www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Manual Antonio is really expensive but since I will be travelling alone I was thinking of staying in Quepos. Any suggestions ??

The bridges from Jaco to Quepos are small and in terrible shape . You will need to wait since they are only one lane wide.

Any suggestions on car rentals. I know the price they give over the phone will be much more when you include insurances and tax.


Wayne

I used Payless at SJO airport. They have a bus that will take off terminal to the site. They were dirt cheap at the time. In CR you are required to buy the insurance. They ping your credit card with a $1000 authorization in case you wreck to cover the deductible. I would recommend going with something midsize or better. Compact cars and the roads to Jaco and Quepos don't do too well. I was just in Nicaragua and I will say the roads in CR are unbelievably better.

quepos isnt the safest place at night. there are rather cheap hotels in MA, so even beachfront. i dont know your level of comfort, but if you're okay with cabina-type hotels, there's several right below the beach, in the $50-70 range, per night

Payless my choice many times, no problems. Book online in the states and you will probably get a much cheaper price. Get their tel # and they will meet you at the airport and they will bring you back, tip the guy. Get an automtic, stick shift is a pain in the ass if you are going to be going back and forth from the beach to Quepos because of the sharp hills, especially if you get behind a bus or truck.

I flew to Quepos from SJO on Sansa for $99 each way. I think you can fly out of Tobias on Nature Air for $50 each way.

I'd rather pony up the $ and fly and maybe try to rent a car there - although the taxis are crawling all over.

If you are like me and don't speak much Spanish and don't know your way around the roads well, you might be asking for trouble or at least a giant pain in the ass to drive all the way to Quepos.

Once I took a taxi to Jaco and paid good attention on the way there and on the way back, thinking next time I'd rent a car. The trip seemed like it would be pretty easy solo but then on the way back, traffic on the highway west of the airport (about Grecia) was backed up as far as you could see. This was about 7:00 at night. The driver ended up crossing over to the other side of the road and driving the wrong way for several miles then working his way through Alajuela and back to the highway. There is no way in hell I could have done that. If that traffic incident happened to me driving solo, I would have had no choice but to sit on the highway and hope the mess got cleared up quickly.

It seems in CR you can try to save a few dollars and in the process lose much more in time than you saved in money.

Also, keep in mind that, at 9 degrees of latitude, it gets ark in CR around 6:00 year-round and you won't find the street lights, reflective signs, etc. like in the US.

Maybe you are confident enough and capable of handling that drive. I wish I felt up to it. That would be an exciting way to see the countryside - granted you can do the same in a taxi but there is something fun about pushing the boundaries.

Good luck!

Good Times - I've been using Dollar . It ran slightly over $60 per day last year. I'm looking foralternatives. I won't be picking up at the airport since I spend a couple of days in SJ first. I'll check Payless. Thanks.


Crooked - I already made the drive to Quepos and back . I speak Spanish well. It's ok I just take my time and drive days. Actually I even went further to Manual Antonio and stayed at the Elcipse. But I was with a woman then and this time I'll be traveling alone and looking for something less elegant but with TV. Let me know if you know of any specific places.

Thanks,


Wayne

I only went to MA for a day trip so I never set foot in a hotel. Sorry I can't be of any more help

look up Villa Mimosa in Manual Antonio nice place discuss chica fee up front and there shouldnt be any. pool and nice place little resturant outside.i think the owners name is Ron

Quepos:

Try Hotel Malinche. Nice, inexpensive, clean. Chica tolerant if you're discreet. Do not ask the nice lady at the front desk about finding hookers.

Best Western Kamuck: Little casino. Typical BW motel, not real chica friendly...depends from what I've heard, on who is working the desk. And p4p has been available sporadically in their casino...


If you think the road from Jaco to Quepos is bad, try the road from Manuel Antonio to Dominical through Hacienda Baru. Dirt-track nightmare.

The Quepos airport is about a $8.00 cab ride from downtown Quepos.

Quepos has a little hospital, a decent selection of shops, a branch of the Banco de Costa Rica (including ATMs) and a number of good bars and restaurants. Try Gran Escape for the smoked trout quesadilla and ceviche...dynamite!

There are fishing charters from Quepos, some of which can be arranged spur-of-the-moment.

Mar y Blues Bar and a bar called Wacky Wanda's used to be good places to find chicas for p4p.

BEWARE: Many reports of under-18'ers trying to ply the trade. Check sedulas.

Quepos is the seat of the canton; there is a fairly strong police presence in the town, including (I believe) an O.I.J. presence (part of the war against drugs or....?)

The town is perfectly safe during the day, but the town square/plaza is populated with drogeros at night.

M.A. I believe it's safe to call the entire beach and park a tourist trap. Nobody has put any governors on construction along that road, and instead of hearing monkeys and birds mixing with the sound of the surf, you'll hear construction equipment and carpentry tools instead during the day, and overpriveledged assholes driving their cars up and down the road with speaker boxes booming at night.

Editorial comment: The American way of free enterprise sucks unless you're the one making the money. Construction has effectively destroyed the area. Prices for most decent hotels are now approaching U.S. levels. I've been there once, stayed for a week. Won't go back. I do like Quepos for what it is, however.

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

Hotel Mono Azul is nice, it was like $40.00, has a bar, pool, rest. nice rooms but no extras like phones, shampoo, etc. Not chica friendly but you can sneak one in with a little propina(tip) to the guard.

El Ciego, good advice about checking cedulas, the hotels and bars don't and I wouldn't trust the chicas. CR is nice but you don't want an extended vacation.


Fun place to hang out is the disco Arco-Ides, locals hanging out dancing to reggaeton(I love watching them dance reggaeton) all night. Don't get there before midnight has nothing starts until after and lasts til 5AM.

Bars for P4P in Quepos, Wacky Wandas and El Pescadore(has phenomenal ceviche, cheap too) next door. The bartenders are cool at both places, one is a chica. You'll find the chicas there at 7:00pm - ?

There is also a cool patio bar across the street from ArcoIdes, starts earlier like at 9:30 pm. Mostly locals.

Quepos is fun, a lot of hot local girls walking around in the day.


PURA VIDA!

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Livin' & Lovin' in Key Largo....oh....And the one in The Keys, too!

I just came from there and the rate of developement is crazy. It's ruining the area. To be very honest I saw it from Jaco all the way down to Manuel Antonio. Bilboard signs advertising in English "For sale condos starting in the low $300,000!" I felt bad for the people who live there because the American devlopers are driving up the cost of property to US levels. This pretty much forces the locals out. - Sad. I hope the local government is doing something to help slow or stop most of it. I can foresee animosity between the locals and visitors in the future.

I second what El Ciego said..Hotel Malinche is a great deal and right around the corner (to the north ?) is Lynch Travel and they can hook you up with a good deal on a rental car/suv.

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Que ???
Paz,
Sluthog

just came back from quepos and interbus was only $30-35 one way. i got lucky and flew natureiar for only $17 one way booked like 6 months in advance it was a loca promo?? there is a hotel called Crystal or Krystal, has a small bar all spanish but just down the road from puebla real which was condo.. anyways very spanish but cheap..also if you went to quepos and went into the town, i'm pretty sure you can get rooms very reasonable the little local ones. when i was there there seemed to be a lack of people. 5/15/2008 ish.. also they have a local bus that goes to manuel antonio from quepos for pennies.. and the entrance if you don't use a guide is like $10. have fun it was gorgeous.

I have used Hotel Malinche on many occasions. It is clean, safe and very economical. Luis, the owners son, is a great fishing guide and will do all he can to give anyone a great inshore or offshore experience and can be booked at the hotel. I plan to visit there again in the next couple of weeks. The girls are getting more numerous at Quepos and a few are really attractive.

Regardless, one of the top three beaches in Centro America, empty in green season, and not overly crowded week days in our winter.