Costa Rica - What Region?

T

tropheus

1,000+ Posts
We're planning a trip to Costa Rica for about 8 days, probably the Pacific side -- goals -- fishing (at least 2 days, maybe 3), relaxing, jungle tour, some food, access to some civilization, but not super touristy. We're renting a house/villa so access to a market for food that we can take back to the house is a plus.

We're considering Dominical (South), Quepos (South but a little further north than Dominical), or Puntarenas, the town (North Central - near the bay/gulf).

Seems like Dominical is cheaper, but a three hour drive from San Jose airport. That's what we're leaning toward though.

Any other general tips are more than welcome. We're pulling the trigger on airfare and the villa within the next week.
 
I've been to Costa Rica and handful of times, and my favorite region to use as a home base on the Pacific side has been Guanacaste (northwestern province). I generally fly into Liberia and stay in Tamarindo.

I've written some long posts on the subject but couldn't find any, so I suppose they've been deleted. I don't have the time/energy to write about it at the moment, but take a look at the information you can find online for Guanacaste/Tamarindo.
 
Fly into San Jose and rent a 4wd vehicle and drive around. One of my favorite things about the trip was driving around on all of the crappy roads. Just don't expect to average more than 30 mph.
 
Gotta go with Kaiser. Actually used some of his advice...posting it below.

If this is your first time there, definitely start in the Northern part of the Pacific side. Anywhere in the Guanacaste province (NW Pacific) is great for the Pacific side. I usually stay in the town of tamarindo, and there are some decent/nice hotels there... but since you're taking a chick, definitely consider the Playa Conchal Resort... about 15 minutes from Tamarindo... here's a link to their location map...The Link

They'll arrange canopy tours, rafting tours, horseback riding, volcano tours, etc for you... just schedule them once you get there.

Are you flying into San Jose or Liberia? Hopefully Liberia. The Playa Conchal is a 30-45 minute Taxi/shuttle ride from Liberia, and ~5 hours from San Jose; however, if you are flying into San Jose, you can book a cheap puddle jumper to a private airport in Tamarindo... using Air Sansa https://www.flysansa.com/ing/getFlights.aspx ... I went that route before the Liberia Airport was open and it's easy enough.

Also, the Barcelo resort in Tamarindo is nice too, but Conchal is much nicer... although 15-20 mins from Tamarindo,

Definitely plan to do some surfing out there.

As far as eating/drinking, the only recommendation I have is to hit the Sunrise Cafe in Tamarindo... it's in the cul-du-sac of the main town square... right one the beach... they have the best margaritas... get them on the rocks. They make them with fresh tamarindo fruit juice. Tamarindo fruit is a lime, but orange-ish on the inside so not quite as tart... makes a bad *** margarita.

Had a fantastic time out there. You're going to want to start looking at buying land.
 
I'll 2nd or 3rd the opinion of flying into Liberia and staying around Tamarindo. Although Tamarindo is not the sleepy little village it was 5-7 years ago, it is still along the lines of what you are looking for. I had a great time in Tamarindo until I had a 4-wheeler accident and was laid up for the last day of the trip.
 
we're definitely not hotel/resort types. We're looking to rent a house, go to the local markets, cook our own food (not for budget reasons, but because that's what we like to do when we have time).

We'll do some more research re: the north pacific side.

thanks
 
You can get fishing out of any beach town in CR with the most out of Jaco and Los Suenos marina.

Check out Lapa Rios hotel down in the Osa peninsula. Might be just what you are looking for. Fly there from San Jose in Sansa- flysansa.com

Avoid Puntarenas unless you are taking the ferry to Montezuma/ Mal Pais- crappy town, totally polluted water.

The Guanacaste can not be beat in my opinion, we prefer playa Nosara these days over Tamarindo. It reminds us of Tamarindo 10 years ago and much sleepier.
 
I did the Osa pennisula 10 years ago and had amazing time. stayed at bosque del cabo in a cabin right on the side of a cliff. howler monkeys right outside our door. but it is a flight from san jose.
 
Trust RunTex on anything he says. He was a huge help to my wife and I last year when we went to Costa Rica for the first time. We split our time (12 days) half between Arenal/Monteverde and half in Manuel Antonio. Great parts about each, but I think I slightly prefer Arenal. Great whitewater rafting, canopy tours, hot springs, hiking and relaxation.

BTW, don't consider Puntarenas for anything other than driving through. It is GHET-TO.
 
Went last July for my honeymoon, so we definitely did more of the resort thing, but I loved the Arenal/Monteverde and Tamarindo areas. Assuming you're going soon, you'll just miss the rainy season (I think) but our travel agent suggested Guanacaste initially because the northwest is a little drier...still rained every afternoon though. Enjoy the trip...no matter where you go, I get the feeling you're not going to want to come back.
 
There's a beach town at the tip of the Nicoya peninsula called Mal Pais that is awesome. I was there a long time ago (10 years), so it may be more built up now. But it is beautiful - we had an incredible time. Playa Ocotal is also awesome. If you want something off the beaten path, Rincon de la Vieja is a volcano that has lots of cool stuff - hot springs, horseback riding, canopy tours, awesome hikes. There's a cool lodge there - google it for the website.
Of course, Arenal is a must see. WW rafting on the Pacuare is great. Enjoy - I'm jealous!!!!!!!!
 
The OSA is the last unspoiled place in CR by far. That hotel i mentioned is really nice and very Eco. You can get world class fishing out of Golfito- the waters off northern Panama are where the biggest marlins come from year after year.
Check out Tropic Star lodge in Panama if you are a die hard fisher.

Thanks Woody for the compliments. I am glad you enjoyed your Tico time as much as we do.
 
Yes, good place for the guys to party. Both Tamarindo and Jaco are big party towns and San Pedro- north of San Jose has some cool bars along with El Pueblo in SJO.

The water around the actual city of Puntarenas and the entire gulf even heading to Playa Tambor is heavily polluted.
You can see if by taking the ferry to Montezuma/ Mal Pais.
 
We settled on Dominical. We're renting a house on a hill overlooking the ocean with beach access via a trail down the hill. The service we're using is run by an American (expat) who is helping set up 3 days of fishing, whale and dolphin watching (for the ladies), canopy tour through the jungle and a local woman to come and help us cook local fare in the evenings (sort of informal cooking classes).

For what we were looking for, the price per person (but this wasn't a package deal) comes out much cheaper than the other areas recommended above.

All we really wanted was a house with views and beach access, a jungle tour and lots of fishing. It seems as though we found it. The trip isn't until July, so I'll repost then.

Thanks everyone.
 
tropheus,

I'd be interested to hear what you think of Domincal. We didn't make it there on our trip, but some family friends of ours are from San Isidro de General and used to spend a lot of time in Dominical. If you are staying there, you really ought to try and take a day trip up the coast (short drive) to Manuel Antonio. You'll be glad you did.
 
thanks, we'll add that to the itenirary. From what we can gather, Domincal is nice and has what we need, but it is just a bit more sparse (no real resort/party scene). Although, a few American expats seem to live there according to some sources (online and print).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top