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Planning our first trip to Costa Rica, I'm very excited!

It'll be just the wife and I (she plays too) so I'm trying to iron out all the details and make sure we're prepared for what we're walking into. I'm gonna lay out our tentative plan and would appreciate any and all feedback.

We're tentatively scheduled to fly in on a Friday or Saturday this March and leave the following Friday or Saturday. We'd be landing around 6 or 7 local time. Is it worth trekking to Jaco that late, or better to stay the night in San Jose and get to Jaco in the morning?

We're planning on staying in Jaco despite knowing its a bit spendier for rooms, food, and fun, but a chance to hang out near the beach, pool, and having a concentrated walkable area is appealing. It's also close enough to some nature stuff if we decide to do any of that.

For lodging we're really liking what we see at Hotel Jaco. Anyone stayed recently with thoughts? How guest friendly are they? Do they have safes in the room? Any great places to eat right nearby?

Tentative nightlife plans include visits to Cocal and maybe Republik lounge. Any other good nightlife spots we should hit up? How is G Spot? Worth killing some time at or lower tier of girls there?

We've been wanting to make this trip for awhile so we're pretty excited!

Friday and Saturday nights are the most popular nights in Jaco. If it's possible you should fly in on Thursday go directly to Jaco.

If not then I, personally, would spend the night in San Jose at The Taormina, Sportsmen's Lodge, Hotel Castillo, or the Hotel la Amistad and then get over to Jaco early as possible the next day. There's a LOT of traffic to Jaco on Friday through Sunday, so expect the normal 2 hour trip (Mon to Thu) to turn into 3 or 4 hours on those days/nights.

I actually rented an Airbnb while in Jaco that was far less expensive than the hotels, a block from the beach, and very secure. They also didn't care if I brought guests home for the night - something you definitely need to check if you go that route.

I can't speak on the Hotel Jaco but the Cocal has rooms for rent and is THE place for the best action. It's also more expensive and the girls charge more too.


Hope this helps some.
Enjoy your trip!

I stayed at Hotel Jaco prior to their renovation and it was awesome. I can only imagine how nice the rooms are now. Apparently they took some of the kitchen space and turned it into living space. Rooms are mostly suites with a nice terrace or balcony. They rooms have gotten a lot more expensive after the remodel.

Bar / Restaurant was nice but very pricey. Just up to the main road is the Sunrise Cafe. Great breakfast. Other good restaurants within walking distance and the Cocal / Republik is about a 5 to 10 minute walk.

Excellent pool area.

Gringo owned and totally guest friendly. The owners policy, if the look or act like a puta then take them straight back to the room. If they appear normal they are welcome to use all of the public facilities with you.

If your March dates are the last week, then change your dates. That is Semana Santa, Easter Sunday falling on March 31st this year. Besides the religious implications, the beaches will be way too crowded with family oriented locals.

I would also advise going straight to Jaco. You will be early enough to catch the action and there is no reason to go into San Jose for such a short visit. The SJO-Jaco route goes north of most of the San Jose traffic.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Good info, thank you. We're looking at the second or third week, think those will still be ok?

Consensus seems to shoot straight to Jaco so we'll do that. May spend 1 night at Taormina on the way home, our home flight is before 8am so waking up closer to the airport will be nice.

Those weeks should be OK and a return night at Taormina would be good. There is some construction near airport and you can allow for it if it is still going on.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive