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Greetings All

Heading out to CR for my third time and going to branch out a bit beyond Jaco. We am planing to fly into SJ and head directly to Jaco for a week. Staying at Cocal (again) transportation has been arranged EZ PZ I like to say.

But after that we will be breaking new ground and a few details still need to be sorted out.

We will be traveling from Jaco to Coco Beach to do some diving. We are planning to hire a taxi/van to get there. I don't imagine it will be cheap. I know its a long ride. Any recommendation or ideas on appropriate pricing?

After diving for a few days we plan on heading to SJ for two nights before returning to the US. Again we plan to van/taxi it. I know we could fly but it seems that even though its a long ride, the time getting to and from the airports and the wait at the the airport and flight time, it seems that two guys sharing a van would be about the same in terms of time and money. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

In SJ were planning on staying at the either the Sportsman or Del Rey - I see a lot of debate on the forum- but I will ask here anyway- We are interested in the best accommodations with the nicest Ticas and the least hassle. we will also need to get our Covid testing done- so all that considered, suggestions are welcome.

Thank you for any and all input!

I get to playa coco from the airport in about 3.5 hours. I do have a lead foot and prefer to drive early in the morning 2-3 am so I miss a lot of the traffic. Regular hours I would figure on taking close to 5 hours unless you stop to eat. The road is being worked on so you will have road delays as well. If you can get a van for late afternoon that would be my choice. The good thing is things in Coco are not as high-priced as Jaco. I actually thought the food and accommodations were very reasonable. Make sure to stop at the micro brewery in the center of town good food and the beer is tasty as well. Margaritas and mojitos were average. They do have an AutoMercado there as well. Look on VRBO for some decent condos 51.00 - 450.00 per night depending on what you want to spend. We had a nice place we split between 3 for 177.00 a night in January 2022

Never been to Coco so I can't help there. I would stay at the Sportsmens over the Del Rey. No way to tell in advance which place will have the best "selection" but I prefer the atmosphere of the Sportsmens and you can always walk over to the Rey, the Castillo or the Taormina if the selection at the SL isn't to your liking.

If you are from the US you don't need a Covid test anymore to return. I don't know about Canada. Regardless, if you need a test you can either go to Clinica Biblica to get one or I am sure the Sportsmens could arrange someone to test you at the hotel though it would be a lot more expensive.

For transportation, I would check the shared van services like Interbus or Gray Line. You pay per person and their shared van service was pretty reasonable pre-Covid. They offer door to door service but you will share the van with other passengers and it can add some time to the trip if you aren't the last picked up or the first dropped off.