Anyone been to Costa Rica?

[joenali]

We just booked tickets and that's it! No hotel, hostel or campground, yet!

Tell us where we should go and what we should do!!!

[joenali]

We are flying into Liberia. It looks amazing there!

[joenali]

We are flying into Liberia. It looks amazing there!

[nahoku]

I'm going next Saturday! So I can't help much but I'm pretty excited We are flying into San Jose so we will probably be in different areas than you? We are staying near Quepos in the rainforest at a lodge with "luxury tents" and then we've rented a couple of homes (destination wedding group) in Manuel Antonio.

[joenali]

One of my college friends lives on an organic farm in Puntarenas and im hoping we will be able to visit. I haven't seen her in 13 years!

[joenali]

Nov 7, 2013 22:51:06 GMT -5 nahoku said:

I'm going next Saturday! So I can't help much but I'm pretty excited We are flying into San Jose so we will probably be in different areas than you? We are staying near Quepos in the rainforest at a lodge with "luxury tents" and then we've rented a couple of homes (destination wedding group) in Manuel Antonio.

Let me know about your trip when you get back! Have fun!!

[Redpoppy]

I was there for a month, half of it was for a college course. Our professor had done research there and it was a no frills trip. My classmate and I took the cheap buses, stayed in $20 a night or less rooms, and had a generally great time (I screwed my knee up and he kept trying to buy weed which drove me nuts). This trip was 8 years ago.

While with the class we went to
- La Selva Biological Station - Fun, but definitely needed the guide. We saw sloth, monkeys, tree frogs, lots of crazy insects, and a poisonous snake that was camouflaged right in the walking path.
- Poas Volcano - Very accessible by bus.
- Monteverde - I loved all the hummingbirds here. We went zip lining and hiking as well.
- Puntarenas - This was the middle of nowhere at a research station. The mosquitoes here HURT.

Non-class part a classmate and I visited
- Cahuita - Out on Caribbean coast. We had some great seafood here and went on a questionable snorkeling trip. I don't scuba dive, and there are probably better places, but we needed a town we could access by bus. There was also a park here that we did some hiking in.
- La Fortuna/Arenal - Awesome. We took a guided hike to see the volcano and go to the hot springs. We also went to the large waterfall in town. I don't recommend the rooms behind the meat market we stayed in, but we weren't complaining for $5 a night.
- Corcovado - This was the highlight of the trip. We had to get our Spanish speaking professor to help us make hiking reservations to stay at the ranger station in the park. The bus ride there was at least 8 hours one way. The hike has to be timed with the tides as there is a portion that must be crossed at low tide. We saw so many scarlet macaws. I wish we had done this at the beginning as we were tired when we got there. I have so many stories from this portion to tell DS how I used to be fearless.

ETA: We flew into San Jose and kept going back there to transfer to buses to get where we needed to go.  

[kellsbelles]

I don't know if you're surfers but some of the best in the world is there! Highlight of my trip.

[berbles]

Make sure you see Arenal and go to the natural hot springs!

I went in HS with my family. I loved it.

[stinkyfeet]

I've been a few times and loved it each time. Tabacon resort was fantastic, right on the hot springs. Soooo relaxing. Playa conchal had a resort called paradisus, I think it's a westin now, that is amazing. We loved it there and it's not far from Liberia. Manuel Antonio in the south is great for nature viewing, but depending on how long you have, it may be a bit far for you. If youmdomhead there, I've got a great recommendation for a no frills but so quaint place to stay. Just pm me Driving in cr is always an adventure, the roads are rarely named and not in the best condition, but for us that was part of the adventure. have fun, I'm so jealous!

[underwaterrhymes]

We've been there numerous times.

You're active, so I think the Arenal area, for sure, is a great choice.

We love the Hotel El Silencio del Campo. You can do hanging bridges, zip lines, horse back riding, hot springs (I highly recommend Eco Termales), hiking, white water rafting, etc.

Also, we LOVE Don Ruffinos restaurant. It's pricey, but really good.

[underwaterrhymes]

Nov 7, 2013 22:53:09 GMT -5 joenali said:

One of my college friends lives on an organic farm in Puntarenas and im hoping we will be able to visit. I haven't seen her in 13 years!

If you like seafood, Puntarenas is a great place to get it. H's dad and stepmom have a home near there. There are some great day trips from that area. The crocodile bridge near Jaco is a trip.

[underwaterrhymes]

Oh, and YES. Poas Lodge is our favorite hotel we've stayed anywhere. Poas is less impressive than Arenal, but there are some terrific waterfall hikes in the area.

www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g309227-d1537090-Reviews-Poas_Lodge_and_Restaurant-Poas_Volcano_National_Park_Province_of_Alajuela.html

It's charming and lovely. Mark and Oliver, the couple who was running it previously, moved back to South Africa, but the brothers who are running it now are apparently equally as awesome.