Costa Rica! help us please!

bear2be

Looking for hotels, packages, and ideas for a honeymoon in Costa Rica the 2nd week of June. We want adventure. Our budget is $5000. We are flying out of Dallas. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We like tropical luxury resorts. Would you suggest going all inclusive?

Thanks!
Sam

majesty318

I do not recommend AI in CR. The country is very interesting and diverse, and I think the best trips are spent with a couple days in different sections - beach, rainforest, volcano, etc.

I stayed here a couple years ago and loved it: http://laanitarainforestranch.com/ 

southernbelle0915

We considered this place for our honeymoon: http://www.pacuarelodge.com/

Eco-lodge where you raft to get there. Pretty cool and seems to meet the adventurous aspect you want. They also have day trips/excursions that seemed pretty cool. I think it's all inclusive (possibly not alcohol), but I don't remember.

Knottie80984743

http://www.occidentalhotels.com/resort/occidental-grand-papagayo I stayed here in 2012 and it was amazing. It is all inclusive and has excursions and other classes you can do. I did zip lining, kayaking, scuba, a dance class and a mixology class. It's beautiful and on the Pacific side.

JoanE2012

Have you considered talking to a travel agent?  

Jells2dot0

JoanE2012 said:

Have you considered talking to a travel agent?  

THIS.

 

I often don't understand why posters think knotties can effectively plan their HMs. We're not experts and we're going to recommend resorts based on our own preferences and experiences. Those might not be right for you. I recommend working with a travel agent that specializes in Costa Rica. That person will probably ask you a list of questions to get to know you and will match you up to an itinerary that best suits you. They may even tell you that the destination doesn't work for you. Travel agents are paid by the resorts, after a client travels, so it doesn't hurt to speak to someone who knows their stuff.

Tania2007

We are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon at the end of this month.  Our budget was right around yours and we are staying in two different locations, Arenal and Manuel Antonio for about 10 days ; luckily my in-laws gifted our honeymoon

We got our package through a travel agent, which made the whole planning so smoothly and stress free.  We are doing a lot of adventure, like zip-lining and snorkeling

Here's the website: http://www.vacationscostarica.com/packages/

Happy planning!! 

bear2be

I appreciate all of the helpful input. From those that added links and experiences. We did go to two different travel agents. One was not very helpful and the other flat out told us she didn't think Costa Rica was a good idea. We changed it to Puerto Rico. However, Costa Rica stayed on our mind And we still really wanted to have our honeymoon there. Because of the fact that we had now wasted our time with these travel agents and prices for flights are starting to rise I have taken matters into my own hand. I am not saying anything bad about travel agents, I have had great experiences in the past. But I'm done wasting time trying to plan my honeymoon.

So Jells2dot0 no I am not trying to have a fellow knottie plan my honey moon. I am simply asking others for their thoughts on the location and reviews on where they stayed. That what this site is for. Not for people to comment and give low blows towards others. If everyone had the perfect wedding planner theknot wouldn't even be here. why else would you be on the honeymoon blog?

Jells2dot0

bear2be said:

I appreciate all of the helpful input. From those that added links and experiences. We did go to two different travel agents. One was not very helpful and the other flat out told us she didn't think Costa Rica was a good idea. We changed it to Puerto Rico. However, Costa Rica stayed on our mind And we still really wanted to have our honeymoon there. Because of the fact that we had now wasted our time with these travel agents and prices for flights are starting to rise I have taken matters into my own hand. I am not saying anything bad about travel agents, I have had great experiences in the past. But I'm done wasting time trying to plan my honeymoon. So Jells2dot0 no I am not trying to have a fellow knottie plan my honey moon. I am simply asking others for their thoughts on the location and reviews on where they stayed. That what this site is for. Not for people to comment and give low blows towards others. If everyone had the perfect wedding planner theknot wouldn't even be here. why else would you be on the honeymoon blog?

It's not a "low blow". It's honest and blunt. IMHO, it's one thing to come on here and ask about a particular resort, ask what to pack, or what activities you should consider at a destination. But, you basically asked for packages. Maybe you caught the brunt of my advice after seeing so many generic posts, but my point is that you are going to get answers that are all over the place that might not suit what you are looking for in your honeymoon. That makes it even more confusing. Tania2007 gave a great answer.

novella1186

majesty318 said:

I do not recommend AI in CR. The country is very interesting and diverse, and I think the best trips are spent with a couple days in different sections - beach, rainforest, volcano, etc.

I stayed here a couple years ago and loved it: http://laanitarainforestranch.com/ 

100% agree with the bolded. 

I spent almost a month in Costa Rica. We started out staying in a little hut in a rain forest preserve on a river that took 4 hours to get to by boat and was super isolated. We did a lot of kayaking and exploring while there, and went to a little village to hike out on the beach in the middle of the night (with a local guide) to see Green Sea Turtles lay their eggs. (Don't remember the name of the preserve, sorry. This was over 10 years ago, but the name Tortuga Lodge sticks in my head.) 

Then we stayed in the mountains at a lodge in Selva Verde and went out in the rain forest at night to spy on endangered tree frogs, went zip-lining, etc. 

Then we went white water rafter on some of the biggest rapids in the world, and stayed overnight in tents at a campsite. 

From there we chartered small planes to Tamarindo and spent a few days surfing, horseback riding, and hanging out on the beach. 

So, if I were you, I would pick activities you most want to do (like exploring the rain forest, seeing endangered sea turtles, white water rafting, hiking in the mountains, sitting on a beach, etc etc etc etc) and find out the best cities or areas of the country in which to do these things. 

hutchsl

We went for out HM. Used anywhere costarica.com for our transportation - private and shared depending on what met our schedule. Used them for some of our tours in Arenal - hanging bridges combo tour (waterfall and National Park hike but without the hot springs since we stayed at a resort with one), got a discount at pura vida eh website for our Rio Toro rafting trip with Disafio (sp?). oved the raft trip - it was a highlight. Stayed at Tabacon Hot Springs resort in Arenal (with private transport we stopped at a grocery along the way to get liquor, mixers and snacks. Our tours included lunch 2 days. Spent 4 days there. Then shared transport to Montezuma and stayed at Ylang Ylang beach resort. Had a cabana on the beach. It is a quiet hippie town. Lots of knotties stay at Manuel Antonio but hotels are not on the beach there. outside the town the beach is undeveloped. The hotel included breakfast and dinner. Spant 4 days here. Flew in/out of San Jose.

scsd1222

We stayed at the Hilton Papagayo in 2010 and had an amazing time - it was reasonably priced, all inclusive and the rooms were comfy with big fluffy duvets and rainfall showers. 

We rented a jeep for the week and kept it at the resort (parking is included) and wandered around outside of the resort almost every day - tamarindo for surfing, up a volcano for zip lining, and got recommendations of places to see from people at the resort. We were sent to find this waterfall that we could swim at, which was awesome and ate at plenty of random, side of the road restaurants which turned out to be some of the best (and completely affordable) meals while there. 

I liked having a nice place to return to at night, with drinks and food and anything else that we might want.

cj3561

@hutchsl .. curious how you liked the Tabacon .. we just pulled the trigger with our travel agent for half of our HM here. 

Did you find the food and drink very expensive? Our agent seems to think we can very easily stay within budget, but I'm a little skeptical. Thankfully we built in a buffer - told the agent we had a specific budget, but actually have a little more to work with for expenses, as both our hotels are non-inclusive. We are also doing 3 days at the Parador Boutique, which is a beach/rainforest spot.

Thanks in advance!