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#11
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Costa Rica Vacation plan in late June and early July
the tours we took were long ago, so I can't help in that department. You
can google on costa rica tours, and you can have a look at travelzoo.com, possibly gate1. If you want a nice beach vacation, just get yourselves to flamingo beach, and the resort there. It's a beautiful beach, not a lot to do exept enjoy it. There are a lot of tour companies in Costa Rica. With a family, you can winnow it down by skipping over the adventure tours, because kids aren't allowed on some, and a 3yo isn't possible. Actually, you may want to consider leaving that child home, with a promise for the future. Kids that age don't usually enjoy travel, and they can hinder the entire trip for all of you. Your other children sound the right age for an adventure. You still haven't said much about your wants, so I'll shut up. Keith "AA" wrote in message .. . The most informative so far. I thank you so much. You made me start contemplating between self guided vacation or a tour. Do you have any recommendation for tours? Thanks AA "k" wrote in message news 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. |
#12
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Costa Rica Vacation plan in late June and early July
We bought an ox cart down there (stores wine bottles). It is boxed in
pieces when you buy it down there making it very easy to carry and put together once you get back home. Jane "k" wrote in message news 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. |
#14
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Costa Rica Vacation plan in late June and early July
OK.
I have already booked the airlines and car (12 full days). Also, based on the responses I this newsgroup and many web sites: We decided to visit the following 5 areas : 1) San Jose 2) Arenal 3) Monteverde 4) North Pacific Coast (Guanacaste) 5) Central Pacific (Jacó, Manuel Antonio). My three questions a 1) How would you order the itinerary given that we will fly in and out of San Jose 2`) How many days do you suggest we should stay in each spot 3) Do you have a recommended accommodation (we don't mind spending a little more money for a luxury accommodation), and a contact information that gets us a good deal thanks for those who responded to my inquiry ad to those who will help with these questions. thanks again AL "AA" wrote in message ... We are a family of two adults and three kids : 12, 11, and 3. We are exploring a trip to Costa Rica. Do we really have to buy a package? We'd rather not to save some money and be able to do extra activities and/or stay in better accommodations. Any recommendations thanks AL |
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