Costa Rica Travel Planning Articles

Comments

1. Millionaire Dojo says

   November 1, 2018

   Thanks so much for creating this website! I’d be clueless without it. Taking our first trip there in a couple of days and I feel comfortable with our plans after reading through a lot of your posts.

   Reply

2. Sammi says

   January 17, 2018

   Hi Debbie! I’m glad the blog has been helpful for you trip! As for Braulio Carrillo national park, it is about a 45 minute – 1 hour drive outside of San Jose so if you can get there by 12 PM, you can visit for an hour or so walk in the afternoon. I actually highly recommend going to this eco park: Rainforest Adventures. They’re right next to the national park and have a nice trail, aerial tram and ziplining tour.

   For renting a car for a day, you can definitely do that but some companies require a minimum of 3 days or else they have to charge the 3 day amount. Mytanfeet has a partnership with Adobe Rent a Car to give our readers up to a 20% discount on the car rental with extra benefits. You can check rates here: Costa Rica car rental discount and don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions!

   Reply

3. Debbie Creekmore says

   January 17, 2018

   Hello,
   I have used your resources to plan a 10 day trip to Costa Rica in February! Thank you for so much information!
   We will be flying from Drake Bay to San Jose at the end of our trip. Our flight lands at 10am and we don’t fly home until the next day. Do you think this will be enough time to visit Braulio Carrillo park? Or would there be another option that you would recommend? We are staying just outside of the airport. Also, would you recommend a car rental for the day or would there be another option?
   Thank you!
   Debbie Creekmore
   Jaffrey NH USA

   Reply

4. Sammi says

   August 30, 2017

   Hi Brandon, you will need to do a visa run and you can do it in one day to either Nicaragua or Panama. If you don’t, when you exit the airport, the airport officers will see you overstayed and will fine you I think $100 (but you’re supposed to pay beforehand so they can deny you or fine you more) and you aren’t allowed to come back in for 3 times the amount you overstayed. One way people do a visa run and make it into a fun activity is to take the 1 day tour to Nicaragua from Guanacaste. If you’ll be in the Tamarindo, Liberia, or Coco area you can do the tour and you can get a new stamp plus see Nicaragua at the same time. You can read more about it here: Nicaragua one day tour from Costa Rica.

   Also, depending on which airport you are flying out of and which airline, they will ask you for your return date. Every time I fly with United and American, they have asked us for a return date within 90 days. You need to show them that at one point you’re leaving CR since your ticket is 92 days and proof of the ticket. You may be able to show them a bus ticket or the tour confirmation that you’ll be leaving the country. However, since it is the airline, I am not sure if that is accepted. I always buy a cheap refundable ticket and refund it when I’m past security since that is guaranteed accepted.

   Reply

5. Brandon hatch says

   August 30, 2017

   I just realized that my plane tickets span 92 days because of November and December having 31 days. Will they still allow me in the country? Will I have to cross the border at Panama or Nicaragua? If so how long would I have to stay out of Costa Rica to extend my stay for the two days? Love your site thanks for all the help

   Reply

6. Callie says

   June 13, 2017

   Hello, I’ve been reading up on your blog and it has great resources. I also booked a vehicle through your website. Our group is driving from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio later this month and was wondering if you had any recommended stops on the way to break up the drive a little bit. Nothing overnight – more like a great short hike or restaurant recommendation for lunch, etc.? Thanks!

   Reply

   • Sammi says

     June 15, 2017

     Hi Callie!

     A lot of people like to stop by the Tarcoles bridge to see the crocodiles, that is near Jaco. There is also a nice waterfall called Las Musas that is in San Ramon which you will pass through that is a nice and short walk to the waterfalls.

     Reply

7. Sammi says

   May 5, 2017

   Hi Denise, Manuel Antonio is the name of the entire area of the national park and the hill. So from Quepos, which is the town next to it, you have to go up a windy hill to get to the national park and beach. Many hotels are on the hill with a few on the beach and near the national park entrance. There is a bus that goes from Quepos to the national park every day every 30 minutes or so so it’s easy to get around. It doesn’t really matter where you are stay in that aspect, but if you want to stay somewhere with a view of the national park, you will find many 5 star luxury hotels on the hill with great views such as Mariposa, Mansion Inn, Arenas del Mar, Parador.

   Manuel Antonio area itself is relatively small so you can cover that very well in several days (national park, relaxing at the beach, night walks, mangrove, etc.) But it’s also very accessible to other destinations such as Jaco (1 hour away), Dominical and Uvita (about 45 minute drive) so you can definitely go and explore different areas.

   I have a few posts that will help your planning.

   Maneul Antonio National Park

   Hiking Manuel Antonio National Park

   Things to do in Manuel Antonio

   Costa Rica 1 week itinerary including Jaco, Manuel Antonio and Uvita

   Reply

8. Denise W. says

   May 4, 2017

   Hello,

   I just came across your blog and it’s one of the best resources I’ve found for Costa Rica! We spent 2 weeks this March in Tamarindo and loved the beach town vibe with all the amenities such as bars, restaurants, shopping and tour operators. We are thinking of going to Manuel Antonio next and are wondering if MA is as big as Tamarindo. Does it have the same number of restaurants, bars etc.?

   I read some where about staying on the “hill” or on the beach, what does this mean? Is one better than the other? We are interested in seeing wildlife, taking a couple of tours and enjoying the beach, will we have enough to keep us occupied for 2 weeks in MA?

   Many thanks,
   Denise

   Reply

9. Jodi Weening says

   April 13, 2017

   Hello, we have really enjoyed your blog here – thanks for some great information! You seem to advise against travelling during Semana Santa; however, we are here now and really wanted to take in some of the processions and other festivities. We are near Neuvo Arenal and are willing to go as far as Liberia in order to get the best cultural experience we can. We have not had any luck online looking for dates/times/places… Are you able to help us or direct us to the information?
   Sincerely, Jodi

   Reply

   • Sammi says

     April 14, 2017

     Hi Jodi, Semana Santa gets suuuuuper crowded at the beaches and it’s really expensive which is why we don’t particularly recommend visiting during this week. I’m honestly not sure of anything going on, I know LIberia usually has a Good Friday parade. I am not sure if there are any fiestas going on (but there is always on somewhere) in the area. If you go to Liberia, there might be something going on at the park this weekend.

     Reply

     • Jodi Weening says

       April 14, 2017

       Thank-you for your reply. We ended up driving to Tilaran and participating in their church service and Good Friday procession. It was a very neat experience – nothing like anything we had been involved in before. Have a happy Easter Weekend and thanks again 🙂

       Reply

       • Sammi says

         April 15, 2017

         That’s great! Glad you were able to find something, Tilaran isn’t nearly as crowded as the beaches so I’m sure it was lovely.

         Reply

10. Jean-Yves Fillion says

    March 20, 2017

    Hi guys. I am returning this year to Esterillos for 1 week. In a few years i would love to stay for months there but i would love to drive with my car from Montreal. I heard that going through Mexico is somewhat dangerous by car . What do you suggest?

    Reply

    • yeison says

      March 20, 2017

      Hello Jean,

      Thank you for reading our blog! Regarding your question we have no experience about driving all the way from North America, we have seen campers here with a Canada o USA plate but to be 100% honest we don’t know. Good good in your trip.

      Reply

    • Sammi says

      March 20, 2017

      Honestly we don’t know too much about it since we’ve never done it before. There is a Backpacking through Central America FB group that talks a lot about this I’m sure you can find someone who has done it before.

      Reply