Costa Rica Travel Forum

My husband and I will be in Costa Rica from Nov 21-29. We are flying in and out of San Jose. We would like to do as much as we can in the short week we will be there. We are planning on renting a car. I would appreciate any suggestions on places to visit, tours to take, car rental agencies, and hotels to stay at.

Thanks,
Elena

What are your interests? Costa Rica is a country that has a lot to offer for any kind of traveler. You need to be more specific in what kind of activities you want to do during this week and also what is your budget for lodging.

First I want to advise you about the fact that it takes a long time to get around. Looking at a map can be deceiving because even distances that are not long can take a while because of road conditions and mountainous driving. For this reason you will probably only be able to go to about 2 locations total in the time you have unless you want to be driving your whole trip. Unfortunately day triping is not much of an option except may to a few of the places in the central valley.

Decide what you really want to see and do and choose your destinations based on that. The most popular first time trip is Arenal and Manuel Antonio. There are lots of activities at both of these locations and you will get a true feel of what the country has to offer, volcanoes, rain forest, wildlife, beaches, plus adventurous activities. If you don't like touristy places though then you might not like these much because they are very popular. I am not much on touristy places yet I still like Manuel Antonio and even have a little bungalow there. Much of the lodging is surrounded by rain forest so it can feel like you are isolated from all of the hub bub if you are in the right place.

Since you have a short amount of time you might want to consider taking a small plane through Sansa or Nature Air on one leg of the trip to save time. They only fly between San Jose and destinations so you can't use this option the whole time but it can be a nice way to get back to the capital at the end of your trip. You need to pack light if you choose this transportation option but that is really easy to do for this trip.

Hi Elena,

I STRONGLY advise against renting a car. We arrived here the first week of July and rented a car which ended up costing us $1027 for the week due to gas prices (over $6 a gallon), and replacing a windshield broken by a falling coconut. So, it was $400 to rent a Suzuki Grand Vitara 5 passenger 4x4, $427 to replace the windshield, and the rest in gas. And did you know that there are no road/street signs in Costa Rica???? We spent most of our time lost. Normally, we ride the buses everywhere since they are cheap and easy, but we wanted more adventure this time, and boy did we get it. We are finishing up the last 3 weeks of July riding buses.

Okay, that being said, you must visit La Fortuna where you will find Arenal volcano. We have been all over the country after visiting for 2 summers now, and it has been everybody's (kids, too) favorite place in the country. You can click on augrad to the right and go to my Costa Rica page. You can read about all the fun in La Fortuna under "things to do".

Buen viaje!

I forgot to tell you about a great place to stay just 10 minutes from the airport in SJ. It is called Villas de Cariari, and here is the website:
http://www.villasdecariari.com/

The manager (Johnny) speaks perfect English, and they will help you with whatever you need (they will pick you up at the airport, too). The condos are very nice and very clean, and IMHO cheaper than a hotel room. We have stayed there alot (we are a family of 5) and they have been very helpful to us. They even roll an extra bed in since I have 3 boys, and have 24/7 security.

We are on the Pacific coast, now, in Flamingo Beach. I wouldn't bother to visit here. I am very unimpressed and won't be back. The locals tell me that Tamarindo is horrible now due to overbuilding and too many tourists.

Good luck : )

Hi!
one week in Costa Rica will be great for a couple, if you are planing to renta a car a GPS system wont lost you, the better cars in Costa Rica to rent are suzuki Jimmy and Terios, it would be less than $250 a week average insurance.
one day in monteverde "rain forest" canopy, butter fly farm, snakes, frogs, coffe tour and taste, cheese farmer all in 1 day."here villa verde lodge"
second day from monte verde to La fortuna bordering the biggest lake in costa rica,then visit the Arenal volcano "active" after ATV or horse riding.(Hotel los lagos bungalow)
3rd day drive to "tenorio Lodge" another volcano greet you and the only ligth blue river ever seen with hot sprigs.
4th day drive to the cost at the quiet place of montezuma rest after this busy trip. can be spend 2 days and visit near beaches.(a snorkling tour, many hotel choises)
6th day go back to san jose to a very quiet hotel 20 minutes from airport up in the santa Ana Higth lands can be the same one of arrival.Hotel Canal Grande.

that sound good!! I would do it. take care Elena.