Hi i am going to coasta rica from dec14th to 29th with my girlfreind both 29yrs old. We have a hotel sorted in papgayo area . We wanted to go to arenal for hot springs etc and go to rainforest
What is a good time peroid to do both of these in? bearing in mind we only have 2 weeks.
Should we hire a car/mortobike? As i dont mind driving if it makes it easier and cheaper.
Do we need to book because of the busy peroid for any of these activities before we leave?
or any other tips or things to do would be very much greatly recieved. thanks a lot. jimmy
Reply to this I live in Costa Rica, used to be a hotel owner, now retired. I would not limit yourself to Papagayo, With 2 weeks you can visit 3 or even 4 locations here and I recommend you do so, you will get bored just about anywhere if you stay more than 6 days. I also recommend renting a car for the freedom it will give you.
I would stay in Arenal area for 3 or 4 nights, take a boat across lake Arenal to Monteverde Cloud Forest for 2 nights and then head to the beaches. You will need to book everything in advance. Christmas and Easter are the busiest travel weeks of the season.
Let me know if you have any more specific questions I might be able to help with
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Reply to this Hi thanks for that. The thing is we have booked an all inclusive so want to make the most of it as we are on a budget .
Do you have to book to arenal and cloud forest activities or can you just rock up?
Do you know roughly how much a 4x4 car would cost for a week ?
and any budget places to stay when we visit arenal and the cloud forest? thanks again, jimmy
Reply to this For the time you are traveling you will need to make a reservation, very busy around Christmas.
A smaller 4x4 will run around $350 per week. I recommend you get the GPS that can be rented with most cars as we have NO ROAD SIGNS HERE. Super easy to get lost.
Arenal Pariaso is a good cheaper option, they also have some of there own hotsprings on property. In Monteverde check the Trapp Family Lodge or Rainbow Valley.
Good Luck! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Reply to this I just did a similar post in a very similar forum question, and I said that I would visit the national park of Manuel Antonio if you have the time. It is absolutely stunning!
Reply to this I would suggest you that you should take the run with a rented car and that too you should book in advance (since it will be Christmas time). There are many companies that have online booking for various cars rented at low rates, like rentacar.com, www.vamos4x4.com, carrental.com (agencies) etc for local tour. This may cost you about 300$ to 700$ depending upon the season price per week.
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