www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hello.

My girlfriend and I would like to visit Costa-Rica in the beginning of September and stay in a nice all-inclusive resort, preferably on the Pacific Coast. We both are beach lovers, so one of the most important futures for us is a nice beach where you can have a long walks. We prefer quiet place, but some nightlife would be a plus. If possible, we would like to pay not more than $75 per person per day.

Could you please give us some ideas on what hotels/cities we should be looking at? Any other advice on our travel would be very helpful too.

Also, is rain a big issue in September? We’ve heard that it usually rains in the afternoon. How long it usually lasts?

Thank you very much.

Sept and oct are usually the months with the most rain. The northern pacific coast gets the least and the southern pacific coast gets the most.
If you stay at a resort on the central or northern pacific coast the rain should not be too bad. Usually sunny mornings with some afternoon rain.

The barcelo tambor resort is a nice place. They may have some special offers for sept. Maybe 120$ per night for two. Not the best beach in CR but you could walk for miles.

I recently stayed at the fiesta premier resort in papaguyo. Nice place and good food. Their are many all inclusives in that area.

Barcelo also has a resort in Tamarindo.

Tambor has an airport as does Tamarindo so flying there is an option to consider.

Of course there is the big airport in liberia so you could fly to the papaguyo resorts also.

Zman, thank you very much. I googled it, and the fiesta premier resort looks great to me. The only minus is that it is pretty expensive. The cheapest I was able to find is $216 per night per two.

Are there any sites/agencies you would recomend that might have better prices?

Thanks again.

Saw some vacation packages on Contenental Airlines vacation section with some great deals to all inclusive resorts.

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I'll second what Zman had to say about the Barcelo Tambor. This is really an amazing place - and anything you could want to do is right there on site. Enjoyed all the activities - including beach volleyball, gambling, the nightly entertainment, the disco bar, and the pool stuff. And I think our deal at the time was $80 a night all inclusive.

The only downsides - it can take a long time to get there by vehicle, (including the ferry ride from Puntarenas), and the beach roads are pretty miserable. Didn't realize you could fly, but I definitely would consider it if I had it to do over again. Also, September really isn't the best time to go. There was more or less a light drizzle much of the time we were there.

We weren't nearly as enamoured of the Barcelo resort in Tamarindo (actually Playa Langosta), and the weather on the coast is even worse in October (as we found out much to our chagrin...).

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I would definitely recommend that you try the Manuel Antonio area for some of the finest Pacific coast beaches in Costa Rica. Your $150 a day in the off season will bring you lots of very nice hotels to choose from.

You'll have access to Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the best in the country for quite walks, tons of wildlife, etc.

Nightlife is available with local bands and even some stateside type nightclub activities. Tons of restaurants to chose from a variety of cuisines.

Be sure and take some mangrove swamp tours, some ATVing, horseback riding on the beach on in the jungle.

Just DO NOT STAY in Quepos. Manuel Antonio is the place to be. A nice 4-5 hour leisurely drive from San Jose....Fly Nature Air for about $120 each round trip, or hire a taxi at about $50 from San Jose.

You'll get a least one rain shower a day, but it's a welcoming cooling rain and rarely lasts more than an hour or two.

Any other questions, PM me, I'll be glad to help.

El Lamero

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If you are not deadset on Costa Rica try the Barcelo resorts at Monte Limar in Nicaragua or Playa Blanca near Panama City in Panama. I've stayed several times at each and they are great. The flights from the US are about the same as to CR. Monte Limar is my favorite, it is lush tropical rainforest type grounds, great food and nice canbina rooms with a wide range of activities. IT IS ALSO DIRT CHEAP. I think we paid somewhere near $50.00 per day all inclusive. It has a nice beach, multiple pools, shops, numerous bars, etc.

Goetz

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The fiesta premier resort had some sort of special when we went there in march. I paid 160$ per night all inclusive. sept should be a month with lots of offers.

It might be better to call the resorts directly and ask them for specials.

The punta leona resort near jaco is nice also and they have a special going on now. I understand the beach there is very nice also.

I couldn't agree with you more, Goetz. Montelimar is absolutely spectacular. But then again, what more would you expect from Somoza's old beach house!

Check out the www.vacationexpress.com site for all inclusive flight and hotel deals. they are really inexpensive when you get a package.

RC

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Slow down for the Curves...

Look into playa carillo , or playa samara. Nice quiet beaches, good for swimming. If you don't have to get all inclusive, there are some decent small hotels run by Euro expats .

Google it.

Thank you so much for your help, friends

I have a lot of research to do now