Costa Rica Honeymoon Help!

ars603

My fiance and I are trying to figure out where to go on our honeymoon and we've been thinking seriously about Costa Rica. We've been to a good amount of islands in the Caribbean so we thought we'd go for something a little different.

We want to be able to relax but we are definitely up for some adventure as well and don't want to just sit on a beach all day. The only problem is, we know NOTHING about Costa Rica. I've heard great things, but I'm not even sure where to start. Someone mentioned it might be worth staying at a couple different places. One highly recommended place was in Arenal near the volcano for more adventure activities and then travel to somewhere on the west coast for more of a beach/relaxation scene.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Any places to stay that are affordable/easy to travel to? I noticed Arenal was 3 hours from the airport (so far!). How is this trip? We are open to anything so anyone who has any ideas/recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Need as much info as possible. Thanks so much!!!

Molly&Andy

We went in December for a week and it was awesome. We flew into San Jose and out of Liberia on Jet Blue.  From San Jose we went to the Arenal area.  It was about 2.5 hour ride.  (We did private transfers from location to location.)  The speed limit on the roads is not very high, mainly due to all the switch backs.  (You are going up and down hill.)  Arenal to the Liberia airport is about 2.5-3 hours, so that could be an option as well.

In Arenal we stayed four-nights at Nayara Hotel, which was great and definitely worth the money. The breakfast, which is included, was the best hotel breakfast I've had.  We booked a package through the hotel that included excusions.  We were able to switch out one excursion for another, which was great.  We did the canyoning (so much fun), zip line (most do), and volcano hike (good, but not a must - but do the late afternoon for the sunset).  We ate all dinners at the hotel, which we good.   

We headed to the Guanacaste area next and stayed three-nights at the JW Marriott.  This is definitely a place to sit and do nothing by the pool, but you can do excursion if you want.  They do have a shuttle that runs into Tamarindo for a fee.  The hotel was busier on the weekends when there was group tours there, but hardily anyone on Monday.

We can't wait to go back.  We'd definitely go back to the Arenal area.  I'd suggest two places in a week time frame.  You could do three, but it might feel rushed.  Unless you really need to have a car, I'd do private transfers.  If you fly out of the Liberia airport, beware there is only one restaurant and they have no problem charging insane prices. 

Jager1219

Hi there!

Just got back from Costa Rica as well in December.  We spent a week and split our time between Arenal and then Manuel Antonio.

General advice/observations about the country itself:
I personally found it very safe.  Tourism is their largest generator of income, so they treat the tourists well.  I actually found it safer than some Caribbean islands (St. Martin for example).  Pretty much everyone speaks English and the Dollar is accepted just about everywhere (although you may get change back in their currency).  The food isn't as inexpensive as I was expecting.  If you eat at resorts, expect to pay $25 for an entree.  If you try and find more local places, it's much more reasonable (and better quality in many cases).  This requires more research though (and a car).

My suggestion is to plan for longer than a week trip.  I felt that ours was very go-go-go and if we spent a week and a half, it would have been more relaxing.

We flew into San Jose.  I've heard negative things about San Jose and because we landed late in the evening, we spent the night at an airport hotel.  The next morning we rented a car and headed to Arenal.  Renting a car is MUCH cheaper than getting a private transfer.  If you go this route, some things to be aware of:

1. Rent a GPS with the car rental.  Costa Rica doesn't have road names, so it's next to impossible to figure out where you're going without one.
2. Rent a 4-Wheel Drive car.  Many roads (like the one going to the volcano) aren't paved.
3. The road to Arenal from San Jose is windy and at many points, there's not much visability because you're in the clouds.  If you're not comfortable driving in these conditions, then you may want to re-think renting a car.

For Arenal, we stayed at Tabacon.  The resort is BEAUTIFUL and we were treated like royalty.  One benefit to staying at the resort is that the entrance fee to the hot springs is waved (usually $60/person).  I highly reccomend the springs and once you factor in the entrance fee, the hotel price isn't as expensive as it seems.

We hiked the volcano and also the waterfall.  They were both lovely hikes and you can do them on your own (no need to pay for a guide).

In Manuel Antionio, we stayed at the Issimo Suites.  These are georgous honeymoon like suites.  We were welcomed back to our room every evening to rose petals on the bed   This place came with breakfast included.  It was a stunning view and the monekys came every morning to visit us at breakfast.

I highly reccomend going to the park and renting a guide.  You don't need to book this in advance, just show up at the park and there are guides with telescopes that will give you a 2 hour tour.  They will point out all sorts of animals that you wouldn't normally find.  The beaches there are beautiful as well.

FYI - it's a 2.5/3 hour drive from San Jose to Arenal.  Then it's a 4 hour drive from Arenal to Manuel Antionio and 2.5/3 hours back from Manuel Antionio to San Jose.

souptin

I went to CR for my HM,

Stayed at Riu Palace in gunacaste ( it is new-when we stayed in Nov it had only been open 3 weeks) it has another RIU right beside it that is a bit older  but still nice.
the resort is about 40 mins from the Liberia airport.

Resort was beautiful but trips were a bit of a hike depending on where you wanted to go. Aernal was at least 3 hours away. however after talking with people Aernal sounded a bit overrated because its main draw originally is that it is active-but it has not been active the last year at all and there are other volcano's closer that get you the same experience.

the resort is a bit isolated the only town we went to was coco beach and is for sure just a tourist town (took a van taxi there and back for $10 USD)

despite it being isolated we still were able to do LOADS of stuff, we went hiking in the rain forest to some of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen, horseback riding, hot springs and volcanic mud baths, ziplining (it was AMAZING) and spent loads of time relaxing on the beach with a good book.

we also saw some amazing wildlife (monkeys, sea turtles to name a few)

anssett

Flew in/out of San Jose. The regions below are where we picked. It was a 2 week trip?

Arenal - volcano region

Monteverde Cloud Forest - highlands, cloudy, moist, awesome

Manuel Antonio - beachy near national parks (this is where we saw the most sloths!)