jdthomas 0 #1 May 12, 2008 My wife and I are thinking about booking a vacation, and we are looking at Costa Rica, if you have been there do you have an pro's or cons you could share about the place? We are wanting to do the rain/cloud forest tour and a few things like that. Thanks Joewww.greenboxphotography.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WatchYourStep 0 #2 May 12, 2008 Joe- I have a friend who lived in Costa Rica for a semester. I'll see what she says. "You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #3 May 12, 2008 I worked with some Casinos down there for a while. Used to have to go every couple months. Costa Rica is GREAT. Pros: Very laid back Friendly people. They actually do not Hate Americans yet. Fairly reasonable prices. Mostly Safe place if you use your head. Lots to see and do. Cons: Be very careful if you drive there. The roads are not the best and they dont really have Traffic laws (And if they do, they are ignored completely.) What to do: Arenal Volcano - Plan an overnight trip where you can see the Volcano at night. It is very active and the show at night is great. Hot Springs - The Tourist Trap for Hot Springs is Tabacon. Beautiful Place with Fantastic Hot Springs but Loaded with Tourists and High Prices. Right down the road is a place called Baldi that is Just as nice, Much less expensive and fewer obnoxious, screaming Kids running around. Zip Lines - I like ones in San Lorenzo best. There are some Zip Lines closer to San Jose but not as Long and Scenic. Jaco - Amazing Black Sand beaches and good surf. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psw097 0 #4 May 12, 2008 The woman and I just got back from a 10 day vacation in Costa Rica - it was excellent. We spent 1 night in San Jose. http://picasaweb.google.com/WebsterHyde/CostaRicaSanJose Then we drove up to Santa Elena and stayed in a cabin on the desert side. The cloud forest was a 20 minute drive. http://picasaweb.google.com/WebsterHyde/CostaRicaElSol We then took a Caravan flight to the Osa Peninsula and the rest of the trip in the rain forest. http://picasaweb.google.com/WebsterHyde/CostaRicaBosqueDelCabo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #5 May 12, 2008 I trained the CR Presidential guards a few years back and can say that CR is a fantastic place to visit. If you want to do "tourist" stuff, it won't be hard to find things to do. But if you want to get out and see things more for yourself then there are some very fun things to do. In San Jose, you can easily rent mountain bikes and go on a mountain bike tour either guided or on your own with varying degrees of difficulty. I also recommend you go on a white water rafting trip, there are several companies that do it, all will pick you up at your hotel and provide all the gear and food you need for a day of white water fun. Again, you can choose your level of difficulty, CR has at least one class 5 run that is really challenging and a lot of fun. If you're up for it, you can rent a car and drive to a place called Murcielago thats up by the Nicaragua boarder. The drive and the actual location is through the biggest part of the rainforest and its the no BS look at the real jungle and the people who live there, not a tourist guided tour. It's a good days drive depending on how often you stop to smell the roses and some parts of the road are rough but it is all paved for the most part. As long as you drive defensively, you should be able to hold your own, CR isn't the worst place to drive in Central America. Honestly, in my experience you can just wander around CR and have a good time."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
froglady 0 #6 May 12, 2008 Found CR to be a very special place that we'll need to go back to. You don't want to rush while your there take the time to really see each place. We went for 10 days other then the one night in SJO we only saw 2 other places staying 4 nights at each. I did the driving, the slow traffic on the highway and bumpiness of the unpaved roads was tiring but not scary. If you like off the beaten path places to stay send me a PM and I've got a great book I'll send you "Sleeping with the Toucans" Anne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdthomas 0 #7 May 13, 2008 thanks everyone for some great info and pm's! Joewww.greenboxphotography.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #8 May 13, 2008 Costa Rica sucks. Don't go there. Those of us who do go there, don't need additional tourists to ruin it... Best "3rd world" place I ever have been to. See attached photo. Paragliding in CR rulz.... That photo is how I spent a week of my life a month ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maadmax 0 #9 May 13, 2008 If you Scuba Dive, Cocos Island is one of the top dive destinations on the planet. I was there last year and can't wait to go back. The opening scene of Jurassic Park was filmed there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duroejc 0 #10 May 13, 2008 Highly recommended. I took the family and started on a two day white water rafting trip- stayed overnight in the jungle. SPECTACULAR Went to Arenal for the volcanoes, Mont Verde, and manuel Antonio for the beach. Reasonalbe prices, wonderful people, safe if you use your head, I used a tour operator to make all the arrangements and would recommend that- they did all the logistics. Do not drive yourself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
