Here is the plan:
Fly to San Jose
So to sloth sanctuary on the Atlantic coast south of Limon
Go across the country and spend a few days in the Pacific rainforest.
Back to San Jose to fly out.
Questions:
Is getting a rental car the best way to go or are there alternates I should look at.
What cities/areas/hotels should I stay at on the Pacific Coast?
What else should I know/plan on?
Yup, Costa Rica is safe to drive. The wife and I did exactly that, we found an “outfitter” that gave us a 4WD (you might need it on some of the roads but most are decent) and arranged for all the hotel stops.
But, Costa Rica people are nice and I felt safe where ever we went. Then again, I stayed on main roads and did not wander off into neighborhoods and such. Went to super markets for food, and the occasional restaurant.
Honestly, it was very little different than driving around say country roads in the Appalachians of the USA. Could have been any other day.
I love Costa Rica but be aware that the roads can be beyond horrible especially on the Pacific side. If you get a car, make sure it has 4-wheel drive because you will probably need it. Some areas on the Pacific side don’t have paved roads or even bridges so you may have to do a river crossing on your own if the area gets a lot of rain. Driving is going to take a lot more time than you expect as well because, while the distances may not sound that far, they are often via winding mountain roads. I am not trying to talk you out of a car because it is very useful to have one but you should be aware of.
Most of the northern Pacific coast is pristine and spectacular. What type of accommodations are you looking for and how much are you willing to spend? I stayed at the Harmony Hotel in tiny Nosara which is incredibly memorable but it isn’t cheap.
One thing you could do to make things easier is to fly the longer routes when you are in the country and rent a car only when you need one. Nature Air flies around the country in a big loop out of San Jose dropping people off and picking people up from tiny little rural airports. I thought it was as fun and those small planes make quick work of the whole country.
I was going to mention that you have to pay a fee to leave the country and to not show up to the airport with all your money spent and count on a few more minutes in a line to do so.
However, it looks like that has changed.
Right now my plan is to go from San Jose to sloth sanctuary then to Uvita to take a boat/hiking tour of Corcovado NP, then north to Jaco and do the whole Adventure Tour ® and finishing up in the cloud forests of Monteverde then off to San Jose to fly out.
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
What sloth sanctuary are you visiting?
I don’t want to dampen your trip, but you should be aware that the Sloth Sanctuary received a lot of bad publicity last year. This article seems to try to give both sides of the controversy.
I agree that Ticos are genuinely friendly people and tend to love Americans. It isn’t a dangerous country in the least. I have never had a bad experience with any Tico. Most of them even speak some degree of English or try to at least. I even hitch-hiked without reservation when my ride from an airstrip didn’t show up. That was the most beaten down 1990’s Toyota Camry that I have ever seen with no shocks whatsoever but the guy was nice and loved the $15 I gave him unasked for the 20 minute trip.
However, there are very wild parts of Costa Rica and they tend to be the most pristine parts. They are mostly on the Pacific Coast and are not part of the typical tourist track because there is very little infrastructure. What I said about river crossings wasn’t a joke. My father, brother and I had to do it a couple of years ago when the only route we knew was washed out. You just hit the gas, pray and drive straight across it. Most people don’t go to those areas but that is part of what makes them so special.
Another area you might want to consider is the Arenal Volcano area. It is roughly in the center of the country, has plenty of tourist accommodations and extremely impressive at the right times. I stayed at the base of it once in the late 90’s when it was slowly oozing magma and generating small earthquakes every hour or so. You could just walk part of the way up the base and see monkeys freaking out and then go swim in the hot springs that it generates.
Stay away from San Jose as much as possible. It is a surprisingly large but boring city and not what most people expect from somewhere as spectacular as Costa Rica in general. It’s main purpose is an arrival and departure location.
Another tip is to figure out what you want to eat. Costa Rican food is not like Mexican food and rather plain but it is cheap and good if you like rice, beans, fresh fruit and fish with few spices. Don’t knock it. Costa Rica has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. There are American style restaurants around too but what is the point of that? I fell in love with their version of fish tacos and ceviche on the Pacific coast. Traditional Costa Rican restaurant prices are dirt cheap while those that cater to Americans cost about the same as at home.
Costa Rica isn’t what I would call a true 3rd world country but typical citizens still only make a few hundred dollars a month and live a simple lifestyle but they are proud as they should be. I tried to tip a couple of them a generous amount for helping me over a long period of time and they wouldn’t take it. Most of them will take smaller tips however. I still have one that will only take my money if she earns it by teaching me Tico Spanish on Skype and we are going to do that soon.
If you rent a car, go with a name brand agency you recognize. If you penny-pinch, you could very well spend half your vacation waiting for someone to bring a replacement car for the one that broke down in the middle of nowhere. I’ve met several people in Costa Rica that has happened to.
Get your tax dollars worth before foreign travel.
There’s nothing major on the State Department’s page about Costa Rica. It’s still not a bad idea to read through and keep the embassy contact info handy. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to get advisories form the embassy isn’t a bad idea either (linked to on the country page.)
The State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council also has the 2015 crime and safety report for Costa Rica. They assess the overall crime threat as high and list some specific areas of concern. The even talk about things like driving safety and road conditions. It’s worth reading the whole thing through to build situational awareness and help you make well informed risk decisions.
CDC’s page about Costa Rica. Besides routine vaccinations they are recommending Hep A and Typhoid vaccinations for most travelers. They also link to their info on mitigating the Zika threat in Costa Rica.
Corcovado is an astonishing place - greatest density of wildlife than I have ever seen. You say you’re going in by boat - are you still going to stay at Sirena? Unfortunately, they stopped unguided hiking there altogether a couple of years ago. Night hiking is also not allowed, but they stretch that to allow guided groups out very early pre-dawn. Tapirs are nocturnal - you are almost certain to see them close to Sirena if you can get out before dawn. You need to negotiate with your guide to make it worth his while to get his ass out of bed so that you’re among the first groups out of camp in the morning.
If you decide to take Nature Air to cut out some travel time, here is what it looks like. It only took me a little over an hour to get from San Jose to the tiny town of Nosara (an American ex-pat community since the 1960’s) in the Guanacaste region of the Pacific Coast and that included landing at two other very small strips to drop people off and pick people up. I had to go to the bathroom in the middle so they just told me to go get off the plane and go in the jungle which I was happy to do - they will wait.
Even if you don’t take it, this video is a good example of what the northern Pacific Coast looks like and how pristine it is.
