Costa Rica Travel Answers

Hello Mike! Several years ago Ed and I looked into CR (cheap from where we live here in Miami). We wanted to set our own itinerary and, although we have yet to go, a trick I always use whether traveling local or to another country is to google tours. In this case: "Costa Rica Tours". It will give you an idea of popular options and those tried and true by some of the major outfitters. Simply go to the itinerary section of the tour company and check out activities, how long at each location, etc. From this you can easily formulate a good plan for yourself and do all the bookings directly. Good luck! Homer

Couple years ago I spend week in Costa Rica and it was very nice time. I've been in hotel Best Western Jaco Beach Resort (here is link for some hotel reviews http://bit.ly/AolDiv). I did not go to big trips but that place can be good base for you.

For first timers 2 weeks is a good amount of time to explore CR. Based on your preferences you can mix some of the most popular destinations with the activities you want to experience. For first timers the most popular itinerary is Arenal-Monteverde-Manuel Antonio, this allows you to have beach time, cloud forest and an active volcano (currently Arenal is dormant with a few activity). In either of these three places you can zipline and do a lot of adventure activities. Monteverde offers some of the best zip lines like Sky Tram and Sky Trek and in here you can also hike through the cloud forest, the reserve and the eternal children´s forest. Beach time belongs to Manuel Antonio, the national park is great, the beaches inside it are beautiful you will be able to find lots of wildlife. If you want to experience waterfalls, the best in the country I would say is Rio Celeste, in Tenorio National Park. This is just a suggestion but you have plenty of options to choose from, lots of gorgeous beaches, rain forests and cloud forests and adventure activities. Check this site for general info of Costa Rica, tours and activities to do http://www.valledoradotours.cr Maybe you can a little more specific so we can give you more input on a possible itinerary

The central pacific zone of costa rica offers a great travel base to do all of the activities you mentioned. Check out www.surfinnhermosa.com. They offer a great location base to do activities in the morning and mid day and then just sit on the beach for incredible sunsets. There is a zip line within walking distance called chic lets canopy tour and there are also four others within a twenty minute drive. The costaricawaterfalltours company has a great waterfall tour and will even pick you up at surf inn and take you on tour. Nearby, there is a mountain you can hike and there are also several national parks you can visit. Manuel Antonio national park is an hour away and tours can be arranged. Playa hermosa is a great surfing beach that is very entertaining and this hip little town showcases a surf contest every Saturday at the backyard. You can't go wrong by at least starting your trip out there.