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Coming to Costa Rica all the way from Hong Kong (almost 20 hours flight) is a totally different experience since it is after all our first time in Central America and we didn't know what to expect specially during Christmas and New Year season.
Seeing that it is a very busy season, we pre-booked all our hotels, hire car and fishing trip. It took us 2 months looking into the trip, reading websites etc. Shockingly, when we arrived in Costa Rica, we found out, not only Costa Rica was very quiet, it also didn't have much tourist this time of the year.
Our journey started in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose which is a tiny city, surrounded by valleys and lush green mountains. We would not recommend staying in this place any more than perhaps your first and last night, which we did as San Jose does not have a tremendous amount going on. The hotel quality in the city did not seem amazing to be honest. We stayed at the 'hotel presidente' which was ok but not wonderful.
After a night in San Jose, we flew to Quepos, which is centrally located on the Central
Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. This place is a must stay even for a few days. I especially like being here and being close to its natual rainforest. This tiny town has loads of restaurants, bar, hotel, bakeries, art shops all fronted around the beach areas. It is a bit of a sleepy town, but it offers tourist many leisure activities such as fishing, diving, mount climbing etc. We would recommend trying the Canopy, its a great experience.
If you are ever in this town, one of the place worth visiting is Manual Antonio National Park, Quepos. Great for its preserved rainforests, animals, nature, hiking, good beaches along the way. We hired a few hours of jetski in this place and snorkling package, which was great fun.
After spending a few days in Quepos, we head to the mountain side of Mount Arenal, La Fortuna, known for its nightime lava fireworks. We stayed in "Mountain Paradise Hotel" and had a view of the Arenal Volcano. We loved this place & was one of our favorite for the whole trip. It is also a quiet little town with not a lot of nightlife going on. There were a handful
of bars but you would have to make your own party. The volcano was very cool and it was great watching the lava coming out day and night. This place also have lots of natural hot springs and Tabacon Lodge is the highest end hotel in the area which has its own hotsprings. We would recommend you ask the locals in this area for free hotsprings hidden in the jungle. It is fun, dark and spooky. Must see place!. We also went whitewater rafting here, the adrenaline was amazing.
After being in the Mountains and Volcano sides, we drove down the beaches,on the
the North Pacific Coast. Unfortunately our time in Costa Rica wasn't enough to include the
Carribbean Coast. in our itinerary.
The North Pacific Coast is the most visited place by tourist from around the globe, but it is also one of the least populated parts of Costa Rica. This place is known for its sun, beaches, diving and surfing paradise and it is entirely encompassed by Guanacaste province. One of the beach we visited is called Jaco Beach which is probably about as lively as it gets for beachside towns in Costa rica. Although
we only drove around it, it did look a bit rundown, but there seem to be quite a few bars so would probably hold a good night out. Its only 1.5 - 2 hours drive from capital, San Jose so has become popular for a weekend getaway for the locals.
Our last destination is called Tamarindo Beach. Talk to any Costa Rican travel agent and they tell you this is the place to go. We stayed here over Xmas thinking it was going to be the highlight of the trip but it wasn't. Nights out never really got going until 11pm and there wasn't all that many bars to go too. We hired a boat one day and had a top days deep sea fishing out of here. For me I enjoyed shopping in Tamarindo beach. loads of summer wears I would never find back home. Best top end hotels in the area are Captain Suizo, Casa Cook, Hotel Dira, Hotel Jardin del Eden.
If you're venturing Costa Rica in the North Pacific Coast, then try looking into Flamingo Beach & Coco Beach. We didnt go in these beaches but they are supposed to be great beaches, more
higher end &
frequented by the rich & famous. Im sure there are lots of great accomadation but i would question the nightlife options. Worth looking into though.
Overall Costa Rica was a great trip full of different activities and places to go for us, lots of driving around and waiting in ques at the border and we would hope to do Central and South America for a longer period some day.
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