BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi, I am planning my 1st trip to Costa Rics and my brain is just not working right. I'd appreciate some help to figure things out better.

DATE: May 6--May 12 (maybe can make it longer)
WITH: 2 Older people, 1 Younger (60+61+30)
NOT INTO: Beaches, Swimming, Night Life, Museums, Shopping
WANT TO DO: Waterfalls, Canopy Tours, River rafting, cloud forest, turtle nesting, spotting wild jaguars and GIANT snakes.

1) Will there be trails(short) 2 old people with leg problems can walk?
2)Can they do the Zip lines?
3)Do I need vaccinations?
4)Do I need to book hotels now or find cheap-er ones when I get there?
5)I looked at these, and am interested. (a)How can I get to each? (b)Which ones first? (c)How many days at each?
Arenal, Montverde, Corcovado, TuruBari PArk.
6) Can you add anything good?
7)Will lots of rain close everything?
8) Will tennis sneakers be good for us?
9)How do I get river boat ride? See Crocodiles?

Please Help, don't know where to start figuring out where to land in Costa Rica to get to these places. And fly to each or taxi? San Jose?

The cheaper the better, we are ekeing out this trip with granola bars and packets of homemade food. We ar into nature and Wildlife and Volcanoes.

Thanks

So much advice yet so little time.
If you only have 6 days than count out Corcovado unless you are willing to donate your entire trip to the Osa (even that would be a stretch).
If you only have 6 days you should pick an area and stick to it rather than flying from coast to coast north to south.
My advice from what you've written is stick to the La Fortuna area. You can visit Monteverda, do some canopy tours, see some birds and I wish you big snakes and wildcats, see Arenal, hang out in some hot springs and maybe have some time to relax. You will likely have some time in San Jose where you can take a day trip to Poas and/or Irazu.
The only place to really take in the turtles is Tortuguero, which is not super easy to get to and the timing is not ideal. Not to mention that the area is a 5 days min trip.
Although May is technically the start of the rainy season you won't see too much of it and shouldn't find too many things shut off to you. What you will find is cheaper rates on most things.
As for rafting you need to find out what class of rapids your party is capable of doing as there are many tours of different skill levels available to you. I only know a few in the La Fortuna area and it sounds like they will be a too difficult for your group.
Costa Rica seems small on a map but it is not when you are traveling through it. Like I said before, pick an area and stick to it.
Good luck and have fun. It is an amazing place.

Alana is spot on about CR looking small on a map. My GPS says that my average driving speed here (4 years) is 43Km or 27 Mph per hour. CR is a mountainous with not great roads and it is not unusual for a 60 Km trip to take 2-3 hours.

And yeah, Corcovado and the Osa would be tough to do in a week. It would take a day just to drive there. Fortuna, as Alana suggests, is probably your best bet.

1) Will there be trails(short) 2 old people with leg problems can walk?
In Fortuna, yep, there is.

2)Can they do the Zip lines?
Depends really on their state of health and spirit. I would say yes if they can walk.

3)Do I need vaccinations?
No, not really.

4)Do I need to book hotels now or find cheap-er ones when I get there?
I'm always more comfortable booking my first night and then checking out the local availabilities. At the time of year you're going there should be lot's available.

5)I looked at these, and am interested. (a)How can I get to each? (b)Which ones first? (c)How many days at each?
Arenal, Montverde, Corcovado, TuruBari PArk.
Arenal is close and you will be able to see the volcano looming over you in La Fortuna. Monteverde - I believe there is a bus that will take you around to the other side of the lake. It'll be a full day trip. Corcovado is pretty much out of the question from there. TuruBari is about 2.5 hours away by car. There might be a bus tour leaving from Fortuna but I can't say for sure.

6) Can you add anything good?
Fortuna is a tourist town so there will be lots available to you. Spend a day at the hot springs, I think there is a waterfall tour available from there, do NOT miss Monteverde,

7)Will lots of rain close everything?
The country would be closed for 6 months of the year if they were bothered by rain It IS going to rain - just get used to it. It's nice.

8) Will tennis sneakers be good for us?
Probably, but there are some places you'll wish for sturdy sturdy tennis sneakers. Rain forests are wet, slimy places. Good footing is good.

9)How do I get river boat ride? See Crocodiles?
No idea at all.

See Volcan Poas if you can get there - spectacular! Avoid San Jose - big, dirty, noisy.

You will most likely fly into San Jose and any hotel you choose can tell you how to get to Fortuna (if you choose there). And actually, the airport is in the city Alajueala, about 30 Km west of San Jose. Also worth missing IMHO.

PS - the rainy season is early this year - like right now. And the forecasters expect LOTS of it. YAY!

There is a waterfall near La Fortuna. Ask at your hotel for a guide to take you there on horseback. The name of the waterfall escapes me right now but I know you can swim at the bottom.

Still confused a bit. Which airport do I land in to be near all the things I was interested in?

And should I get hotels at each of these places? Or just get one and travel from there?

Best bet will probably be to fly into San Jose. There are more transportation and hotel options from there. Liberia seems to service Guanacaste and the northwest part of the country. The airports are about 5-6 hours apart by car. Probably 6-7 by public transport.

So a proposed itinerary might be:

Fly into San Jose. If it is early enough, and there is one, catch a bus to Fortuna. About 3 hours travel. Check with the hotel before you leave re: options. You might end up spending the night in a hotel in Alajuela or the hotel might have a shuttle.

Arrive Fortuna. Check with hotel desk regarding options for all that you want to see.

If you are going to get a car - bonus. But remember that driving in CR can be quite a challenge. If you are a confident driver you will have no problems.

So after you've checked with the desk regarding your options from Fortuna you can make a decision as to whether to spend a couple of days there and then move closer to, say, Guanacaste where there are lots of things to do.

My wife and I spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica in January, went to Corcovado, Monteverde, Arenal, and Tortuguero. Corcovado was, by far, our favorite, but if you're not into beaches, you might not be interested. The rain forest and wildlife there was, however, outstanding. It was great for birds, monkeys, various reptiles, leaf cutter ants. We also saw sloth, coapati, and signs of cats. You can fly there (about a 60-70 minute flight). We spent 4 nights, and could have stayed much longer. Monteverde is very nice. You would want to spend at least a full day in the rain forest. It's great for birds. The Arenal area is nice. You likely won't see the volcano, as it's usually clouded over. We were there for 2 nights, and saw the summit of the mountain for about 10 seconds. There are nice hot springs in La Fortuna, and some nice walking (the Hanging Bridges is nice for birds and a few waterfalls). Tortuguero is nice if you like birds and reptiles--lots of turtles/tortoises, gators (crocodiles? I don't recall which), caymans, lots of lizards, and tons of birds. There is very little walking in Tortuguero, so most of the trip is water based. There are very few trails, and you HAVE to stay to the trails to avoid deadly, poisonous creatures. So, you'd hire a boat for tours. It's also hot and humid. Turtles don't nest till the fall. There are zip lines all over the country. You want to be careful with them, because there is no formal inspection. You'll want to check guidebooks and word-of-mouth for information on where to do them. We didn't, no interest. People who did them really enjoyed it, but more for the adrenaline rush. You really don't have much time to "sightsee" while you're flying through the air. I wouldn't count on seeing wild jaguars anywhere. Cats are very elusive, and are active primarily at night. It's fine to hope to see all kinds of wildlife, but it's a crap shoot. If you "expect" to see things like cats, you'll come away disappointed.

I'm not sure of the extent of your companions' "leg problems", but, aside from Tortuguero, you will do alot of walking if you want to see wildlife. It's also a good idea to get started early in the morning for wildlife viewing, especially in Corcovado. There is alot of pretty flat walking in Corcovado, as the main trail, through the rainforest, parallels the beach. Corcovado is, however, hot and very humid, which makes the walking a bit more fatiguing.

I agree with others vis a vis driving: The roads are fairly primitive, and it's very easy to get stuck behind trucks and busses. The drive from San Jose to Monteverde or La Fortuna will take you 4 hours or more. To get to Tortuguero, you first need to drive, then take a boat. Or, alternatively, you can fly in. So, spending only 6 days, you either want to fly around in-country, or limit yourself to a specific geographic region. Flying is very convenient, and pretty comfortable.

I would recommend spending as little time as possible in San Jose--it's not a nice city.

You don't need vaccinations or visas.

Good luck!
Howie