Costa Rica anyone??

jennbaylor12

Fiance just brought up Costa Rica as a possibility last night... Thoughts? Suggestions? Pros/Cons??  I know almost nothing about traveling/honeymooning there, so anything is appreciated

bvanosten

We went there for our honeymoon.  We went for two weeks.  We flew into Liberia (north, west coast).  We rented a car at Hertz (don't recommend them- there were a lot of hidden charges we found out after we made our reservations through AAA).  Then we drove five hours to the La Fortuna area.  There is an active volcano there and other tourist attractions.  We spent a 4 nights in a tree house hotel http://treehouseshotelcostarica.com/. It was very nice and had air conditioning and a really friendly staff.  If that's not really your thing, there are a lot of nice looking hotels in downtown Fortuna.  While in the La Fortuna area, we went ziplining, white water rafting, playing in waterfalls, and horseback riding.  We then drove back to the airport area and dropped our car.  Then we spent a week in the Hilton Guanacaste.  I wouldn't recommend the Hilton because it was a little run down for an all-inclusive.  I'm sure there are better hotel options in the same price range.  All-in-all, I preferred the La Fortuna area because there were more adventurous options and things to do.  But, most of the hotels in Guanacaste will have day trips to do the activities we did in La Fortuna so you probably don't need to make the 5 hour drive (especially since the volcano wasn't running while we were there).  You would only need 6 days at most in Guanacaste though in my opinion.  If you have more time, I'd hit another location while you are there and split the trip.

Karen's MOH

Agree with the advice to split the trip to two locations, or even three if you have a full two weeks. The Caribbean coast is all rain-forest-y, very remote, kind of hard to get to but amazingly peaceful while you are there. We spent just one night in Tortuguerro and it wasn't enough time. Arenal has tons of adventure stuff, like PP said, plus a number of hot springs where you can spent a whole day (the water is heated from the volcano I think). And the Pacific coast is the sunniest and driest, but also the most like every other beach resort area, if you know what I mean. If you want beach, I would definitely go there (Guanacaste or somewhere around there) but don't only stay there. Those are just the places we went but there are tons of other options. I think it would make a really great honeymoon location, with a good mix of active things and relaxing beachy things. We are actually going back with a living social deal this winter and I can't wait! 

Also, be careful if you decide to get a car. The roads are not good, mostly unnamed, so you will need a GPS. H really wanted to drive so it was fine, but I would have cried if I had to drive. 

WVgalinNYC

There is a Paradisus all inclusive there now- if you are looking to go the all inclusive route.  We  went to CR back in 2005 when the only all inclusive options were Barcelos (not that great). 
Our friends just took their honeymoon to Arenas Del Mar and really loved it. 
I can pass along the travel agent they used if you are interested in chatting with someone.

maryhknor

Although I did not honeymoon in Costa Rica, I just returned in November from a one week trip with my best friend. We flew into Liberia, and our hotel was the Doubletree Hilton in Puntarenas, which is a two hour drive from the airport towards San Jose. I have traveled to about five different countries over the past four years for all inclusive trips, and Costa Rica was my favourite. It really depends though on what type of honeymoon you want. If you want a honeymoon where you sit on the beach the entire time, you probably would enjoy another location better. Due to the active volcanoes most of the beaches in Costa Rica have dark sand and a lot of waves. People come from all over the world to surf the waves in Costa Rica, and it is not because of their height, but because of their difficulty. So on most beaches you do not have the crystal clear water that you can see the bottom of the ocean for miles in. Rather you have huge waves and dark sand.

Some of the reasons why this was my favourite all inclusive trip is:

The country is absolutely breathtaking, the people are very friendly, and there is a lot to do. If you want a more adventure type honeymoon as opposed to sitting on the beach – Costa Rica is a great option.

All of the excursions we did were under or at $100, and that was with them being booked through the hotel. Due to the active volcanoes, national park, mountains, and Costa Rica being known for its coffee plantations, there is a lot of variety for excursion options as well as more adventure type options.

At our resort we were one of the few individuals not from Costa Rica. Most of the people at the resort were people that lived in Costa Rica and were there on vacation. This led to the resort not feeling as touristy, as we were surrounded by Spanish speaking individuals, and able to taste some very authentic Latin food. The resort was primarily a family resort, so it may not be best suited for honeymoons but the hotel and staff was fantastic!

The entire trip including airfare, accommodations, food, etc cost us just over $1000 each. It was cheaper for us to go to Costa Rica than Mexico when we booked.

Asjohn967

I spent 5 weeks in Costa Rica a couple years ago. It is such a beautiful, amazing country. I flew into San Jose and stayed there during the week while I was volunteering. San Jose is pretty run down, I suggest avoiding it if possible. I traveled around the country during the weekends so I visited a lot of different places.

The beaches are AMAZING. I prefer the caribbean side, but the Pacific side is nice too. Puerto Viejo has some beautiful Caribbean beaches. I visited Playa Tamarindo on the Pacific side, and it was beautiful, but very touristy. Puntarenas on the Pacific is also nice.

La Fortuna was my favorite city. It has a huge volcano and is surrounded by a rain forest. It also has several natural hot springs.

If you're into adventure, you HAVE to go white water rafting on the Pacuare River. It was unbelievable, some of the most fun I've ever had and such a beautiful location.

One weekend I also made it down to Bocas del Toro, Panama. It was really nice, but also very touristy.

I don't recommend driving in CR, it gets pretty crazy. I'd never drive there! There are plenty bus services, but keep in mind that, although CR is a small country, it takes hours to get from one place to another because of all of the mountains.

Sorry if I overloaded you with info, I just had so much fun there I love telling about it. I kept a blog while I was down there so if you want more info feel free to check it out at http://sunsmilesdown.blogspot.com/