i would like to go to Costa Rica for my honeymoon. details: - 4/5 days / nites - Nov / Dec / Jan. flexible. over new years would be nice - on a beach preferred - using starwood points prefferd (i dont think they have a hotel in CR) - private / secluded villa type B&B preferred (small) - under <$200 a nite preferred (might not be possible)
1. Read the topics on how to find the best airfare and hotel.
(done)2. Search the topics to make sure your topic hasn't been discussed---Disney is an example one that is posted over and over on how to find cheap tickets
3. Search for the discount codes posted for rental cars, airlines, etc.
4. Search yourself and list the prices you found. People are willing to help if you show you have made an effort to find out information yourself.
Start each Post Topic with the a tag such as "HELP-......." or "ASSISTANCE REQUESTED -......." if you are asking for help.
Make sure you include your DATES OF TRAVEL, exactly what you are looking for, WHERE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR (what is your departure city? what is your arrival city?), FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE (ages), and WHAT PRICES YOU HAVE FOUND AND WHERE.
depending on where youre flying from theres often great deals on that site. use tripadvisor.com to read user reviews on the hotels so you can get a feel for where you might be staying.
i havent stayed here before but it looks nice and has good reviews: http://www.hotelparador.com/ they also have honeymoon packages on their site, and its in the manuel antonio area which is highly recommended, and you can see why:
Rack said: SonOfZeus said: No Kosher Food available in CR.
Was that an anti-semitic comment???
Hardly...a non-sequiter answer for a non-compliant request.
BTW kosher means "pure". I've been to CR and the food ain't.
tantuti
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 5, 2005 @ 5:29p
hey amszyh, you got over 2000 post and they are all links to the same page. Ever post anything useful?
Rack
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 5, 2005 @ 6:10p
SonOfZeus said: Rack said: SonOfZeus said: No Kosher Food available in CR.
Was that an anti-semitic comment???
Hardly...a non-sequiter answer for a non-compliant request.
BTW kosher means "pure". I've been to CR and the food ain't.
ACtually it means "Ritually Pure"
Cr Btw has some excellent eats. Much better than a lot of the carribean (especially cancun).
drupha
Cranky Member
posted: Aug. 5, 2005 @ 7:21p
If you SCUBA, I recommend going to the Coronado Islands as there's tons of wildlife there, and I think the whale sharks might be hanging out in the area during those times.
If you don't know how to SCUBA, I recommend going to Playas Del Coco and learning. Rich Coast Diving is a great outfit and offers reasonable prices for PADI certification.
I also recommend you try a drink there called "bamboo." It looks like a can of Coca Cola brand cherry coke, but is actually a rum and coke, conveniently premixed in a can.
I stayed here and loved it. The rates are very reasonable for what you get. The rooms are nice, and hot springs are relaxing. The taxis are plentiful, so no cars are needed to visit different restaurants. You could easily spend a week here and be as active (rafting, horseback riding, etc.) or relaxed as you want.
If you can wait till Jan to go you can get Taca's $200 RT fares from their gateways. Every Christmas day they put all of central america on sale for 2 days. I do it every year.
As far as a place to stay you can definately find secluded beaches. Good luck you made a great choice.
Make sure your passports are in order.
h0
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 8, 2005 @ 4:52p
Check out Makanda by the Sea near Manuel Antonio Park on the Pacific Coast. Not cheap, but you'll get your own villa surrounded by trees filled with monkeys and sloths. Totally romantic vibe. I just spent my pre wedding honeymoon there, and met other honeymooners there as well. PM if you want more info.
Dec 05 1) Posada El Quijote / San Jose - Superior Double - $95 - 27th 30th Local Flight SJO --> Mal Pais 2) Hotel Florblanca / Mal Pais - $350 - 30th - 2nd (3 nites) 3) Punta Islita / Guanacaste - Jan 2nd --> 5th (3 nites) Local Flight --> SJO
does this look good?
eternityz
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 9, 2005 @ 4:21a
Luzer, I grew up in Costa Rica (15 years of residence) and I've visited some of the places mentioned in this thread. Definitely Tabacon Hot Springs Resort is something you might want to check out.
I've never been or heard of Florblanca. However $350 a night seems way too high for me. From what I know, paying over $200 per night at any hotel in Costa Rica seems way too high for me. Just my humble opinion.
We usually go to Tambor (hotel + beach + buffet) for like $60 a person. You just sit back and chill, drink, eat and party.
LuZeR said: this is what i am thinking about ...
Dec 05 1) Posada El Quijote / San Jose - Superior Double - $95 - 27th 30th Local Flight SJO --> Mal Pais 2) Hotel Florblanca / Mal Pais - $350 - 30th - 2nd (3 nites) 3) Punta Islita / Guanacaste - Jan 2nd --> 5th (3 nites) Local Flight --> SJO
eternityz said: Luzer, I grew up in Costa Rica (15 years of residence) and I've visited some of the places mentioned in this thread. Definitely Tabacon Hot Springs Resort is something you might want to check out.
I've never been or heard of Florblanca. However $350 a night seems way too high for me. From what I know, paying over $200 per night at any hotel in Costa Rica seems way too high for me. Just my humble opinion.
We usually go to Tambor (hotel + beach + buffet) for like $60 a person. You just sit back and chill, drink, eat and party.
Tabacon Hot Springs Resort looks nice, and it is in the volcana area, which is good for my trip. but, it has OK ratings at tripadvisor reviews
The Florblanca looks really nice, but I'd agree with eternityz, seems a bit over-priced for Costa Rica. I noticed that seemed to be the one complaint at tripadvisor.com also. I think some of that is due to location, not a lot of competition. La Mariposa or Si Como No at Manuel Antonio would probably cost you less and you would have a larger resort with more facilities in an area with a huge variety of restaurants, stores, etc. However, wouldn't be right on the beach or as secluded. Depends on what you’re looking for I guess.
If you don't want to spend time on the road, then it's probably a good move flying there; as the drive to Mal Pais ("bad land") is challenging at certain times of the year.
If you really want to get up close and personal with Volcan Arenal, stay at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, it was set up originally by the Smithsonian as an observation post after the big eruption in the 60's and is the closest place to Arenal.
msjbean
Shopaholic Member
posted: Aug. 9, 2005 @ 7:35p
I got married in Alajuela, the xandari resort rocks! - the tabacon lodge is also very nice, its in la fortuna i think! we also stayed monteverde at the fonda vela, the grano the oro in san jose is lovely, and the pachira lodge in tortugero was really humid and hot but we saw sea turtles lay eggs on the beach, so its all good
I got married in Costa Rica in November of 2002. And we actually got married on the beach at Punta Islita. We spent 4 nights there and an additional 4 nights at other places in the country. Punta Islita is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend it. In fact, I'm surprising my wife with a return trip in November of this year. This go round we will be spending all of our time at Punta Islita except for one night.
I made some good contacts as far as trip planning. If you want that info PM and I will provide you with more detailed information and tips.
thejerseydevil
Cranky Member
posted: Aug. 10, 2005 @ 2:55a
My wife and I went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon in 2000.
The best $$$ we spent was for a personal tour guide. As I recall, he was only $600 and his comfortable van took my wife and I throughout the entire country during the week. It was great. I felt like I paid $600 for a car rental and got the greatest tour guide for free.
The worst place we stayed was Tabacon Resort. Actually, we didn't stay there because they said they never received my fax of my credit card and they rented the honeymoon suite to someone else. It was a blessing in disguise though since while we enjoyed their Hot Springs we realized that the Tabacon was 95% Americans and it didn't feel like we left home.
By far, the best place we stayed was The Finca Rosa Blanca. It's more of a Bed and Breakfast style and it was amazing. My wife will always remember the food there (you should know that Costa Rica is not known for their cuisine). The chef was out in the garden each day picking everything fresh for that night's dinner. We stayed in the Master Suite for $200/night and felt like it was a bargain.
how does this sound? Dic. 27 Arrival to San Jose, Costa Rica, a transfer from Best of Costa Rica will greet you at the airport and drive you to Peace Lodge. It is 90 minute ride (please let me know your time of arrival) Dec. 28 Peace Lodge, Deluxe room , entrance to La Paz Waterfall Gardens and breakfast included Dec. 29 Peace Lodge, Deluxe room , entrance to La Paz Waterfall Gardens and breakfast included Dec. 30 A private transfer will drive you to Arenal Volcano approximate driving time is 3 hours, going through rolling hills and cozy small towns. Arenal Springs is nestled into a lush valley on the northern side of Arenal Volcano. Standard double room with breakfast included. Dec. 31 Arenal Springs, Standard double room with breakfast included. Jan. 01 Arenal Springs, Standard double room with breakfast included. Jan. 02 Private transfer back to San Jose, the driver will drive you directly to Pavas airport where you will board a Nature Air flight to Punta Islita departing at 1:30 p.m Hotel Punta Islita, reservations made directly. Jan. 03 Hotel Punta Islita, reservations made directly. Jan. 04 Hotel Punta Islita, reservations made directly. Jan. 05 Fly back to San Jose, you Sansa flight departs at 9:25 arriving to San Jose at 10:20 a.m a transfer from Best of Costa Rica will drive you to the international airport for your departure flight.
The price for this itinerary is $3000 approx and it includes all transfers and transportation within Costa Rica. Tours are not included, but to give you an idea they go from $30-80 depending on the tour. At Peace Lodge you could visit Poas Volcano and take the coffee tour, or you could also do the canopy tour. In Arenal the hot springs are a must, and you will also find many canopy tours, they also have a rappel tour in the rainforest which is great. http://www.puretrekcostarica.com/canyoning.html
Well, at first I was going to say it seemed pretty high without airfare, but I looked up those hotels and the Punta Islita and Peace Lodge looked like very nice (although pricey) places; the Arenal Springs looks a little more basic. So with the private transfers, air to Punta Islita, and not have to worry about getting places on your own, it doesn't seem too bad.
Also, 3 days at Arenal might be a bit much, but I guess if you wanted to do a horseback ride one day or something, you could find stuff to do. Arenal isn't like some of the other volcanos where you can drive up them and get pretty close, there is a fairly short trail to an observation area at the base of the volcano. Most of the time, it's cloudy and you won't see much. The springs themselves are nice, but it not like you are going to spend a whole day there. However, if you want to just park in one place for a while and relax, then may 3 days at Arenal isn't bad.
Does this quote include the Punta Islita reservatiosn for 3 nights? In your note, it says "Hotel Punta Islita, reservations made directly". If it does not include it, it sounds a bit high.
wiseguy1100 said: Does this quote include the Punta Islita reservatiosn for 3 nights? In your note, it says "Hotel Punta Islita, reservations made directly". If it does not include it, it sounds a bit high.Good catch, I didn't notice that. I was figuring that Hotel Punta Islita, was a good chunk of the $3,000, if that is not included, I go back to my original impression that it is high.
I was in CR April 11-24 2005. While some may say that 3 days is too much for Arenal, everyone moves that their own pace.
I ended up staying almost 5 days in La Fortuna. And if you are looking for tours I booked most of mine when I go there. As well you can get a better entrance rates to Baldi/Tabacon from some of the shops.
And just my 2 cents here, Tabacon is AMAZING! I went on a rain forrest hike that then turns into a night volcano viewing. We saw a little bit of lava and then we were transported to Tabacon for about 4 hours. And we could have stayed longer if we didn't want to take the guide bus back to our hotel.
Also Baldi isn't too bad either, just don't pay the $18 entrance fee. There is a internet cafe across the street from where the buses pick up and drop off in the center of town. In there you can get the Baldi entrance pass for $10. If you head to Baldi try their surf and turf. Nice amount of food for about $16 US.
As well the discoteca in La Fortuna is a great Tico hotspot at night. I'm still working on my trip report, but I'll provide more info if you want.
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