Searching for good advice from savey Costa Rica travelers?

Question

We are considering taking an inexpensive vacation to Costa Rica in late March. Being rather independent and valuing our privacy at times, should we avoid the package deals and rent a car? We recently returned from Crete, where we stayed in a historical villa in a small village, and were able to explore as needed once we got use to the roads/stick shift,ect.. We want to hike in the rainforest and see the best of Costa Rica for $2000- $3000 including airfare, but not necessarily meals.. Two meals a day are more than adequate, and 7-10 days would be about right. We don't particularly care about the beaches but want to see the volcano, butterflies and exotic flora/fauna/animals. It will be our 7th anniversary, and we are in our mid-50's , so nothing TOO strenuous. Any suggestions, itineries, recommendations towards places to stay, tour, or eat, will be very much appreciated. We LOVE nature, natives, walking, coffee and chocolate!

Answer 1

We went on our honeymoon and had a great time. we rented a car - (a very rugged jeep and took out full insurance on the car so we would not have to worry about scratches)it was AWESOME

I would advise this route -
start at Arenal Volcano area - we stayed at http://www.tabacon.com/
we took an excursion on a little river boat and saw so much wildlife. this area is LOADED with natural hotsprings - it is just amazing.

Drive to Cloud Forest, Monteverde. We stayed at http://www.fondavela.com/
we did a canopy tour. This area is so cozy and you will truly feel like you are in the middle of nowhere but it is beautiful. It is the rainforest

Finally drive to Jaco area, we stayed at
http://www.centralamerica.com/cr/hotel/caletas.htm
you will be a short drive to Manuel Antonio which has a beautiful conservation park with tour guides. The park is the most famous in the country. And Jaco is a cute little beach town even if you do not go in the water.

By doing this you will see all CR has to offer - the volcano part, the rainforest, and the beachy part.
Even if you do not stay at these hotels, you can use them as a way to map out the trip and stay at less expensive ones

Answer 2

I agree with Do Not Rent a car. I dont recomend the dormitories for $5 dollars a night. If your $3000 dollar budget does not include food then that budget should get you airfare and stay in Costa Rica for about 2 months.
Many budget travelers use the Lonely Planet. The backpackers bible but for Costa Rica I find THE COSTA RICA HANDBOOK is better.
Costa Rica has a good bus system. If you need to have a cab for a day. Negociate a price with the driver before you use him.

Answer 3

When I visited CR I stayed at an all inclusive hotel so I don't have any recs or ideas for your the type of vaca you're looking for.

BUT I have to agree with the others that it is not wise to rent your own car in CR. My story about it isn't personal but a couple from the city where I live honeymooned there, rented their car and unfortunately were hijacked and killed. I know that's the last thing anyone wants to hear but it is the truth. I think it would be better to be safe than sorry. Great ideas about hiring a personal driver or taking public transportation. Then you will know what areas to stay away from that may be too dangerous, esp for US peeps.

Good luck and I promise even if you don't rent your own car you will fall in love with the country. It is beautiful.

Answer 4

Ok I have lots of information on Costa Rica, but what I want to touch on right now and made my skin crawl when I read it is......

Absolutely do not; I repeat DO NOT rent a car ever in Costa Rica. I don't care how good of driver you are or how many countries you have driven in. Never should a tourist rent a car in Costa Rica. To get around instead hire a private driver. See there are several times in the year that it rains and they tend to have mudslides and difficult roads that aren't rough terrain. Well locals know the ways to go and not to go as to where you can't know that and shouldn't.

My sister 6 years ago insisted on renting a car saying how good of drivers they were and they would be fine. That they wanted an adventurous trip such as you are saying. I begged her until the day before she left please please don't get that car! Unfortunately even though this is something that any agent with experience would tell there client not to do this, but my sister is older than I am and well you know how some siblings don't like to listen to the younger siblings. Well she rented that car and I just prayed her and her husband would be alright.

She was to go to Costa Rica for 9 days. Day 3, I was at an appointment when my cell rings and it is the tour operator I booked her through, General Tours. I knew something was wrong. Sure enough she was in a major car accident from the car going off the road and actually they ARE good drivers. She didn't have her seatbelt on and was thrown 70 feet from the car into tall grass. She suffered 16 broken ribs (well they told her 13 in Costa Rica only to find out in the US it was 16) she had 45 stitches put in her head. About 25 I think it was on a huge gash on her leg. Her Husband had his seatbelt on and he suffered a compound fractured leg. What that means the bone broke through the skin! They were in the middle of no where which is well a lot of Costa Rica and fortunately for them there was another car in the area that saw this happen, but this road they were on is not frequently traveled therefore they easily could have died there! They had to be airlifted to San Jose Hospital where they spent 8 days there. There went the rest of there trip.

Also my sister didn't have travel insurance and that right there was bad. In her defense though she was told incorrectly from her ins. company. She was only covered 50 miles into Mexico. It makes sense though if you think about it. Most of us are not covered internationally I mean really why would we be? Some people don't travel let alone out of the country! This would ONLY raise premiums. Put it this way, I had to try and talk to the US embassy and we ended up wiring down lots of money to keep her in the only private hospital in Costa Rica as they were saying the next day they were going to discharge her (kick her out) to a public hospital which trust me you do not want there!

You might be thinking....well accidents can happen and this will never happen to us. You know what, it might not BUT I never thought it would happen to my sister in all reality.....to this day they have major scars that will always remind them of this.

Someone was watching over them that day for them to be alive after there ordeal! They both ended up having to come home in wheelchairs as well.

See with Costa Rica with there weather conditions (can have lots of rain), bad roads, desolate areas, etc. It just isn't smart. That would be like putting someone who has never seen snow in there life in the middle of a blizzard! Hey I live in Minnesota and some days it's hard for me to drive! Hope this makes sense.

So again, really it's ok to be adventurous but this is one adventure you really can and should do without for your own safety!

So in closing don't rent a car.....and buy Travel Insurance in case something ELSE happens to you then you are taken care of and this doesn't just mean medical.......

Have a Great Trip and all I can do is hope you take my strong worded advice. Sorry for the novel by the way!

Answer 5

I visited Costa Rica in January of this year and had an amazing time. You can see my itinerary and links to the hotels where we stayed in my blog link below. Enjoy!!

Oh yeah, don't rent a car. It is so easy and cheap to get reliable private transportation that will allow you to enjoy the views instead of avoiding pot holes!