Tamarindo Travel Forum

Hi - someone posted a question about taking a private coach from San jose to Tamarindo. HOw long approx. is the drive? Assuming one quick bathroom stop.

About 4-5 hrs.

Suze3 is correct about the time but it is a neat drive and a driver will offer to stop for a great lunch right off the highway. Leo Rodriguez is a great driver (has a tourismo van) that has lived in Tamarindo so is a wealth of info on your trek from San Jose. He is also a guide if you are wanting to tour in the Tamarindo area. His e-mail address is leratravelcr@yahoo.com He drives to all the areas in Costa Rica. Is fluent in English and a college grad. Also, go to www.visittamarindo.com and click on their activities or their boat icons for snorkel and sunset sail excursions, JandCTours take you on a day trip zip lining, mud baths, horseback riding in the mountains, etc. We stayed in Tamarindo (Hotel Capitan Suizo) for 6 nights and enjoyed adventure and relaxation.

We also just returned from Costa Rica yesterday (May 28, 2007) and used Leo Rodriguez. I went with a friend from work to present at a conference at the Ramada Plaza Herradura, which is one-half way between the airport and San Jose. After researching the internet carefully on MANY threads, we noticed that Leonardo (Leo) Rodriguez’ name came up repeatedly as an excellent guide. We contacted Leo and he emailed us back immediately. Having Leo as a guide in CR was like having a brother in Costa Rica. He spoke excellent English and is extremely knowledgeable about Costa Rica. He went to college there for hotel and tourism and worked for a tour company before becoming a private tour guide. His parents also brought him up to love nature and be knowledgeable about the wonderful resources in Costa Rica. (He can spot a bird and name it such as a Toucan in a tree and will stop and point it out to you.) He knows the various tourist sites, plants, wildlife etc thoroughly since he was brought up learning this as a child from his parents. He gave excellent suggestions and worked around our conference schedule and commitments. The first day (full day) we went to Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfall and a canopy tour. He picked us up at 7am because he said that the clouds would come in later and the view would not be as clear. Also, the tour busses would arrive. (He was totally correct and we were about 30 minutes ahead of all of this including the tourists!) The La Paz Waterfalls are stunning and not to be missed. The pathways are beautiful (even though lots of walking through the rain forest) and the scenery is incredible. Leo knew all of the different kinds of butterflies in the butterfly garden and explained them all to us. Ditto for the hummingbirds and other kinds of wildlife such as various birds, plants and a tree racoon. (I forgot the name already!) He taught us Costa Rican words such as Pura Vida (they pronounce the “P” as a “B”) which means good life but is used as hello/goodbye/no problem etc. On Day 2 we only had a few hours so he took us to the National Theatre and the National Museum and drove us around San Jose, explaining all of the landmarks and meanings. On both Day 2 and Day 3, he took us to wonderful local “open air” style restaurants where locals eat. They were immaculate and the food was terrific. Furthermore, the bill for 3 including drinks came to $15 on Day 2 and $12 on Day 3 which my colleague and I split. (We added a small tip since these weren’t included in the food bill.) On Day 3 we had a few hours in the afternoon so he took us on a safari river cruise, which ended up being just Leo, my colleague and I as well as the guide and driver. Hence, we had our own private river cruise. We saw 20-25 crocodiles up VERY close, saw all different species of birds and a few other animals in the jungle/forest. Leo lives in San Jose but came and picked us up every day and brought us back home after each tour. He charged us a flat fee for the tours and an hourly fee for the San Jose highlights. We never would have had the chance to see and do so many things without having someone like Leo Rodrigues treat us as a friend/brother and show us everything. His English is excellent and clear and he was fun to be around. We forgot our camera and he even took pictures, which he promised to email to us. I highly recommend calling Leo if you plan to visit Costa Rica and want a private guide so that you can see as much as possible within the shortest amount of time. His telephone number in Costa Rica is (506) 378-0001 & his email address is: leratravelcr@yahoo.com. I hope this helps anyone thinking of visiting Costa Rica. I spent so much time researching it before I left and I would have felt better if I knew that I was in such great hands when I would arrive there! Ann Kelley