Costa Rica travel tips anyone?

[JJ]

Hi!

Am going to New York in a couple of weeks (please let me know if anyone would like me to bring back some Hershey bars or other sorely missed US commodities!) and stopping off in Costa Rica on the way back. Only staying for 3 days, which I know will be frustratingly short. Anyone have any advice on how to maximize my time, and get as much volcano/wildlife/beach action as possible in the space of only a long weekend? Much appreciated!

JJ

 

[ericdharma]

This is going to be hard to manage as you will probably have to fly first into San Jose. Definately fly wherever you want to go. The best beaches in my opinion are in Guanacaste and around the area of Puerto Limon. Everything is so spread out in Costa Rica that you really need more time to do all of the things that you want. There is a great relatively untouched beach for swimming in Guanacaste called Samara about 45 minutes from Nicoya that I really liked but it is so far away from everything else and really remote. If you want to party but still swim you could go to Manuel Antonio. If you just want to party and glance at a really filthy beach every once in a while go to Jaco. As for volcanos I can't help you. I know that there is one very close to San Jose but I never went to it and I don't know which are the best. Just be careful flying within Costa Rica because the smaller charter planes fall out of the sky there with regularity.

 

[Bill]

I traveled through Costa Rica and liked Montezuma the most. You can read aboot it here if you like. Search other travel blogs and you can get some good info on how to plan a quick jaunt into the jungle.
If you think this is something you'd like to do, I can give you a couple tips on what to expect on the trip over to the beach and back. It would take up most of your 3 days though, so you may prefer to just stay in San Jose, which isn't all that bad and has a few sights to see.

 

[JJ]

Thanks for the advice! Think I´ll stay close to the capital and take a trip to one of the volcanoes in the central valley. Just can´t stand the idea of wasting most of my time in the country on a bus or in the air...