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Gimme your costa rica Recs!

ecg129ecg129
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in Honeymoon Discussions
  We're talking about going with the fam to Costa Rica this December but trying to figure out if we should do it as a tour with a tour operator or on our own - and if so where to stay/what to do. Has anyone been or have recommendations? :D

My problem is I've been researching for a while and there are so many amazing things around the country.  

I'm also interested in doing:

Paos Volcano
 
 Butterfly Garden
 
Monteverde Cloud Forest

 Hanging Bridges
  
Arenal Hot Springs
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Re: Gimme your costa rica Recs!

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    TicosparentsTicosparents
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    Hot Springs = La Fortuna in Tabacon Resorts
    Butterfly Garden = all over CR but research more if you can.  We found one on the road back to San Jose from Jaco.
    Monteverde is a must-see.  I would suggest renting a 4x4 car, and nothing less.  We had a cheapie car and it can get pretty hairy driving up/down the hills/cliffs. 
    Tours are great, never done it; but it's good if you don't want the stress of driving, etc. But it could take HOURS to a full day for you to get back/forth, especially if you want a bit of everything.  By car, from San Jose, it took us +4 hours to La Fortuna, 6 hours from La Fortuna to Tamarindo, and another 6 hours from Tamarindo to Jaco, 4 hours from Jaco to Manuel Antonio (Parador Resorts - the best!).  By bus, it will definitely be longer.  I would suggest bringing reading materials.  Check out Pure Trek Costa Rica for more activity tours.  Viv
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    SaraAndrew2010SaraAndrew2010 member
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    FI and I went on a vacation to CR and we visited Arenal and Monteverde in addition to Manuel Antonio.

    Arenal was our favorite place the we visited and we wished we had stayed longer.  We went on a guide hike partway up the volcano and visited the hot springs.  We stayed at the Arenal Paraiso in our own little cabin (they also have hotel rooms).  They had hot springs at the hotel and a cool wet bar in the middle of a pool.

    Monteverde was fun but because of the altitude the weather is usually cool, so it's not the place to go if you are looking for a beach-type vacation.  We did ziplining in the rainforest (awesome! and they also had a butterfly and hummingbird garden there), a coffe plantation tour, and a nighttime nature tour.

    Manuel Antonio has a beautiful beach and national park, but tends to be on the touristy side.  It all depens on what you're looking for.  If you go to Manuel Antonio, be sure to find a hotel as close to the Manuel Antonio beach as possible.  Many hotels advertise themselves as being in Manuel Antonio but are actualy up to 7 miles away and you have to take a bus or cab to Manuel Antonio proper.

    If you rent a car, definitely get a 4x4.  We went through a travel agent who hooked us up with transporation between all of our sites, so we didn't rent a car.  I think that is the way to go for a first visit.  The roads can be steep, winding, and not very well-marked, so it made it a lot more relaxing to be able to let someone else do the driving.

    Hope that helps.  Feel free to PM me if you want any more specifics.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic My wedding bio: http://saraandrewbio.weebly.com/
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    SaraAndrew2010SaraAndrew2010 member
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    To your question about tour groups, we use a travel agent in Costa Rica, but we weren't on a set tour with other people.  We ran into some of the same people who were on a similar itinerary to us on multiple bus rides, but we were pretty much on our own. 
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic My wedding bio: http://saraandrewbio.weebly.com/
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