| Costa Rica advice 14:50 - Oct 21 with 1354 views | FischerZ |
Aiming to go for 2 weeks, see the nature/wildlife, sights, some trekking ideally and finish with a few days at a beach with a few bars and restaurants.
Budget around £2000 each, any ideas recommendations on organised tours or do it yourself, public transport etc? |  | | |  |
| Costa Rica advice on 16:51 - Oct 21 with 1313 views | factual_blue |
We did an organised tour with Cosmos 3-4 years ago. All follow the same basic route: San Jose - Caribbean coast (rainforest, rivers, turtles etc), Arenal and the central volcanic plateau, and then the Pacific coast, which would be where you'd want to stay for beach time. Plenty of good hotels, bars etc there. Lots of wildlife everywhere.
Inevitable visit to a coffee plantation of course.
I'd recommend you find a local provider of tours and arrange your own flights if you don't want a package. Not too sure about the full DIY approach. It's a lovely, generally peaceful country, but the locals do express concerns about drug gangs passing product through, so being by yourself might not be advisable.
I don't think there are direct flights, so go Iberia via Madrid to avoid the hell of a flight transfer in the USA and the appalling Homeland Security: I think they're extra vigilant/officious with flights to Latin America. |  |
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| Costa Rica advice on 18:21 - Oct 21 with 1275 views | sparks |
Keep bribe money handy.
That way when the police nick you for being illegal and refuse to let you go to the hotel to get and show your British passport, you may get out more quickly than my brother did... |  |
| The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.
(Sir Terry Pratchett) | | Poll: | Is Fred drunk this morning? |
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| Costa Rica advice on 18:34 - Oct 21 with 1267 views | WeWereZombies |
I travelled all through Central America by 'chicken bus' ten years ago, not sure what it is like now but sometimes things are a bit slow to change in Latin America. Crossing from Nicaragua into Costa Rica was our worst border crossing (not helped by another Brit passing us a dodgy ten dollar bill when we needed cash to pay the border official and only the exact amount would do) but once through Costa Rica was the calmest and least stressful part of the trip.
One thing I specifically remember was just missing a bus and being offered a hundred mile taxi ride for something like fifty quid - there were a couple of American women roped into this deal so the fare was split between four. It got us to where we wanted to go before nightfall but the taxi driver was holding a baby. And he set of driving holding this baby. I thought he cannot drive a hundred miles holding a baby, thankfully he drove around a corner as we were about to leave town and dropped the baby off. Later he stopped because he had spotted a sloth in a roadside tree so we got a bit of Costa Rica's nature in early.
One highlight was white water rafting on Rio Pacuare, I think we paid a hundred dollars each for the day trip, great fun.
I've been sizing up a trip to Japan over the last few days and have been surprised to find that I can get cheaper and better quality flights if I go to the KLM website than I can through Skyscanner so it may be true for Costa Rica too.
And Costa Rica was the only place where we touched the Pacific coast and I found it almost unbearably hot (this was in March).
[edit] lemur changed to sloth, what the feck was I thinking when I typed that? [Post edited 22 Oct 2019 6:49]
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| Costa Rica advice on 01:01 - Oct 22 with 1175 views | floridablue |
My partner is flying there from Orlando Florida next month for her friends wedding. She's flying into San Jose and then making her way to Santa Teresa beach area for the wedding which is a 5 hour drive or a $75 one way flight. Her and another girl friend are the last to join the party and are yet undecided to how to get there. Its a week stay at the Banana Beach Bungalows resort. They all have plans to explore with fishing, snorkling, zip lining and horse back riding booked. If you'd like any updates when they arrive back (Nov 22) as to their experience then p.m me. | | | |
| Costa Rica advice on 10:25 - Oct 22 with 1096 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Don't would be my advice, assuming it hasn't changed much in the last 10 years - other than got more popular. Having said that I used to go for the fishing rather than trekking in steaming jungle.
I hope you have an electric car or at least put your plastic in a green bin to be sent overseas? Simply getting there will help destroy it - let alone the damage you do whilst there. Why not take a leaf out of the lonely planet book and take in the wildlife of some our own urban jungles - the 2nd best holiday destination in the world. Apparently, | |
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| Costa Rica advice on 11:54 - Oct 22 with 1050 views | WeWereZombies |
| Costa Rica advice on 10:25 - Oct 22 by ElephantintheRoom |
Don't would be my advice, assuming it hasn't changed much in the last 10 years - other than got more popular. Having said that I used to go for the fishing rather than trekking in steaming jungle.
I hope you have an electric car or at least put your plastic in a green bin to be sent overseas? Simply getting there will help destroy it - let alone the damage you do whilst there. Why not take a leaf out of the lonely planet book and take in the wildlife of some our own urban jungles - the 2nd best holiday destination in the world. Apparently, |
Although if the OP commutes to work alone in a car to a job over thirty five miles away then he might be sending less carbon into the atmosphere by flying to Costa Rica for a fortnight's time out. And that's before you factor in heating costs of staying home, food miles for produce that tends to be shipped in to the United Kingdom as opposed to the shorter supply lines in Latin America. It starts to get more complicated the more you think about it but my general rule is don't work, do travel. | |
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| Costa Rica advice on 12:16 - Oct 22 with 1035 views | jgos |
There are direct flights twice a week from Gatwick to San Jose now, operated by BA.
Where you go/ the route you take really depends on time of year and whether you're looking at dry or rainy season. Wouldn't do Caribbean Coast in rainy season because for many it would be 'too' rainy but Pacific Coast in rainy season can still be very enjoyable and green and (only a tiny bit) cheaper.
Hire a car. Don't miss Arenal or Manuel Antonio. | | | |
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