cloudy with sand, so not a highlight of the trip. We also saw a mass beach arrest of pickpockets, complete with dogs, dc loved it! But it did suggest an issue with pickpockets.
The wildlife was stunning and we spent more time on that than I had expected.