www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Greetings Mongers!

I want to do my first trip to CR in sept or oct. The SJ part is pretty clear thanks to all the great info I found here. I do want to see other parts of the country though, so I figured 2 days at Arenal and then a few days at Tamarindo, specifically for the offshore fishing.

Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

The spa at Arenal would definately be more enjoyable with a companion, but I don't want to commit to a whole week, especially if she turns psycho on the road which I've read about here. Should I:

1: Fly me and the cutie from SJ to Tamarindo, rent a car to Arenal then back to Tamarindo and put the sweetie back on a plane to SJ.
OR
2: Rent in SJ, drive to Arenal then back to SJ and fly just me to Tamarindo. Rent another ride in Tamarindo.
Or
3: Rent in SJ, drive to Arenal, drive to Tamarindo. One way the cutie to SJ then drive back to SJ myself several days later.

I know alot of folks here don't recommend driving in CR, but I live in a rural area and spend alot of time on the backroads (dirt, potholes, idiots) and you really do get to see alot more and can go at your own pace. I've read here that the drive from SJ to Arenal is beautiful too. Also an advantage with a car is that you can pick and choose where to stay rather than advance book all the rooms.
Where to look for airfare prices for the SJ to Tamarindo leg?

Anyway, I'd love to see what the experienced mongers think about this and thanks for all the great info I've already gotten.

Phat

Phat, sounds like a good itinerary. taking a Tica to Arenal is a great idea. They love going to the volcano and Tabacon as an alternative to the beach. You didn't mention if your fluent in espaniol. Recommend trying to hook up with a chica who knows how to get there (roads are not marked) and can communicate with you. My first trip to CR, did the SJO, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, San Isidro circuit. The countryside was just beautiful, but the driving was trecherous. highly reccomend renting a 4x4. In the interest of saving time, I would fly instead of drive. But, since this is your first trip, drive and see the countryside. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Vets say it looks a lot like Vietnam.

If you don't get along with a chica, no problemo, just give her a little money and point her to the nearest bus stop. Trust me on this, she'll know the drill.

If your itinerary is time critical, suggest driving to SJO-Arenal-SJO with one chica, then fly SJO-Tamarindo-SJO with another chica. Again, if it doesn' work out, show her to the bus stop. Domestic flights in CR are about $75-100US (gringo pricing) but if your favorita is a Tica, have her make the reservation (Tico pricing).

Enjoy the trip.

Papa Nut

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The best revenge is living the good life!

Phat,

First, I'd definitely scratch option #1 as it skips perhaps the most scenic part of your proposed route. The drive from SJ to Arenal is extremely scenic and the roads are fairly good. If you enjoy enjoy driving as much as I do (and apparently for much the same reasons) I would say it is not to be missed.

I've also driven around the lake a few times, though never to Tamarindo. The road has supposedly gotten a little better but is still very rough. YMMV and you might not find it to be that bad but some people actually prefer to drive back to the Pan-American hwy to drive to the coast rather than take the more direct route around the lake. It is a fairly long drive to Tamarindo whichever way you go. The drive around the lake takes you over fresh ground and by some interesting sites such as the lake itself, the windmills and the rolling grass covered hills of cattle country. But it will take you a while longer than just driving back to SJ and then there is the really long drive from Tamarindo back to SJ at the end of your trip. If you were spending a lot of time there it might be worth it, but do you really want to spend a big chunk of your brief travel time in a car? Personally, I would lean towards option #2 and just fly to Tamarindo.

Finally, if you do fly to Tamarindo I'm not sure whether you really need to rent a car while there though others could better post on that issue than me.

Thanks guys!
Not exactly fluent in spanish but I managed to bluff my way through 9 days in Havana. I'm listening to CD's and am trying to get a tutor. I know words but cannot speak in complete sentences.

It looks like I might have an entourage now as a few buddies are starting to show interest which makes option 2 sound better all the time. Getting those guys to all agree on something takes a bit of diplomacy. They can either, go with, stay and monger or fly their ass to Tamarindo and we'll be along shortly. I did find the links to the airlines I was looking for. Also found this really nice map. Only reason I'd want a car in Tamarindo was to drive around and hit a few hotels/cabinas looking for a real deal.

http://www.maptak.com/

Where I'm REALLY going to have trouble is converting dollars to colones. Everywhere else I've been the prices were quoted in dollars or the exchange was 2-1 so it was easy.

Also sounds as if CR has a good bus service, I like that old monger saying, " I'm not paying her to stay, I'm paying her to leave afterwards."

Hey PP

Try this for conversion help

www.oanda.com/conversion/cheatsheet

you can print both tables ( $ to Col and Col to $) and keep as a handy reference.

Phat P-
Real nice map source-gracias

Koppite:
That cheat sheet will be a real help. Took me a few minutes to figure out how to do a custom sheet. Doh!

Diablo: I LOVE that map. Wish everywhere I went had one. Now, if there was some way to get GPS coordinates from it... I bought a hand held a few years back and have not been lost since.

Still looking at the fishing portion of the trip. I fly fish and my buddy likes offshore so I'm leaving that up to him. Either Quepos, or Tamarindo. Personally, I don't want to do a lodge, I'd rather be near town, he just wants the best bang for his buck.

Phat

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I'm not paying her to have sex, I'm paying her to leave afterwards....

We are doing this run in September so I will let you know how it goes.

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Hanging in Laurelas with the Paisas

Phat,
Suggest you use the search feature here. That map link (and the oanda link for that matter) is on Costa K*D's links post which is on a sticky at the very top of the general info section. However, your mention of flyfishing made me think of a topic I don't recall having seen posted here I don't know if this would interest you, but I would like to know if any members have had any experiences with freshwater fishing in CR.

Here is a link you might find interesting on flyfishing in CR (which claims it has the best flyfishing in the world!?) http://www.costaricaoutdoors.com/fishing-tropica-fresh2.htm. Lake Arenal is supposed to have some really great fishing. Two local fish, the guapote (rainbow bass) and the machaca, are supposed to be particularly challenging game fish. Here's another link for a day trip leaving from either SJ or the dam at the Volcano end of the lake (ie can easily be included with your stay near Tabacon/Fortuna/Arenal) http://www.flyfishcostarica.com/trips/trip2.html. Don't know much about hotels on the Tilaran side of the lake, but the Tilawa is supposed to be nice with dbls running between $50-$120 depending upon view and time of year and offers a variety of fishing, windsurfig and biking tours.There is also supposed to be good mountain trout fishing in the Cerro del Muerte area going toward San Isidro de General. They have even have stocked ponds which I'm ashamed to say is more my speed.

BTW, taking intercity buses will save you money, but it won't save you drive time and sharing the rental car costs with a buddy(s) will drop the per person costs down considerably versus flying. If you want to squeeze in a little lake fishing on your trip, option 3 begins to sound more and more attractive.

I'm not taking the bus anywhere, I was just thinking that it could come in handy for unruly chicas. I figured to rent a ride or just get a driver depending on how many go and what route we settle on. I'm pretty much settled on the SJ/Tobacon/SJ >fishing route, seems like it'd be easiest to satisfy everyone involved. Either way, I plan to arrive a few days ahead of time to start the interview process.

Those fishing links are interesting. I wondered whether there were trout in the mountains and now I know. Those kickboats they use are awesome. I have 3 of the smaller ones myself. Its like floating the river in a high performance lazy boy. I think we'll stick with the offshore though, Costa appears to have better than average and the prices are decent.

Phat

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I'm not paying her to have sex, I'm paying her to leave afterwards....

I am also considering going from Arenal to Tamarindo . What would be my best option . I don't think Sansa or Natures air make that route . What would it cost to get a driver to take me and how long of a ride would it be?
Or would I be better off having a driver take me back to San Jose and then fly to Tamarindo.Thanks Hugh