STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

jah · Dooney & Bourke

Costa Rica

ViViDogWear · Kate Spade

I dunno what it is but lately i hear everyone talking about going/just one to Coast Rica. Makes m really want to check it out! I haven't heard about what to DO. Maybe just a lot of sightseeing and I think I heard you can go zip lining which is fun!

Escrime · Kate Spade

We just got back from there! A lot of what you are going to do depends on what area you are in. Where will you be staying? You must go do the ziplines. There are several throughout the country, but the ones near Arenal are the higher ones. It was a LOT of fun. Also, there are hot springs near there. Good hiking in that area and the hot springs were nice and relaxing. We were there for 5 days, and we spent about 2 of them lazing around on the beach. If you need more info, let me know. :)

jah · Dooney & Bourke

Escrime wrote:

We just got back from there! A lot of what you are going to do depends on what area you are in. Where will you be staying? You must go do the ziplines. There are several throughout the country, but the ones near Arenal are the higher ones. It was a LOT of fun. Also, there are hot springs near there. Good hiking in that area and the hot springs were nice and relaxing. We were there for 5 days, and we spent about 2 of them lazing around on the beach. If you need more info, let me know. :)

Thanks, Escrime!

Did you stay in one place? We actually haven't picked a place to stay yet. We think we will rent a car and kind of be nomadic about the country. We definitely don't want to stay in one place the whole time. My bf has a good friend from college that lives in Costa Rica. He told us to rent a car, since the BF is fluent in Spanish. We know the roads are really bad, but we like to kinda get "out in the country".

Right now, we have the following ideas on our list:

1 - Ziplines (good to know the ones that are the highest - the more "adventurous" the better!
2 - Hot springs (I guess there is one that you can sit in and see the volcano?? Is this where you were?).
3 - Canyoning -
4 - Sport fishing
5 - Lazing on the beach a couple days

Any suggestions you have on places to eat, stay, etc. would be appreciated!

Escrime · Kate Spade

We stayed in Guanacaste area in Tamarindo, which is a surfing type town, but since we were there such a short time, we decided to stay in one hotel and we took day trips. The rental car is a good idea and every one of my friends who have been there say it's the definite way to go if you are staying for longer periods. Also, make sure you get an SUV type vehicle, as the roads can get pretty crazy. We noticed that when we did our day trips.

With the hot springs, yup, those were the ones we were at. Very relaxing and we had a good time!

I know that there is whitewater rafting, too, and surfing was a big thing in the area that we were in, as well as windsurfing, so you guys might like that.

With the sportfishing, sometimes the local hotel will cook your catch for you. We made some friends while there and at the Mahi Mahi that they caught and it was awesome.

We did some sea kayaking, and we noticed that a lot of people were renting out jetskis .

And if you like coffee, the Britt coffee is really good. Everybody serves it there and we got a lot to bring home as gifts.

All the locals were super nice to us, and we met a lot of cool expats while there.

As for food, we just stopped into whatever restaurants caught out eye, and we ate a lot of really fresh and delicious seafood. Make sure you try the "typical" Costa Rican breakfast. It was really good.

I hope some of this info helped!

Oh, also wanted to add, there were some really nice hikes to some beautiful waterfalls like La Fortuna. People recommended La Paz Waterfall Gardens, but we couldn't make it. Looking at the pictures now, I wish we did go. It looks beautiful.

-- Edited by Escrime at 15:26, 2008-12-07

Vanessa · Kate Spade

A couple of years ago I did a Costa Rica trip that was a mix of beach & adventure. Here's a link to that post:

http://stylethread.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=44784&p=3&topicID=6660962

HTH!