Anyone been to Costa Rica?
 

Thinking about going there on family vacation this Dec.

Comments, suggestions appreciated on where to stay and what to do ... or not.

Funny you should mention it. I'm heading there for 10 days at the end of the month. One of my uncles has a house on the Pacific coast side. It will be my first trip there, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I have and only got to stay a day and a half (emergency fly out due to family death) it is definitely on my list of must do agains... very beautiful, but not enough time there to give a confident recommendation.

I've been a few times. Don't stay in San Jose it's a dump. I flew to San Jose one time and flew in to Liberia twice. Rent a car, driving is easy, cabs suck balls. Don't be afraid to try the "sodas" on the side of the road, most don't look like much but have pretty good food. Stay away from all inclusive resorts, the food generally sucks.

For our honeymoon we went on a Pacuare River rafting tour (Costa Rica Adventure Travel - Pacuare River Rafting Tours - Pacuare Eco Lodge - Canopy Costa Rica) it was amazing and we booked the honeymoon suite. They cook for you, zipline, everything, it was the best.

For awesome views, the Arenal volcano area is awesome, we stayed at the Tabacon Springs resort...overpriced but awesome too. There are lots of places in the area.

We also stayed at Posada Mimosa (Country Bed and Breakfast Alajuela Hotels, Chalets Alajuela, Atenas Lodging Costa Rica, Bed and Breakfast Alajuela, Country Bed and Breakfast Grecia) in Grecia, it was ~1 hr driving to either the La Paz waterfalls and the Poas Volcano, both awesome.

In Liberia, we stayed at http://www.bahiadelsolhotel.com/ on an awesome discount. Breakfast was great, it was beautiful and everyone was nice.

If you have kids, everyone is fairly nice to you (unlike the States). They go out of their way to skip you in line and things like that (move you ahead). Most of the people are nice there too and I never felt uncomfortable asking anyone for directions or a great local place to eat. Just be nice to others and you will have an awesome trip.

Oh, and don't stay in San Jose.

Thanks for the input. Appreciate it.

If you do stay in San Jose (like for the Pacuare tour or something) we stayed at the Presidente Hotel or something. It was decent enough, but take cabs.

Just had a friend return from Liberia, she (and her husband) just raved about it.
Some sort of roughing it adventure deal as I understood it.

That's all I got.

I've been there and it was amazing - San Jose itself was blah but had some interesting musums about the history of the country - get out in the countryside as soon as you can - great volcanoes, mountains, jungles, and beaches, and really friendly people across the board.

I went on a bus tour with family members through Caravan and really can't praise them enough - great company, fantastic guides, and they are really supportive of the local people.

http://www.caravan.com/tour/costa-rica

I'm probably the only one wondering why people are talking about the Western African country of Liberia.

I got back from my trip late last night. It was a blast! There are a few things off of the top of my head to keep in mind:

1. Petty crime is rampant. If there is something you don't want to lose, don't ever leave it unattended, even for a few seconds. Just because a parking lot has a guard, doesn't mean your stuff is safe. I didn't lose anything, but there were tons of stories about things like people getting things taken out of their cars while checking into hotels, or backpacks going missing while people were in the surf just a few feet away.

2. The food is awesome. Once you get outside of the cities, restaurants as we know them are non-existent. Most places to get food are called sodas, and usually consist of just a few tables. The breakfast staple is called 'gallo pinto' (spotted rooster), which is a stir fry of rice and beans. A typical lunch meal is called 'casado' (married), which is regular rice and beans served with a pork chop or piece of chicken or fish. Costa Rican food isn't spicy at all.

3. Outside of the cities, much less English is spoken, so basic Spanish will be a great help. At the big tourist spots there is English spoken, but in the other areas it is hit or miss.

4. Rental cars are expensive. The main roads are in good shape, but for a lot of other locations, 4 wheel drive is almost a requirement. For moving short distances, there are licensed taxis (usually red with a government seal) and for longer routes there are fleets of large modern buses.

That's what I have for now, fresh off the top of my head. If there are other questions you might have, let me know!

Didn't make it for Christmas but thinking about below this summer. Keep your thoughts and adventures coming!

Si Como No | Beach Hotel in Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Costa Rica

I went there with some relatives on a bus tour - it was fantastic. Normally I'm not a bus tour guy but we hit a ton of the main spots, got to do some stuff like ziplining in our free time, and having people to watch your back made sure the annoyances like not knowing Spanish, and having someone guard your stuff, were not a problem. We also had an amazing guide who knew everything and everyone, it seemed.

If anyone is interested in this option, we used Caravan which is pretty much the major player in bus tours there, been doing it for like 20 years and is crazy cheap.

Costa Rica Tours