Travel
monkeygirl18
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Costa rica help
in Travel
Here is what we are looking for:
Nice beach at hotel/resort
Would like all inclusive but ok if not
Private balcony
Whirlpool tub or private plunge pool (would be great but not an absolute must)
No more than 45 min from Liberia airport
Restaurant at hotel/resort
And go.....
Re: Costa rica help
Oh, and it will be just dh and myself.
Budget for hotel/resort is $5k for 7 nights
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
90 min might be ok. Most important is a good beach for laying out, swimming and snorkeling but yet in nature ( I really want to see monkeys:)
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
Ugh...I just wrote a reply, but the nest ate it.
Summary:
1. Costa Rica's beaches can definitely disappoint if you're looking for something resembling most of the Caribbean (fine, white sand, crystal blue water.) It's a bit more like St. Lucia...rocky, rugged, but still beautiful.
2. Any particular reason why you want Liberia Airport? If you're open to a bit more travel, check out Arenas del Mar. It's another option that has a lot of what you want, plus you can hop on over to Manuel Antonio to see tons of wildlife! Check out their top category of room - private whirlpool tub on the balcony.
We did not go to any nice hotels when we stayed in Tamarindo (we stayed at good hotels in Manuel Antonio and La Fortuna), but Tamarindo is 50 minutes from Liberia. There's a JW Marriott there. I heard that one is good, based on someone else's review.
http://www.cupotico.com/jsp/list.jsp?category=0&location=Tamarindo
I agree with everything girlinchicago said. The beaches are also very different depending on where you choose to stay.
We also stayed at Arenas del Mar and enjoyed it. It came to mind when I read your requirements in the OP. It's not an AI but within close proximity to affordable places to eat and drink. However, it is quite a commute from the San Jose airport. We chose to take a domestic flight on Sansa or Nature Air (can't remember which one) from SJ airport to Quepos/Manuel Antonio rather than drive. There are also other accommodations in Manuel Antonio that are more luxurious with amazing views from above, but the beach access is a little more difficult from some.
We really enjoyed the Manuel Antonio area. The beaches and rainforest are beautiful and there are monkeys and sloths everywhere.
We had a wonderful time in Costa Rica hiking, seeing wildlife, ziplining, etc. But if you're looking for luxury, to do an AI, and to plan to spend most of your time at the beach then I would maybe look into other options.
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SJOPAHH-Hilton-Papagayo-Costa-Rica-Resort-Spa/index.do
We stayed at the Hilton Papagayo, and AI.
I believe it was 30 - 45 minutes from Liberia, but I'm not certain.
The beach was beautiful, but not huge. It had some pretty, black sand. I don't recall anyone snorkeling. The resort is located in a small bay, so the water is very calm and swimmable. The hotel grounds were the most amazing I have ever seen. Most of the hotel is set up in bungalos. We were oceanfront with our own wraparound balcony. I don't think any rooms had their own pool, but the hotel pools were beautiful, and never too crowded. There were a number of restuarants, but I wasn't impressed with most of it. However, I wasn't really impressed with most of the food we had off-grounds either. There were plenty of monkeys at the hotel (and iguanas too). If you ever plan on leaving the hotel, you'll need to arrange an excursion with transportation included, or rent a car.
The hotel was amazing, but I wouldn't stay there again. I would prefer to stay in town in Tamarindo or near the volcano. It really depends on what you are looking for in the trip. We spent over 12 hours of travel time to get there, and I would have loved to see more of Costa Rica. I like relaxing on the beach, but I could do that with a lot less than 12 hours of travel to get there. I know plenty of people that didn't leave the hotel even once though, so it really depends on what you like.
Have fun!Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
AI would be nice but DH wants it more than I do. Same as the beach and snorkeling. We've been to several carribean islands and although we love them to me they are all the same and I want something a bit different this time. I will gladly sacrifice a nice beach for a more jungle/nature feel.
Im trying to find a room that has its own plung pool or at least outdoor hot tub to maybe off set the not so nice beach. Dh and I are private people so we would love to be able to just chill in our room on some days but yet mix in some adventure ( neither one of us can sit still to long) like hiking,horse back riding,ATV's and to just get out and explore on our own ( we plan on renting a car for the week).
I'm just going to have to get dh on board with the so so beaches at the hotels and just tell him we can always drive to a nicer beach. We love Key West and it's not like there are great beaches there. Snorkeling yes, beaches no
Thanks for your help. Keep it coming.
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
The Hilton is so far my number one choice. They do have rooms with plung pools ( some sort of jr suite) and that type of room there is in our budget ( everywhere else I've seen it's out of our budget). I'm just worried about the snorkeling. DH REALLY loves to snorkel (he snorkels most days in St.Lucia this past week). I don't see why if we are renting a car it would be such an issue for him/us to drive to a nicer snorkeling area.
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
Ah, then Costa Rica definitely sounds like a great destination for you!
I reread my post and it almost sounded like I was trying to discourage from going which wasn't what I intended, so I hope it didn't come off that way because we loved CR. I just know some people prefer white sand and clear water and wasn't sure if that was important to you.
Renting a car will open up a lot of options for you to explore, as you mentioned. Definitely try to get out and explore some jungle, waterfalls, different beaches, and see wildlife. However, I would be prepared for difficult roads. Some are curvy, not well paved, and have large potholes. For this reason, it takes almost twice as long to drive somewhere in some areas as it would here. We didn't drive ourselves, but from what I saw most of the signs are translated or similar enough to here that they're obvious or easy to figure out (i.e. big red octagon that says "alto" for "stop").
Not knowing Spanish won't be a problem at all. CR is very tourist friendly and almost everyone knows English and most things are translated in English as well. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Thank you so much KDuv.
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
I think that if you stay at the Hilton, and rent a car, you should be fine to do a mix of what both you and your husband like to do.
We didn't have many issues with language, although we do speak some Spanish, and understand a good amount more. As long as you stay in more populated areas, you should be good.
When you are driving, be warned that it is VERY different. Many roads are dirt, and there are very few street signs. The directions from the airport to our hotel went something like this: drive 5 kilometers next to the field. Once you cross the bridge, look for the fork in the road and turn right. Drive 10 kilometers and look for the large white house. Around the next bend, turn left....etc. There were no street sign directions and GPS did us no good. It can be fun to explore during the day time, but heed the warnings to avoid driving at night.
We did some great activities - jungle river cruise, ATV, ziplining, etc. We tried to snorkel in several places, and didn't have much success. The excursion place said that it depended on the tides at the time. For us, the water was rough and stirred up the bottom, so we couldn't see much. The water is also much colder than the Caribbean, so I wasn't as interested. I would definitely check out Tamarindo too - it's a really cute little surfing town and only about 45 minutes away.
Its further than an hour, but it was paradise found. Check out Hotel Punta Islita. Its in the south of guanacaste, on the Nicoya Peninsula, but it is absolutely beautiful - private casitas with your own back yard, plunge pool, view of the pacific ocean. The beach was just down from the hotel (the hotel is on a cliff) and was beautiful and not crowded at all. The hotel has an amazing beach club on the beach, with a great restaurant and swim up bar. It IS isolated though, which was part of the appeal to us - don't know if it is the same for you, but we loved it and can't wait to go back.
I lol'd at the directions. Thats exactly how I give directions. I can't do road signs but I can do landmarks
Looks like we will be booking the Hilton as it seems to fit the bill the best.
Thank you everyone!
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008