Costa rica?

Question

I'm going to Costa Rica in a couple months and I wanna go on some cool excursions. I'm looking online but it isn't really helping me, anybody been to C.R. and have any ideas?

Answer 1

Hey!!! I'm Costa Rican and on this place, you can get a lot of fun!!!

All depends what you want, I'll give some example depending some likes.

If u like, Mountain:

I recommend you, Monteverde National Park, it's full of tropical rain forest, and you can get completely relaxed. Also, the Chirripo Trip could be a great idea, (Cerro Chirripo is the highest mountain in Costa Rica, 3.820 meters over sea level) but you have to get trained because the trip is a little bit hard to walk. Irazu Volcano can be another great trip, on here you don't have to walk because the bus takes you very near the crater. The same thing is Turrialba Volcano, and Poas Volcano (the last is the 2nd biggest crater on the world).

If u like, Beach:

I really recommend you arriving at Daniel Oduber Int'l Airport (at Liberia, LIB Airport) beacuse beaches are from 40 min to 1 hour far depending the beach. Tamarindo Beach is a really good option, as same as Conchal Beach (my favorite) a beach made of tiny shells instead of sand. The thing I don't like about that place is that in dry season (from november to may), it's very hot, but u can deal with that. Also Puntarenas, another CR province, have beautiful beaches but the most visited and the nearest to San Jose is Jaco Beach, (I don't like that place a lot, because it's too crowded; but some tourists I now, they do.) And Costa Rican Caribbean, Limon Province, it's a cool place but transportation is very limited.

If u like City Style:

San José is a really good option, museums, hotels, souvenirs stores and Malls. Some people say that this city it's "americanized", and sometimes I think it does, because you feel sometimes that you are on the States, also because English Language is very common to hear, and CR official language is Spanish, also you find a lot of stores there are on the States and a lot of US fast food restaurants. I love to have fun and spend time with friend, and we used to go to some bars or restaurants near the University of Costa Rica, place where I study :), in San Pedro (5 min from San Jose Downtown). Also, if you love shopping, you have a lot of options: San Jose Central Boulevard, Mall San Pedro, East Multiplaza, Multiplaza Escazu, Terramall...

If you like Cayak, Rapids and Hot springs:

Reventazon River in Cartago is the best, also Pacuare River. Tabacon River is the best known hot spring river in CR, comes from the Arenal Volcano. And La Paz Waterfall Garden is very visited by local and foreign citizens. And here are a lot of places more, just visit www.visitcostarica.com (Official website of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute)

Or why not??? If you have enough time, you can visit ALL THE PLACES!!!! jeje, Even though, Welcome to Costa Rica, have fun and "Pura Vida, mae jeje", nice to writing you!

Answer 2

I've lived in Costa Rica for the last 19 years of my life, although I'm presently studying abroad. I've travelled to almost all of the major tourist spots in the country so I feel that I'm pretty well qualified to answer your question. I'll present you with several really good options and let you choose from those.

1) Manuel Antonio Beach - Manuel Antonio is a gorgeous national park. It is actually a small park which contains several small beaches. If you go there, you're pretty much guaranteed to see monkeys and iguanas. The one downside is that it is pretty far away, around a 4-5 hour drive from San Jose (the central province of Costa Rica where you'll most likely be starting your travels.)

2) Arenal Volcano - One of several active volcanos in Costa Rica. There are fairly frequent micro-eruptions so that you get to see puffs of smoke go up. At night it can be very beautiful as you see the red glow of the lava on the mountain. There are also several hot springs nearby, the most well-known of which is the Tabacon resort (it's also the priciest and requires a reservation). The only downside of Arenal is that it is frequently covered by clouds in which case you may not get to see the volcano.

3) Monteverde National Park - If you like to hike and really want to enjoy tropical cloud forests, this is the definite spot for you. There are several really nicely set-up trails which could keep you busy for several days. There is also a lot of wildlife, especially in the form of beautiful tropical birds like the quetzal. I would highly recommend a night tour, where you are likely to come across things like sleeping owls and poison dart frogs. One downside is that the final road to get to the top of the mountain where Monteverde is at is not very well paved and can make for a bumpy ride. What you get to see on the trip also depends a lot more on your luck (unlike in Manuel Antonio).

4) La Paz Waterfall Garden - This is a tourist attraction in a mountainous region of Costa Rica, which would be well-suited for someone who wants to experience nature, but not have to go too far from civilization or have to exercise too much. There are numerous attractions here like a butterfly farm, monkey exhibit, snake museum, and a jungle cat exhibit (still under construction as of December 07 when I last visited). The real attraction, however, is the set of powerful waterfalls they have there. I highly recommend this place because it is a great way to experience a lot of what Costa Rica has to offer in just one day.

There are a lot more places, but I'm just going to leave you with those highlights. One recommendation of what not to do. Don't waste any time in the capital city of San Jose. It was probably once a worthy place when the wealthy coffee plantation owners of the nation built it long ago. It is now just an ugly area, unfortunately.

Answer 3

All of these answers are great. if you would like to look up some of these places I have a great website that is very informative. You will find information on all of these places as well as the tours and activities that are available at each one.

http://www.anywherecostarica.com/

I like The Osa Peninsula myself. it is a very unique part of the country with 0.6% of the worlds biodiversity. There are numerous estuaries flowing into the ocean with Mangrove forests towering beautifully out of the waters! It is super dense rainforest in this region. I suggest looking into Drake bay and Isla Cano.

http://www.anywherecostarica.com/drake-b...

Have fun!

Answer 4

You should do what I did. Its through Ef College Break. They were really good and they take care of all the details for you. They offer LOTS of great excursions for Costa Rica including horseback riding, zip lining, INBioparque, Kayaking tour, Santa Elena canopy tour, and there is stuff that im missing, but ya. All you pay for is lunch and dinner, since the package tour includes round trip airfare and hotels and a tour director. So it was pretty cool that I did not have to worry about anything and just have fun. You should check it out. I think its only for people 18-26 though since it is a student subsidized travel thing. So basically, you do the tourist thing one morning with them, and then you are free to explore and experience. Oh, and if you decide to use them I recently got a promo code for them at this fair. it is HESSELN1188 and it saves you like an extra $100. What you can do is opt for staying behind, and then use their ticket to travel to another destination (if you want) . You should see if it works for you. I had lots of fun on my trip. You just book online. Um, just google ef college break and you should find it. Its the cheapest way to travel, I've found so far-and I've looked for a long time.