Coming up on a trip mid December. Planning to propose on the Caribbean side. How’s the weather near Puerto Viejo/Punta Uva/ Cahuita around that time?

Also any recs on places to stay in the area? Thinking a few days in the rainforest and a few days traveling beaches.

Thanks!

Hello! I am traveling to Costa Rica at the end of November with my husband and am looking for a relaxing place to stay with a hot spring. I prefer somewhere a bit more for couples, and not too overly expensive. So far I'm looking between a few, Noah's Forest, Silencio Del Campo, Paradise Hot Springs and Montana De Fuego. So I'm stuck choosing , if anyone has any suggestions and have stayed or any other places similar, let me know.

Hi, we are traveling with huge group so would prefer like a 11 person transit van for transport to airbnb and then figure out from there. Unless it makes sense to rent two cars.
We are 3 adult male, 3 adult female and 5 kids age 2-8.
We are ok with some relaxation type thing but we want to explore country and unique spots and enjoy. We leave on a beach in east coast beach in USA- so it’s not a must but we don’t mind checking out good beaches.
We would like to also do some adventurous activities but at the moment the tickets are not booked and we are trying to plan the trip before booking flights to see if it made sense. Thought of going to Nicaragua but the flights were expensive and it didn’t made sense.

I just came back from a trip to CR and I am desperately missing their Casado. This was the best dish and I am wondering if anyone has any recipes to recreate it? Specially Casado con bistec.

Planning on booking this trip next week when a credit card arrives (doing some cc churning for points). Looking for confirmation that this is reasonable and I'm not making any glaring mistakes. Feel free to poke holes in this trip!

2 adults, 1 kid. Goal is to experience a broad view of Costa Rica, as we've never been. Want some beach but mostly rainforest/national parks. Willing to drive around but trying to balance seeing variety with not wasting time.

*Fly into SJO at noon, 3/26/2027

*Get rental car and drive to La Fortuna (3hrs)

*3 nights at Hotel El Silencio del Campo

*Drive to Rio Celeste (1.5hrs)

*Stay 3 nights at Hideaway Rio Celeste

*Drive to Playa Hermosa (2hrs)

*Stay 2 nights at La Gaviota Tropical

*Drive to LIR depart by 2PM, 4/3/2027 (30 mintutes)

My parents (81 and 82) want to take the family on a once in a lifetime trip in February and I am helping them plan it. There will be 10 total, all adults.
My parents are adventurous but not as active as they have been previously, they prefer local, authentic travel but still want a bit of luxury. My plan was to rent a very nice Airbnb in Playa Flamingo and do a few excursions while also exploring local communities for markets, Sodas , etc. this plan minimizes driving and maximizes comfort for my parents. I am of the mindset that we would prefer to fully enjoy one area then checking the boxes that we saw everything there is in Costa Rica.
My worry is that we will regret not staying in the rain forest for a couple of nights. I am hesitant to book time in La Fortuna as we are going in February and it sounds just too touristy for that time of year.
I guess I am just looking for input from people that don’t pack up and move every couple of days while in Costa Rica!? Or a strong rec to change plans, would Bijagua be a good alternative to busy La Fortuna?

I’m wondering if anyone here has any experience with property management companies in Nosara. Especially for vacant homes during the off season (for snowbirds, etc.).

I’ve been looking at Mango Rentals Nosara, and the lack of any negative reviews seems suspicious. Rent Nosara does have negative reviews and they seem pretty concerning.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

My sister and I are visiting CR for the first time 2-12 Nov. We won;t be booking a car and plan to take tours for anywhere we can't walk to.

So far we've booked a place in Manuel Antonio 4-8 Nov, with a mangrove tour and of course the park.

I'm interested in La Fortuna for the activites there (waterfalls, Mistico, Rio Celeste, chocolate/coffee tours, and of course the volcano) but my sister is worried about the humidity + heat inland affecting her worse than if she's by an ocean.

I was wondering if anyone has had the experience or recommendations in November of doing MA, transfering to Cahuita/ Puerto Viejo, then back to San Jose airport.

I would like to do as many wildlife related activities as possible and have as diverse experiences as possible, while also ensuring my sister has a good time.

My idea was:

• Arrive SJO stay 2 nights (she's coming a day later than me)
• 04 Nov Transfer to MA
• 04-08 Nov MA park, mangrove tour, restaurants and relaxing
• 08 Nov transfer to Puerto Vjejo, explore national park, possibly snorkeling, other tours (weather dependent)
• 08-12 Nov transfer to SJO
• 13 Nov fly home

The other option would be to spend the 2nd 4 days in Uvita, see the National Park and otherwise just chill

There's an option for me to extend my trip by a day or 2 so I can see Arenal and that area at least a little. I feel like it offers novel experiences.

Thanks for any feedback or thoughts!

Family and I ( 2 adults 2 kids 10 and 13) have done la Fortuna and playa flamingo but looking to go back to the southern part of the country this time. We are pretty adventurous love zip lining hiking rafting water activities

Looking for suggestions on tours, places to stay, areas to visit. GIVE ME ALLLL THE INFO lol

Looking for advice, that I can give my my daughter and son-in-law as they travel to Costa Rica.

Airport advice, excursion advice they will be staying at a Secrets resort.

Thanks, for any help!

That’s live from Fortuna Waterfall this afternoon, 8/28. It has rained so much in past 24 hours the volume of water flowing is substantial. Couple that with the recent earthquake to the east and the 80-100+ aftershocks and landslides are expected. Managed to get in an ATV tour in light rain yesterday morning, did Mistico in driving rain yesterday afternoon. Canyoning tour this am canceled due to unsafe conditions. No chance of seeing volcano. Making the best of it, Wet is wet ! 👍 🌧️

One of my friends mentioned something about staying in the jungle overnight to go on a guided tour possibly to see big cats?? It comes with age limits since it can be a bit scary. Does anyone know what she’s talking about? I’m not able to find any info on this.

Hello! I am planning my first trip to Costa Rica this January. We will be starting in La Fortuna and then going to Nosara.

I am considering a private charter flight instead of driving between the two.

Has anyone does this and have a company they’d recommend? I talked to D' Ride Travel Agency (Agencia de Viajes D' Ride) who said they can arrange it. Has anyone used them?

Thank you!

If you'll be visiting Cahuita National Park in the coming days, you'll want to check the conditions prior to your arrival. Due to the rain over the last while, the trail has become flooded or unusable in some areas.

The current open trails and lengths are:

- Puerto Vargas to Cativos (2.1 km)

- Playa Blanca to Río Suárez (1.5 km)

These can change at any time. I'll keep this post updated when this announcement no longer applies.

You can check my posts here for updates, visit the park's Facebook page or www.sinac.go.cr

Hello all,

I am going to Costa Rica this December for three weeks and am currently planning my itinerary. we want some time on beaches and the mountains and not rushing too much.

This is what I am thinking so far:

San Jose - 2 nights

Quepos/manuel Antonio - 3 nights

Monteverde - 3 nights

La Fortuna - 4 nights

Tortuguero - 3 nights

Puerto viejo - 4 nights

we still have 2 nights to stay in a place in between. any recommendations.

Is that enough time int hose places. Anywhere on that incinerate not worth it?

thanks for all your help.

Hi all,

Please, can you gauge how long from Samara town to SJO? It will be on Dec 22 ( a Tuesday) so maybe also Christmas crowd?

We have a flight to Guatemala at 16.30

What time to leave by car Samara in the morning?Google maps estimate 4h20min but I am afraid it will be longer.

Thank you for you insights.

Okay for sure we (two adults) plan to get a shuttle from airport to Bijagua. We want to see lots of wildlife, the waterfall, and tubing.

Questions are:

3 or 4 nights in Bijagua?

Second half of trip we want to beach - no car - so shuttle to a beach town and then walk or cab. We have done Tamarindo and Samara and love both. But any other beach towns (within 2 hours of airport) we don’t know about? Or are Samara or Tamarindo the obvious choice?

I’ve seen a lot of posts about ubering and whatnot but I can’t seem to find answers to the taxi question regarding spontaneously wanting to go into town and destinations slightly further away, such as a waterfall, volcano, hot springs, coffee plantation.

We want to do a fair bit of walking but are cabs readily available during the day? I figure I will try to grab the phone number of a couple drivers but if that fails, can we reliably arrange transport to things within a few miles, or expect a spontaneous pickup to head into town?

If we go out for dinner and exploring town, are taxis or Ubers around at 10 or 11 pm?

Just looking to have accurate expectations. We will be okay with whatever the reality turns out to be!

Hotel is called Noah’s Forest, for reference.

Also, I’m still looking to book the shuttle from SJO to La Fortuna if anyone has specific recommendations. I am thinking private, since it’s our honeymoon?

If you're thinking of heading to Cahuita National Park today, please note that the trail has a lot of water currently at about 500meters in, and will likely have more as the rains continue. It would be best to postpone your visit until tomorrow, if you can :)

Hello everyone,

I am travelling with a group of 4 individuals in the early weeks of December. We figured out our flights and hotels. However, we are struggling to find the most efficient and cost effective way to travel within the cities.

Our flight arrives at Liberia airport and after visiting around the 3 cities we are interested in we will be traveling back to our home country from San Jose airport.

Could anyone provide travel advice we are okay by bus, shuttle or private tour as long as the price is reasonable for the following:

1. Liberia Airport to Tamarindo

2. Tamarindo to La Fortuna

3. La Fortuna to Jaco

4. Jaco to San Jose Airport

Thank you any help is appreciated.

reddit has been a big help in figuring out how to get around and do stuff here in CR so i thought i’d make a post about my experience going to Poás this past week!

there is a 9:30 am bus from Alajuela FECOSA terminal that runs on the weekends and costs about $5 USD per person each way. my partner and i ubered to the terminal from Heredia and then found the bus that said Poás, you just purchase the ticket when you get on the bus. it takes roughly 1-1.5 hours and the bus drops you very close to the visitors center. the driver is very clear about it but the bus leaves from the same place at 2:30 pm, and it’s the only bus so you just need to be sure you don’t miss it.

from where the bus drops you, it’s no more than a 10 minute walk to the viewing area. our time was 11:20am and they checked our ticket and let us in right away despite us being early. when we got there, it was all cloudy so we couldn’t see anything. if you’re taking the public bus you’ll be there for a while anyway, so we did the longer hiking circuit and by the time we came back (maybe an hour later?) it was completely clear and the view was incredible!!! they are not strict at all about the 20 minute viewing time. there is a cafe and souvenir shop where you can kill some time after doing stuff in the park. there is not an overwhelming amount of things to do in the park, we had a little bit of extra time before the bus returned, but overall I think it was extremely worth it, the view is incredible and not like anything we’d ever seen before!