I guess I'm not sure what your questions are. Yes, you can save some money
by doing the trip on your own, but how much you'll save is an unknown.

I just looked at car rental prices for the last two wks of June, and right
now Europcar is the best, with a RAV-4 for US$221, and I believe you'll be
stuck with $15-20 per day for mandatory insurance. That should be a good
vehicle for your family. You can get out from under the mandatory insurance
if your credit card provides it.

At Arenal you can get a 2-bedroom cottage for a night or two, You'll have
to look into specific hotels to see if a 2-bedroom suite is more or less
than just getting two rooms. Food is inexpensive, and depending on how
you're willing to eat it, it can be downright cheap.

So, without going totally el-cheapo, the five of you should do okay on $200
most days for room and board. That will buy rooms at a decent place, and
three square meals. I just noticed that you have a 12-yr old, so figure a
bit more for that one, if he/she is anything like ours at that age.

What might make a tour more appealing to you are the things you'll do on a
tour. Yes, you can take all the same boat rides, jungle tours and the like
on your own, but they're pricey if you do it yourself. A typical tour
includes at least a jungle boat ride and a canopy tour, another boat for
birding near the coast, and visits to volcanos. On your own those could add
up to serious money. Tours often also include things you can't do on your
own, such as farm or home visits. As someone else mentioned, Costa Rica is
not the easiest place to navigate. Major roads are kept in decent
condition, but the trucks in front of you won't be, so even short distances
on good roads can take long, and become very aggravating. Secondary roads
on the Pacific side are usually in good repair, but you often have to guess
where you're going. On the Caribbean side the roads tend to be awful, as
are most unpaved roads in the country.

Our second and third trips there were with tours, and we learned enough to
keep going back on our own, but we usually stay at one of several
destinations and kind of park there. We wouldn't know these places and our
friends there if we hadn't visited first on tours. (Our very first trip was
as backpackers, and we rode the bus everywhere we couldn't walk. We didn't
learn much, except that the climate, people, and food were to our liking.)

You don't mention where you're coming from, either, and there are now
international flights into the airport at Guanacaste, so if you want a beach
vacation you can check out flights into there.

If you're city lovers, San Jose doesn't promise a lot, but it's nice enough.
There is a gold museum under Plaza de la Cultura, that is very neat indeed,
and probably the best museum in the country. Watch your step on all but the
main sidewalks, because the rest are maintened by the same folks who take
care of the back roads, and it's very easy to trip and fall.

You have to balance some things when deciding whether to take a tour or do
it on your own. If you hate the idea of touring, then go for it on your
own.

It's your first time there, and possibly even to that part of the world,
then a tour makes a whole lot of things easier. The downside to tours is
that they will always include things you probably wouldn't do on your own.
In CR these days, that will include a visit to Sarchi, which is famed for
its oxcarts. The tradition and fame are real and deserved, but the
presentation these days is bogus for the most part.

On our first trip, the Sarchi oxcarts were still in demand and we saw the
craftsmen putting them together. Even then we saw some that were being sold
with extras, like slide-out bars and plumbing for a wet bar. You probably
wouldn't want an oxcart anyhow, so they sold all kinds of beautiful wood and
leather goods. They still do, but now the tags say made in Philippines, the
leather isn't real, and you can save the better part of a day by not
stopping. It's gone from good and interesting to pure hokum.

Look at some of the tours available on the Internet. Most are inexpensive,
and you can compare to what you'd spend on your own. Of course, if you just
want a beach vacation, then Guanacaste is probably your best bet. There are
many miles of unspoilt beaches in many different communities. You'll want
to keep an eye on your kids, because the surf can be tough, but it's simply
gorgeous - California with warm water, if you will.

Have I answered the questions you haven't asked yet?

You will love Costa Rica regardless of your mode of travel. Your only
disappointment will likely be the amount of litter along the roads in such a
'green' country, but taking out the trash doesn't seem to be a habit that's
taken hold yet.

Keith


"AA" wrote in message
news
I appreciate the input received so far, but I wished we could get more
guidance and advice than criticizing each other.
thanks


"k" wrote in message
et...
"NealR2000" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 29, 9:54 pm, "k" wrote:


I think you are the one who is being snotty. Mr. R's response was
fine and not in the least bit offensive. Yours was. He came across
to me as someone who wants to encourage people to travel having done
their own research. Why do you assume that he, and travelers like
him, would somehow miss good hotels and food? Travel books have all
that stuff.

Sorry, but Mr. R describes a tourist, then claims travelers are somehow
better and would never do what a tourist does. It makes no sense, and
it's a phrase that's been banned from all the good travel magazines.
Travel is the part where you waste time in airports, sit in cramped
planes and buses and trains, and go from point A to point B, where you
become a tourist if you do anything else at all. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with being a tourist, and there is nothing at all wrong
with the people who choose to go on group tours. Nothing.

We prefer solo travel, but will often take a tour to somewhere new,
especially somewhere with a language we can't decipher, which describes
most of Asia. If we go back to a place, it's on our own. A lot of the
fun of going places is meeting people, and you will never do that if
you're already viewing them with disdain because they're 'tourists' and
you're somehow better than that.

Mr R advised against being a tourist, and offered nothing useful. I made
several suggestions and comments about my favorite country. I guess I'm
just not accustomed to being talked down to by elitists like Mr. R, but
if that's your thing, go for it.