costa rica guide book
costa rica guide book
Costa Rica Tours- Book before or book there?
Should we book tours for costa rica before we get there? Or is it okay if we do it when we get to Monteverde, Arenal, Jaco Beach, and Manuel Antonio? We wanted to do canopy tours, guided tours, and go whitewater rafting. There are also 8 of us in the group.
It depends on a few things. These are…
1. How adventurous you are.
2. What you want to do.
3. How experienced you are with latin american countries.
4. If you will be there during the busy season (October – March).
The best idea might be to do a “rough” map of where you will go. I liked staying at the “Casa Milvia” in San Jose. The owner is from Britian originally and speaks perfect English. He can help you with setting up a trip. It is like a bread and breakfast, but there are a decent amount of rooms. He can send you on quite a few good tours. Specifically the whitewater rafting and safari style tours. Many of these tours will pick you up, take you out for breakfast, and take you to your destination.. then feed you again and take you back to the hotel. There is also a very nice night life in walking distance of la Casa Milvia. There is a very busy jazz club near by that I loved.
Then maybe from there you can go to Monteverde and Arenal. I stayed at “Observatory Lodge”. It has a great view of Arenal Volcano. Beware, there isn’t a TV or phone in any room (on purpose,you’re supposed to enjoy the natural setting and volcano). There are numerous observatories at this hotel to view the volcano from.
I stayed at “El Establo” when I went to Monteverde. It’s a very large hotel, but very nice. The climate is chilly so bring a sweatshirt.
I stayed at “las Casitas Eclipses” near the Manuel Antonio park. It’s right across from the infamous “Avion” restaurant. It’s basically a hotel made up of little houses. Your group could comfortably stay in one of these houses. Manuel Antonio would be a short trip by bus or taxi.
I was very unimpressed with Jaco. The town is neat, but I didn’t care for it nevertheless. If you want to go surfing, Jaco will be good for that. Otherwise, I consider it a dump.
I hope this all helps. Oh, and don’t forget that Costa Rica is rich in different cultures. You may want to end your trip with a play or concert at the infamous concert hall in San Jose. It’s beautiful. I’m jealous. Can’t wait until I can go to Costa Rica again.
