Costa Rica

I'm actually going to Costa Rica in less than a month. Planning on hitting more of the rainforests than the beaches though. I'll try to find my itinerary and info and let you know what I was told to check out.

 

Be careful if you plan on going rafting down there. There have been some deaths in the recent past as the conditions can be treacherous and the guides can be a little clueless as to the dangers is my understanding. I believe it was well publicized that, no so long ago, a honeymoon couple went rafting and the conditions were so bad their raft flipped over. The husband got separated and was found later dead. So, their marriage was over almost quicker than it started. The rest of the people who did manage to make it through their rafting experience successfully were shaken and disturbed afterwards as to how "not fun" it was.

 

www.lovecostarica.com

the guy planned my trip, he is great

RE: the rafting.

I had a blast rafting there, it was the rainy season and the river was intense. However...when we asked about the class of rapids at the office, we were told "Class 2." When we got to the river, and I saw how intense it was, I asked "I thought you said these were class 2s."

The guide laughed.

"Yes...Class 2. Plus. Plus plus. Plus plus plus plus."

It was serious white water. I have since gone rafting on Class 4s in West Virginia (New River Gorge) and these were comparable. Trust me you do not want to put a rookie white water rafter on Class 4s.

While I had a great time rafting, my wife was scared ****less. And there were more than a couple times where I felt like I was the one running the show on our boat. We had a boat full of little gals from Mexico and then the guide in the back, and myself and some other Texan in the front. The little senoritas were so scared they would pull their paddles out of the water and scream. My wife, who is small as well, kept hitting the gal in front of her and yeling "paddle you stupid b****!!!" The other Texan and I kept "Yahoo"-ing and laughing our asses off.

Good times. I would not have brought my wife on that particular outing. However, the canopy tours were a blast too, and much less scary for my wife.

Quepos rocks!!!!

 

Costa Rica is a great place to vacation. I've been 3 times but my father-in-law lives there.

Beaches:
The beaches are grey/black coarse sand and the water is ok. Personally, I'd pass on the beaches. If you want to visit beaches, go to Destin, Fl. That area has some of the best water and beaches. Plus my father-in-law was paranoid about kidnappings that many times happen on beaches since that's where the tourists go. It was cool to check out all the tropical fish that get stranded in rocky tide pools on low tide though.

Fishing:
Now we're talking. Costa Rica has some of the best saltwater fishing in the world. But if this is your main point of the trip, be sure and go at the right time of year for the fish your looking for, then plan your trip when there is no moon - so they won't feed at night. Morning is breakfast for a lot of hungry big fish - marlin, sailfish, rooster, etc. But as my father-in-law can attest to, there is not a Coast Guard - he sank his boat 1 time. If you get in trouble, you better hope you can get a hold of a nearby fishing boat on your radio.

Rain forest:
That's what you go for. However, it now where near as good as it was 15 years ago. Costa Rica has a lot of poverty. Not as much as the neighboring countries, but enough. People will do anything they can to make money (to eat), like cut trees down to steal toucan bird babies out of their nests to sell that are put in captivity - no longer breeding. These birds used to be flying around like blue jays would in our country, but my last trip, I didn't see any and my father-in-law lives right next to a forest. We did see parrots, parakeets, wild turkeys (which don't look like ours), pasotos (sp - their version of a raccoon), howler monkeys, iguanas, poisonous frogs, etc. Lots of reptiles, animals and insects that you won't see here. Speaking of insects, buy some spray when you get down there as the local spray is build for those insect - not sure if it's FDA approved though. Also, if you want a paradigm shift, visit a zoo to check out the possums, coons and cardinals. They have other stuffs, but it's just funny seeing those there like they are rare - kind of like they would visiting our zoo.

Volcanoes:
Another cool thing to do. CR has a few active volcanoes that you can visit. They used to let you just walk right up to the mouth, but not anymore, but you can still get pretty close. Arenal and Poas are a couple that we've seen. There is a place on Arenal that used to be an observatory that is now a hotel. But the BEST place is a hotel (I forgot the name) that is at the base of Arenal that has hot springs. ohhh they have a water fall that you can sit under that has the right amount of water to give you a massage and a never-ending hot shower at the same time.

Activities:
Rafting and canopy tours (zip lines through the tree tops) are available, but as someone said they are not monitored as well as they should be. They are getting better, but there have been a few fatal accidents that could have been avoided.

I can't answer your questions about car rentals as the f-i-l would always drive. They used to have roadside check points where guy's with m16s would give your car the once over looking for guns and/or drugs. I didn't see any last year. I don't know if they stopped doing that or we just avoided the roads. By the way they don't have an army, but the US military trains their police to do double duty. You may see what looks like a civilian walking around with a gun tucked in the back of his pants or a m16 strapped around his shoulder - there are a few that don't wear uniforms.

Costa Rica is a fun time in a different world. Plan ahead and you will have fun.

 

I rented a car and drove from Quepos to Arenal and back, had zero problems, even took a couple detours to the Los Angeles Cloud Forest and some cool roadside bars.

The hotel with the springs is really, really, really touristy. I'd avoid it now.

 

I loved Quepos, hated San Jose. Happily I did 5 days in Quepos and only 2 in SJ.

I don't think I'd drive there. Too scary. Also don't think I'd do another canopy tour -- that stuff is scary as hell -- but I'm glad I did it once. The rainforest was incredible, by foot and by boat.

I recommend the rainy season. It's cheaper and the place isn't overrun with tourists. You can get to know the locals, who are super nice. And when I went it only rained for about an hour a day.

Best vacation I ever took. I recommend it highly.

Pura vida.

 

Buck Turgidson, where are thee?

 

Damn, took forever for my mom to send me a copy of the itinerary.

I'm flying into San Jose, staying the night there and then driving to Monteverde the next morning. Three nights in Monteverde, then back to San Jose for two nights. Anyone have any idea how long of a drive that is?

We're doing mostly rainforest stuff. Thanks for the heads-up on the bug spray Art. I know we're hitting hte Paos volcano, and also we're doing at least one canopy tour.

12 days........

 

Avoid the islands off the coast, they are chock full of dinos.

 

I went to Costa Rica a couple of years ago and stayed in a hilton resort or something like that. I thought it was a hilton resort, but a google search says that does not exist in CR....... anyway, CR was one of the greatest times of my life and some of this advice you are getting is flat out wrong... I will post corrections tomorrow when I can think.

 

I have visited Costa Rica a couple times a few years back . I WISH I would have done a few of the things you are planning to. My travel buddies suggest your plan is a good one.

Now, if you were, or any others here are considering a visit to Costa Rica as a single guy, THEN, I might actually be of help. The Ticas (Costa Rican girls) and other senioritas from central america that swarm in on a regular basis ARE LOTS OF FUN AND QUITE EAGER TO MEET aMERICAN GUYS.