www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Sorry if the title is wrong but you get the idea.

So you need a break from Mongering.
Or
This where I went when I went to Costa Rica. ( Dear, Honey)

Disclaimer: I am not a travel agent or play one on TV. I love Costa Rica for the reasons stated in this post. For me, mongering is the icing between the layers of the cake. By all means visit CR and monger but don’t short change yourself. If you do not get out of the gulch you are missing the best part/s of Costa Rica. Pura Vida

I was going through my papers and came across my receipts from my trips to CR. It turns out I have made 20 trips to the country. So if you decide to break from mongering here are some suggestions on other places to visit and things to do. I recommend flying to most of the places but each can be driven to.

A few things to keep in mind: The beer is always nice and cold and there are other hotels that are less money than the ones mentioned here. Mongering in these areas is hit and miss so if you can, bring a lady with you. Bring sun screen and water.

Book a flight on either Sansa or Nature Air and head out to NW Guanacaste for a couple of days. You can land at either Tamarindo airport or Liberia. Here you will find Tamarindo, Flamingo, Brassalito, Protero, Conchal, Papagayo and others. This is a great area for surfing, snorkeling, diving, jet skiing and fishing. The Pacific coast line in this area is beautiful, the water is clear and its temperature is great for just about everything. With a little searching you can find secluded beaches. I highly recommend doing an ATV tour. Many of the hotels are resorts so they are pricey. My favorite is the Paradisus at Playa Conchal. Good golf course and many activities at the beach. The bar is at the pool so you can swim to it. Not to far away is a zip line where they allow you to “fly”. They harness you in such a way that you are lying down looking at the ground.The Hilton Fiesta at Papagayo is also good and the jet ski tour is well worth it. I don’t like the Occidental at Papagayo. If money is no object the Four Seasons is at the coast of Papagayo. The Barcelo in Tamarindo is good but you may want to stay in town at the Dairia. Get in touch with Much Gusto and go deep sea fishing. I have seen nothing but good reviews of his excursions and he knows where the fish are. There are many deep sea fishing charters out of the area and plenty of sunset cruises. You have to see a CR sunset, they are better than Hawaii. Witches Point which is supposed to have some of the best surfing in the world is just up the coast from Papagayo, but you do need a guide and be an experienced surfer. You may want to consider renting a car for a day or two.

At the central part of the Nicoya peninsula, also Guanacaste, is Nosara, Samara and my favorite Punta Islita. Here you get wonderful views of the Pacific, much less hustle and bustle, lots of waterfalls and black sand beaches that you can look down on from the cliffs. You can still get to the beach from the cliff. Nosara and Samara have mongering but they are more along the lines of bring your own. The only hotel I ever stayed at was at Punta Islita. The rooms are not rooms but cassitas, small houses. It is kind of inconvenient to get around by car, and you will need one here. If the Rio Oro is “full” the drive from Punta Islita to Samara is a kick and you will need 4 wheel drive.

Continuing down the peninsula you get to Manzanillo, Santiago and then heading back north you get to Moctazemu and then Tambor. Near Moctezuma is one of the best zip line tours I have ever been on. It has some of the longest cables in CR and views that will take your breath away. At one of the towers you can go to the waterfalls and swim in the pools. If it has been raining the waterfalls are great. Tambor has a Barcelo Hotel which is nice and right next to it is the airstrip. The beach is black sand and deep so to get to any decent depth of water you need to walk a ways. Not much surf either. Plenty of tours available from the hotel. From here there are two ways back to San Jose. Fly from the airstrip or take the ferry from Gigante(I think) to Puntarenas. Getting to Gigante is a drive from Tambor but not bad, take a taxi. If the day is clear the ferry ride is excellent. Make sure you have a car waiting for you at Puntarenas. As mentioned in another post Puntarenas is a port town with not much mongering. It is also about a 2 ½ hour drive back to SJ.

We have all seen the reviews about Jaco, Quepos, Manuel Antonio and others along the coast. Plenty of good hotels at a variety of prices. But if you are feeling adventurous, rent a car and drive there. The roads are pretty good but watch out for CR drivers. Plenty of good views into the valleys along the way. Get a good map or better yet, written directions from a local.

Arenal volcano and the La Fortuna area is a great day trip or an overnighter. You can drive or fly there. Driving will be about 2 hours, flying 30 minutes. Arenal is one of the few active volcanos in CR. At night you can see it glowing and even hear the rumble of boulders being dislodged. Near by is Tabacon Hot Springs. Touristy beyond belief. I prefer the Eco Thermales; warmer waters less people and friendlier staff. Reservations are required. I forget the names of the other hot springs. Lake Arenal has some of the best wind surfing in the world and almost a constant breeze. Plenty of Hotels, my favorite is La Mansion on the lake. The hanging bridges tour is a blast but if heights bother you stay away. Monteverde cloud forest is not far away either. If it is the rainy season plan on an extra day or 2 depending on where you stay.
Note that you can get to Arenal from Tamarindo and it is about the same driving time.

San Jose itself is easy. Most of the information is at the front desk of the hotel. However:
There are more than 6 museums in San Jose, 4 of which are right there on avenida central in the same building. They do not allow cell phones in these museums but each one is worthwhile. The Jade Museum is right there at the INS building. It has its own entrance to the left when facing the building from Parque Espana. Just up the road from the DR is the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, always a nice way to kill a few hours. If your Spanish is good enough take in a show at the Teatro Nacional or go to the symphony. The concerts I have been to were quite good. I also recommend a tour of one of the coffee plantations. The one Café Britt puts on IMO is the better one because it is not only informative but entertaining. I’ve played golf a few times but mostly at the coarse at the Cariari.
Head up to Poas for the day and visit the Waterfall Gardens at LaPaz. 5 waterfalls, a Costa Rican village, hummingbirds, and other cool stuff. Better yet, grab your favorita and stay overnight at the Peace Lodge. The rooms are great and shall we say conducive to activities with her. Get reservations 3 to 6 months in advance.
Volcan Irazu is also a nice day trip. If you drive, your car will take a beating due to the altitude.
Turrialba has some great white water rafting and mountain biking.

Can’t speak much for Limon and the Atlantic/Caribbean side. Been there didn’t like it. YMMV.

Way to the south you will find Golfito and Davis Bay/Golfo Dulce. Very eco touristy through out the area. Not a day trip. Some eco hotels on the coast and inland. If you like bugs, wildlife(non mongers) and reptiles head on down to the area.

Hope you find this helpful.
Pura Vida mi amigos

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Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

Nice report thanks. Didn’t the Peace Lodge get a lot of damage in the terremoto? Are they open now?

Yes, The Peace Lodge was damaged during the earthquake but has patrially re-opened. They are still rebuilding/under construction so they do not have as many rooms available.

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Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

That's a great report. A couple of minor notes.

The zipline "flying" position, when you're attached at the back and extend your arms and legs forward and behind you is sometimes referred to as the "Superman" (for obvious reasons). Just be forewarned if you really want to do it superman style it takes a bit of lower back strength to lift your upper body upwards (and glute strength for the legs). Another position you might want to ask your guide about that is a little easier is the "Mono" (or monkey).

Another activity area that is well worth checking out in the Northern Guanacaste area is Rincon de la Vieja. It can be visited as a long day trip from the Papagayo area but you could also stay over at the Hacienda Gauchipelin. http://www.guachipelin.com/tours.php

I believe the beach that Patriot referring to at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula is Montezuma not Moctezuma.

The departure point for the ferry to Puntarenas is at Paquera not Gigante.

There is also a 3rd way for onward travel from the Nicoya Peninsula and that is by water taxi to Jaco (as well as to Samara). I believe a variety of outfits offer this and prices and times vary but a couple of links you can check out include: http://www.cocozumacr.com/speed_taxi_water_boat_Jaco_Montezuma.html and http://www.thetaxiboat.com

For good info on this area check out http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com

For good info on the Arenal/Tabacon/Fortuna area check out http://www.arenal.net.

The 3rd major hotspring in that area had been Baldi but new hot spring facilities are opening up all the time including Los Perdidos and Titoku and many areas hotels have hot spring fed pools of varying levels of fanciness. If you want to experience the springs like the ticos, much less expensive but still nice springs include Los Fuentes (across from Tabacon) and Las Laures (located across from Los Lagos but not nearly as nice as Los Fuentes or the other hot springs).

Re: La Paz, they reopened at the end of last month but I'm not sure what scars may be left over. I will say that vegetation grows very fast in CR so while the landscape may look a little different, that aspect of the La Paz experience shouldn't be an issue. Similarly the waterfalls themselves are waterfalls and probably weren't affected at all. From what I heard most of the real damage was to the physical infrastructure (buildings) and some of the trails and platforms. According to their website they're still working on some of those and will be through the Fall. But you can read the full details for yourselves at http://www.waterfallgardens.com/quake/index.html

Excellent list, Patriot!

A couple things: If you're heading down to the southern Pacific coast (Golfito, Golfo Dulce, Puerto Jiminez, Drake Bay) you will encounter Parque Nacional Marino Ballena. This is one of the world's first underwater national parks, and the dolphin and friendly whale populations can be huge. If you're an experienced scuba diver or snorkeler, you'll find an underwater world of wonder. Yes, you can swim/play with dolphins.

Cartago: Not really a tourist destination, but it was once the capital of Costa Rica, and theBasilica is a good tourist destination. Rare hardwoods were used throughout its construction and decoration, and a genuine holy site of the Roman Catholic church is its holy water fountain. Pilgrims crawl on their hands and knees from all over Costa Rica to visit the Basilica on the Feast of OUr Lady of the Angels. Great photo opps here, and there are a number of excellent restaurants nearby. You can take a bus from SJ for around a dollar each way, or taxi it for roughly $12.00 each way.

Speaking of cool old churches, the iglesia in Grecia is one of the most famous mistakes in shipping history. Originally destined for Chile from France, the metal building somehow made its way to Puntarenas instead... the 19th century building is now a central landmark in Grecia.

Many small C.R. towns offer tourist opportunites, and the ambience and friendly people make visiting these smaller towns worthwhile. Most can be reached very cheaply via public buses. Find a brochure (English) called "Hop a Bus," which should still be available at most hotel front desks or tour desks.

Thanks again Patriot for the excellent suggestions.

Me encanta Costa Rica y por eso, me hecha de menos. I miss it, and can't wait to get back to La Suissa Centroamericana!

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Nice report.

Great post by Patriot and also by Prolijo.

The Guanacaste beaches are really nice. Also there is a great zip line tour 15 minutes from Tamarindo. I did that one last month and it was superior for $35.

Arenal and La Fortuna is also one of my favorite places in CR. And if you get near San Carlos, the Hotel Termales del Bosque has one of the finest hot springs in CR. The hotel is decent, and costs aboyt $49 per night which includes a full cooked breakfast and unlimited use of the termales. Scr@w Tabacon for their overinflated costs and snippy customer service....

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Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

I noted that none of these activities involve chicas...

I personally have never been ziplining.

But I will try to build my glute strength with plenty of practice.