www.CostaRicaTicas.com

hi all
first post
was going to be solo for a week in CR but now my super sexy turkish girlfriend who lives in london will be joining me.
sept25-oct1
Met her on a plane ride from DC-london last year. She is awesome
and though mongering would be fun...there is a nice connection that you just can't pay for
shes married/separated so am i and we are planning a fun week
we have never spent more than 3 days together in london.
neither of us have been to CR...so a bit nervous
but we are both very experienced travelers in the middle east europe and africa.
i live on the east coast USA so she and i only see each other from time to time when i travel.
she is GFE without the strings to the max
anyway was curious about the weather and places to stay
it looks like its just pouring rain everywhere but the carribean coast.
but limon looks like a dump
any suggestions where you guys would bring your novias this time of year for a romantic few days.
prefer nice hotels....

Most (not all) of the guys on this board have never been outside of the Gringo Gulch in San Jose, so your probably gonna get much more useful feedback on http://www.tripadvisor.com. That being said, Arenal would be my suggestion. The beaches are kinda bleak this time of year, and there is plenty of fun stuff to get into at Arenal. Hot springs, canopy tours, waterfalls, and all that touristy shit (which I like). http://www.cupotico.com is a good website. Here is a link to a good map of Arenal. http://www.cupotico.com/maps/Arenal%20maps.html

September and October are the rainiest months of the year usually. But that doesn't mean that it rains all day, every day. The mornings are usually dry and sunny until mid-day. Then it starts and it's usually only a short rain (a couple of hours), but can rain the rest of the day. Find something to do indoors while it rains. Women love to do it while they can hear it raining outside. And if you're adventurous enough, ignore the rain. It's not a tropical monsoon after all, sometimes it's pretty light.

You have to be an early riser in the rainy months. If you get up by 7am (sun's out by 4:30, dark by 5:30), you have 4-5 hours to hit the beach and some of the adventure tours (Do a zip line tour, aka canopy tour). If you like to sleep till noon, you should go during December-March months where it hardly rains.

The nicest resorts and beaches are on the West coast in the province of Guanacaste. Try town of Flamingo, Tamarindo, Samara, Nosara, Playa Coco. The Carib coast is nice too but I didn't see too many nice hotels/resorts there. It's mostly rustic hotels (many don't have A/C). Limon is a dump, you're right.

you may also give Mal Pais and Santa Teresa a try.

It can be a bit pricy and also dirt cheap depending on what you like.

The beaches ar some of the best in the country and the sand is white

If you have no budget try Flora Blanca comples.

Also there is a large international scene there and restaurants as well.

Say hello to Tom Brady for me if you see him..............oh, I forgot, he and the rest of the Pats will be kicking the asses of the Miami wannabees.

Pura vida

I have just returned from there last week and had one the best unexpected finds of my Costa Rican travels. Arriving early in the afternoon my novia met me at the airport. My other buddy whose plane was very delayed, messed up our plans of getting out of San Jose quickly. So having a few hours to kill I asked the taxi driver to bring me to a place I had only heard a few nice words about.

Xandari…… This hotel is located about 15 to 20 minutes from the airport in the low mountains just north of Alajuela. It was a nice little drive past a few of my other one night stop over hotels, that I use as I enter or leave the country for quick access to the airport. Orchadias or Hotel Martino. Both very nice, and ones I have touted highly on this site. But now that is all over with the discovery of the Xandari.

We drove up to the hotel which was very colorful and seemingly out of place for Costa Rica, as most things seem to be in this country was you get behind the front walls. I told the front gate I only wanted to visit the hotel and that I had no room. He gave the two girls with me the once over but let us pass. Entered the hotel reception area which immediately walked you into their restaurant bar area with a very nice view of Ajauela and the surrounding areas.
I asked the man working the desk if I could view a room. He graciously obliged and took us to one of their smallest, closest rooms, so he said. The room was awesome, huge, and very tastefully decorated and perfectly maintained. The place has only 23 rooms, three very large pools, two hot tubs, a spa, walking paths, Three waterfalls. Just gorgeous. I cant say enough good things about the place.

I asked about the rate and was quoted the rack rate for this room of $195 plus tax. Quickly the guy then said we can deal from that rate. $100 a room, cash and three nights later my buddy and our two friends found ourselves still there.

I can not recomend this place enough. Check it out you will not be disappointed

http://www.xandari.com

maybe a different destination, do cr next time. i like the rainy season but i travel light. hard to show someone a good time in the rain.

If you are not on a budget and you are heavily into nature and don't mind spending time being "out of touch" with the world I would take her down to the Osa Peninsula and stay at a place known as Bosque del Cabo. You'll likely experience plenty of rain but that is actually the beauty of it. Afterall, it is all Rainforest. Good Luck.

last week stayed at the beacon hotel very nice take a look at that place

I spent a week in Nov. 2010 at the Lost Iguana Resort near Arenal. Great place to stay and it rained only lightly one afternoon over six days. Lots to do in that area.
Next trip I hope to hit one of the beach areas.

I too have stayed at Lost Iguana and enjoyed it a lot. Highly Recommend.

Here's the sites of the venues mentioned above:
http://www.bosquedelcabo.com/ << Bosque del Cabo
http://www.mybeaconescazu.com/ << Beacon Hotel in Escazu
http://www.lostiguanaresort.com/navegad ... g/home.php << Lost Iguana Resort in Arenal

http://www.xandari.com/
http://www.xandari.com/ByThePacific/Index.html << there are 2 locations, hence 2 entries
Xandari has been glowingly described in another recent Thread by Brother GSS:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38765&p=437926

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