How to plan a vacation to Costa Rica

[Ava]

How do you get information and how do you make reservations that work for you?
My mom and I plan to visit Costa Rica in a few months.
I've been looking online but no idea how to proceed.
It would be great to stay in a hotel near the beach, and I can use Priceline, Cheapoair, Expedia, etc. to get flight and hotel. But we are interested in visiting different areas and doing tours.
Do I need to rent a car? I can drive automatic but not standard.
How do you do the research online? And how do you compare prices and options?

Thanks.

[dee27]

Are you a Costco member? Costco offers vacations at a discount and has travel representatives you can chat with online or via phone. Usually we book our own vacations, but if we are visiting multiple cities or countries, we employ a travel agent.

[debthaven]

Calling @athena53 who went there earlier this year.

A few years ago we were in Panama and went to Costa Rica for 5 days while we were there ... we went to La Leona Ecolodge in Carate, at the entrance to Corcovado National Park. It was absolutely amazing, but getting there by road/boat was very arduous. Then you have to walk 45 min to the Lodge at low tide (but there is a cart to carry your luggage).

There is a beach, but it's very rough ... they tell you not go in over waist height. That part of Costa Rica is extremely wild, it's more for hiking than relaxing by the beach. I think it was my favorite destination.

Maybe not ideal for your mother though ...

[Ava]

Jul 9, 2017 14:16:19 GMT -5 dee27 said:

Are you a Costco member? Costco offers vacations at a discount and has travel representatives you can chat with online or via phone. Usually we book our own vacations, but if we are visiting multiple cities or countries, we employ a travel agent.

Not a Costco member. Pity.

[Ava]

Jul 9, 2017 14:29:45 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Calling @athena53 who went there earlier this year.

A few years ago we were in Panama and went to Costa Rica for 5 days while we were there ... we went to La Leona Ecolodge in Carate, at the entrance to Corcovado National Park. It was absolutely amazing, but getting there by road/boat was very arduous. Then you have to walk 45 min to the Lodge at low tide (but there is a cart to carry your luggage).

There is a beach, but it's very rough ... they tell you not go in over waist height. That part of Costa Rica is extremely wild, it's more for hiking than relaxing by the beach. I think it was my favorite destination.

Maybe not ideal for your mother though ...

That sounds lovely but impossible for mom. She had back surgery a few months ago. Totally out of the question.
We are looking for something more slow paced. Relaxing by the beach most days but also a few excursions where you don't have to walk a lot, etc.

I just don't know where to look for the information and how to make reservations, etc.
I could go to a travel agency I guess, but I have the feeling the cost will increase significantly if we use a third party.
Worse case scenario I could rent the room and flight, and then arrange day trips from the hotel.

[Deleted]

I used to travel to Costa Rica a lot for work.   I would highly recommend NOT driving there, my employer actually wouldn't allow us to rent a car and would always arrange transportation.  Imagine a large expressway in the US and trying to dodge people walking across it, that happens there all the time and a lot of people are hit.  Also your last night there I would highly recommend staying at a hotel close to the airport, I know a lot of instances of people missing their flights due to traffic conditions from the coast to the airport.

Try their Imperial beer, I love it and actually have started seeing it at a few places in the US.

[debthaven]

Ava I'm sure that Athena will post here when she sees this thread.

[Deleted]

I LOVED the way I visited it but it wasn't cheap- I took an Uncruise Adventures cruise through the Panama Canal and up the coast, ending at San Jose, CR.  These are small ships (less than 100 passengers), very nature-focused (swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking) with crew on board who knew the area and can answer almost all your questions about what you see.  (CR has 7% of the world's species so they can't ID every butterfly!)   One guest asked about the formation of a couple of islands that looked like a partial caldera.  I asked the crew member who seemed most familiar with geology and she told me they were formed by the subduction of one tectonic plate under another- and she named the tectonic plates.  The bad news:  it cost me about $5K for 7 nights but that was everything but tips, and tips were NOT added automatically to your bill. I had a single room, though.  Double-occupancy is cheaper per person. 

If I were going on a smaller budget I'd choose an eco-lodge and I'd use TripAdvisor.  Read the reviews in full and look for details that are most important to you.  I find them a great resource and have published over 250 reviews myself.  I would not spend that much time in San Jose itself.  They have some good museums but I didn't find it as enjoyable a place to walk around as many cities I've visited.  No concerns about safety, just not that interesting.

[seriousthistime]

chicg might have something to add.  I know she's been there. 

[simser]

I love planning trips. In fact, I'd love to start a side career helping people do this.

I would figure out
1) budget
2) why Costa Rica
3) what kind of traveler you are (nature, sit on a beach, historical, etc...)
4) figure out if you want to stay in one place, or two (I wouldn't recommend more than that per week).

Then I check out
1) wikitravel
2) fodors
3) other guided tours

And I figure out my must sees, and fit them together logically.

[zibazinski]

I had DS's travel agent do it. It was worth every penny and she was right about everything

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I second TripAdvisor. Along with hotel and red tau rant reviews, there are forums for just about every destination in the galaxy. :-)

[Tennesseer]

Jul 9, 2017 14:41:39 GMT -5 Ava said:

Jul 9, 2017 14:29:45 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Calling @athena53 who went there earlier this year.

A few years ago we were in Panama and went to Costa Rica for 5 days while we were there ... we went to La Leona Ecolodge in Carate, at the entrance to Corcovado National Park. It was absolutely amazing, but getting there by road/boat was very arduous. Then you have to walk 45 min to the Lodge at low tide (but there is a cart to carry your luggage).

There is a beach, but it's very rough ... they tell you not go in over waist height. That part of Costa Rica is extremely wild, it's more for hiking than relaxing by the beach. I think it was my favorite destination.

Maybe not ideal for your mother though ...

That sounds lovely but impossible for mom. She had back surgery a few months ago. Totally out of the question.
We are looking for something more slow paced. Relaxing by the beach most days but also a few excursions where you don't have to walk a lot, etc.

I just don't know where to look for the information and how to make reservations, etc.
I could go to a travel agency I guess, but I have the feeling the cost will increase significantly if we use a third party.
Worse case scenario I could rent the room and flight, and then arrange day trips from the hotel.

Ava-while your mom does not sound totally disabled, look for tours or travel agencies who deal with seniors and who might have somewhat limited mobility. Tours for seniors are out there. You might look up AARP website for travel and tours.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Are you a AAA member? They have travel agents in their offices, guide books, etc. to help with trip planning.

[Ava]

Jul 9, 2017 20:40:28 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Are you a AAA member? They have travel agents in their offices, guide books, etc. to help with trip planning.

Yes, I have AAA and there's an office near me.
I'll visit them next Saturday and talk to an agent.
That's probably the best option for me.

[Ava]

Jul 9, 2017 16:19:38 GMT -5 simser said:

I love planning trips. In fact, I'd love to start a side career helping people do this.

I would figure out
1) budget
2) why Costa Rica
3) what kind of traveler you are (nature, sit on a beach, historical, etc...)
4) figure out if you want to stay in one place, or two (I wouldn't recommend more than that per week).

Then I check out
1) wikitravel
2) fodors
3) other guided tours

And I figure out my must sees, and fit them together logically.

Budget is kind of tight. We don't have a lot of disposable income for vacations and such things.
Costa Rica because we both want to visit it since forever. Beautiful country, happy people, excellent weather, awesome beaches, historical and natural attractions, etc.

We want to stay in one main place near the beach and do day trips from there. But not every day. I guess once to the capital city and one or two more to other attractions. We plan to stay between 10 and 11 days.

[Ava]

Jul 9, 2017 21:11:14 GMT -5 Ava said:

Jul 9, 2017 20:40:28 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Are you a AAA member? They have travel agents in their offices, guide books, etc. to help with trip planning.

Yes, I have AAA and there's an office near me.
I'll visit them next Saturday and talk to an agent.
That's probably the best option for me.

I'll check AAA out but it all comes down to cost.
If it's too expensive and I already know I can get flight and hotel for not too much, maybe my best option is to do day trips from the hotel there.

I have to start thinking where exactly we want to be most of the time. It has to be a beach where it's easy to swim.

[simser]

Jul 9, 2017 21:14:08 GMT -5 Ava said:

Budget is kind of tight. We don't have a lot of disposable income for vacations and such things.
Costa Rica because we both want to visit it since forever. Beautiful country, happy people, excellent weather, awesome beaches, historical and natural attractions, etc.

We want to stay in one main place near the beach and do day trips from there. But not every day. I guess once to the capital city and one or two more to other attractions. We plan to stay between 10 and 11 days.

So with that, I'd check out wikitravel and see where people often "base" themselves. Then I'd find an airbnb (usually better prices) around that area (you and your mom speak Spanish, so that will help, it will also get you slightly more in with the "happy people"). Then Viator and the web searching for the 2-3 side trips you want to do in that area (trip advisor too will help).

Expenses are going to be: flight, hotels, trips, and then the bucket of other (food, local transportation, shopping) in that order. So if you're looking to cut, make sure your flight is as cheap as you can find, that gets you to a good area that you can find a nice cheap accommodation, where you can grab a lot of tours.

I find guided tours to be more expensive and less personal than doing it myself, personally, which is why I'm not suggesting them. However, with your crazy life right now, they're also not the worst decision in the world.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I have used a site called bookit.com for vacations in Mexico.  It worked out very well, and you are given the option of buying transport from the airport to your hotel and back.

Costco supposedly has a very good travel service, but I've not used it.

The one thing that I do is read a lot of reviews about the facilities before I book.  If bookit.com doesn't have enough reviews, I cahecjked out trip advisor reviews too.

[Deleted]

TripAdvisor is also very good for things to do (look up "Attractions" in a particular city) and will have banner ads for tours to those places from wherever you're based as long as you're near a popular place.  Users review attractions as well as hotels and restaurants.

You may want to consider doing a few things on your own while your Mom rests.  As DH's stamina deteriorated, we stayed out for shorter periods of time together but then I'd go out again, for a run or to do an excursion too strenuous for him, or (in Iceland) to take a swim in a nearby heated geothermal pool.  He was always happy to hear about my excursions and see whatever pictures I'd taken.  It worked well for us even with such different energy levels and abilities.  

[weltschmerz]

Ava, are your tetanus shots up to date? It has to be every 10 years.

My friend was recently there and was bitten by a monkey.

[Deleted]

Jul 10, 2017 15:30:27 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Ava, are your tetanus shots up to date? It has to be every 10 years.

My friend was recently there and was bitten by a monkey.

Wow- never thought of that.  A  white-faced capuchin, by any chance?  Nasty, territorial little critters- we encountered a colony on a hike and it was unnerving.

[Pants]

If you can't drive a manual transmission, do NOT rent a car in CR. 

Pura vida!

[weltschmerz]

Jul 10, 2017 19:23:20 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jul 10, 2017 15:30:27 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Ava, are your tetanus shots up to date? It has to be every 10 years.

My friend was recently there and was bitten by a monkey.

Wow- never thought of that.  A  white-faced capuchin, by any chance?  Nasty, territorial little critters- we encountered a colony on a hike and it was unnerving.

I'm not sure what kind of monkey it was. She had to go get a shot at the local hospital while on vacation.
It was a pain.
Best to get a shot while you're still at home, if it's been over 10 years.
You should get one even if you're not going on vacation. You can get tetanus just by walking in your yard in bare feet. Tetanus lives in the dirt.
Nasty way to die.

[Ava]

Jul 10, 2017 15:30:27 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Ava, are your tetanus shots up to date? It has to be every 10 years.

My friend was recently there and was bitten by a monkey.

I don't think I'm up to date with my tetanus shot.

[Ava]

Jul 10, 2017 20:46:54 GMT -5 Pants said:

If you can't drive a manual transmission, do NOT rent a car in CR. 

Pura vida!

 I can't drive manual transmission. I used to but it's been over 15 years ago. Not renting a car then.
My mom drives manual but due to her recent surgery she cannot drive right now.

[Ava]

I'll check bookit, trip advisor and AAA over the weekend.
I hope I find something doable within my budget.

Given my mom's health condition and that we want to relax more than anything, I'm pretty sure we'll book a hotel in a good beach town and then take day tours from there as we see fit. If I book the tours in advance we'll have to go even if we don't feel like doing it that particular day.

[wvugurl26]

I made DF get his tetanus shot updated before we went to the Bahamas. He got hepatitis A/B too. He didn't agree with me but the doctor did. I always check the CDC recommendations before traveling. It might be overkill but I'm immune compromised so better safe than sorry.

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2017 7:10:19 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I made DF get his tetanus shot updated before we went to the Bahamas. He got hepatitis A/B too. He didn't agree with me but the doctor did. I always check the CDC recommendations before traveling. It might be overkill but I'm immune compromised so better safe than sorry.

I got Hep A/B immunization years ago when I was traveling to India regularly.  It was a series that gave me permanent immunity.  Thanks for the reminder about tetanus, though.  I do a LOT of gardening work.  Will ask for that at my next check-up.

[resolution]

Are you totally set on Costa Rica? There are a ton of nice, all-inclusive resorts in Florida where your mom could relax and you could pop out for an occasional job interview or networking contact to promote your move.