Travelling Outside the US for First time - Costa Rica?

Question

Hello, I'm graduating my internship in June and am looking to travel somewhere for about a week (it would be longer if I had some kind of a savings, but I've been in school waaay to long. need a break! soon!) I was thinking about Costa Rica. Does anyone with experience know the best way to go about doing this? I love nature and outdoorsy type things so would like to do the canopy tours, maybe rafting, see the volcanoes, beaches etc, but i would also like to keep the spending to a minimum. Since its my first trip should i do an all-inclusive (those look expensive though) or should i just fly over there and wing it (sounds a little scary)? I'm a 25/f maybe going w/ a couple friends. Any advice would be much appreciated. thank you!

Answer 1

Costa Rica is a great country to visit for the first time and you can find lots of inexpensive hotels to stay in. The best way to find those hotels is to ask the locals or go to a travel agency.

If you want to do canopy, I would suggest Monteverde. You can get a great view, and it isn't that expensive, though I can't remember the price now. http://www.selvatura.com/rates.html

this link gives you the prices and some nearby hotels.

If you want to go rafting, I suggest Reventazon. http://www.costasolrafting.com/  

If you want to visit volcanoes Arenal, Irazu and Miravalles are beautiful, and Arenal and Miravalles have hotels nearby. There are also one day tours that aren't that expensive.

By the way, don't worry about medicines and/or water. Costa Rica has better water quality than most US places.

Answer 2

Costa Rica really isn't a budget travel place, It can be expensive. If you want to make your dollars go farther you could visit one of Costa Rica's neighbors. Nicaragua and Panama have a lot to offer and are a lot cheaper and neither of them are as inundated with tourist like Costa Rica is. Don't get me wrong Costa Rica is beautiful but it is not a cultural experience. If you stay off Gringo road which can be a challenge in itself it can be fun,but It is overrun by tourist and tour operators

Answer 3

Get yourself a good guide book, Lonely Planet for instance. You can certainly 'wing it' but if you aren't prepared or don't speak good Spanish you run the risk of a lot of wasted effort. There are many low budget accommodations and public transportation is cheap and efficient (if sometimes funky). But in order to navigate you have to deal with the disorganized nature of Costa Rica. I 'winged it' myself my first time and I had plenty of fun, and I suspect you could too. But do your homework, buy a guidebook, and if you have somebody in your group who speaks Spanish you'll do a lot better once you get here.

Answer 4

Visit the southern part of costa rica, it's much more laid back than the capital area, and less crowded tourist beaches. Also people are super down to earth and friendly .

I recommend Golfito for its awesome oceanic views, beaches and rainforest.

Visit my blog for more info: casaboruca.blogspot.com

Answer 5

Costa rica is fabulous! In march of 2007 i took a tour of it. It was with a tour group and it was great! It was a reasonable price for 11 days, it was only 1,900 dollars. If you love nature this is the perfect place for you. We went horseback riding, river rafting, zip lining over and through tthe rainforest(amazing!!!!!!!!) and went to see volcanoes and relaxed on the beaches. It was an amazing trip and i had a great time and im sure you would too! ♥

Answer 6

Just wing it. Get your airfare, a guide book and car rental. The place is easy to travel around and the people are very friendly.  I did this a few years ago with a couple of buddies of mine on a surf trip and we had a blast.  If you rent a car go with a 4x4 as the roads,, depending on where you go, can be a little bumpy. I went through an agency called Tico Travel -  I do not know if they are still around but they were easy to deal with. Anyway hope this helps