Advice for my trip to Costa Rica

asea

Hi

Has anyone here got any experiences & recommendations for a 2 week visit to Costa Rica for the last two weeks in November?

The flights & hotels are taken care of. Are there any places that are 'must see'? Anything I should watch out for?

Thanks very much

pboae

Which area(s) will you be staying in?

I loved Costa Rica :-)

asea

I'm not sure! My much lovelier half has bought the holiday & I have no idea what to expect! I think that we will be travelling around a bit

pboae

OK, well it's a big country, so it's hard to say really, but the places I liked best were La Fortuna, were you can see the live volcano Arenal. There are hotels with hot spring spas (like http://www.tabacon.com/ ) but you can go to the springs, even if you aren't a guest. With a bit of luck and a clear night you'll be able to see the lava flows in the distance while you lounge at one of the swim up bars.

You can also go to see Poas volcano, which is nearer San Jose. There is no lava, but it is still active with sulphur pools and vents. If you want to go though, hire a car. The tourist bus doesn't get there till after 10am, and by then the clouds have settled on the crater.

I also loved Cahuita, it's completely different from the rest of Costa Rica. It's got a reputation for being a bit dodgy, but we never had any trouble there. The food in Cahuita is different too, more Jamaican style than typical Latin American.

If wildlife is your thing it's also an easy trip from Cahuita to http://www.ogphoto.com/aviarios/ Aviarios, the sloth sanctuary. Though if that's what you are looking for you are more likely to want to head to one of the turtle beaches. Tortugero is the most famous, but that's reflected by the number of visitors, and you may find yourself with a coach load of other tourists all stalking the same turtle. If you have the time, energy and determination, Parismina, a little further down the coast, is much nicer. But it's not an easy trip.

There is also Monteverde cloud forest, for hiking (and the chance to see a Quetzal). There's lots of adventure type activities round there as well, canyoning, horse riding, trekking, etc.

If you are just going for the beaches, you'll find clean, beautiful beaches everywhere, with all the usual tourist amenities, bars, restaurants, etc on hand.

IvanOpinion

I would also recommend a trip to the Poas volcano. The one we did took us up through the coffee plantations etc. and across the 'Oh My God' bridge ... we then went to a nearby restaurant (about 5 miles away) for a typical Costa Rican buffet lunch (and delicious it was too). It was in Costa Rica that I noticed a group of children playing with a burst football and having a great time ... I actually went to a nearby stall and bought them a brand new football ... you thought they had just won the lottery. The other memory I have of Costa Rica is the Christmas decorations (we were there towards the end of November) ... some of he houses were little more than a few sheets of corrugated iron but they were still adorned inside and out with Christmas decorations and lights.

BTW remember it is not called a cloud forest for nothing ... sometimes all you can see is 'cloud'. Have a great time

Ivan

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