r/CostaRicaTravel

travelling to CR in Mid November - 3 adults - hoping to focus on Santa Elena (Area) and Tortuguero. Any suggestions for mid- priced hotels or houses much appreciated. We will have a car.

Coming down again from Canada. Our travel cell plans are horribly expensive. Can anyone give any pointers on an E sim service to use while in CR to make using a cell phone more affordable?

Our Costa Rica trip starts Friday! We are super excited. We're going to Monteverde and Uvita. The question I have is about the weather: obviously we're going to get a lot of rain, but the "feels like" is looking PRETTY HOT. I'm wondering what that will look like on a daily basis. My experience with the tropics is it gets really hot and humid, and then you get a dump of rain and it "clears" a lot of humidity and things cool off a lot. Is that what folks are experiencing now? Is there any breeze? We'll have a bunch of kids with us, and we want to be practical about what we can do each day.

Thanks!

is anyone familiar with veranillo? I heard this is a period where the rainfall eases up in the summer for a short period of time. I tried looking it up but keep seeing a mix of dates in June and July and not sure if it has passed or not.

I’m hoping for nice sunny and dryer weather for this end of July and not so sure where would the best chances of that may be!

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I (both mid-20s) are planning a trip for next month and trying to decide between Jaco and Manuel Antonio for the beach days of our trip. We have 4 days set aside for being on the coast, and we would like to spend at least one of those days taking surfing lessons (total beginners!) and one day visiting Manuel Antonio national park.

I've seen reviews that Jaco has great conditions for learning to surf, but some potentially unsavory nightlife. I get the vibe that it is generally looked down on compared to other beaches, and I'm wondering how seriously to take that. On the other hand, I've heard that MA/Quepos areas are quieter and prettier, but maybe with less impressive surfing opportunities. I'm also a little concerned about the length of the drive from MA to San Jose airport, since we are planning on driving back the day of our flight home.

So, which would you recommend — using Jaco as our home base for surfing and being closer to San Jose with a day trip to MA for the park, or staying directly in MA/Quepos? Any tips on what to expect from traffic and road conditions between the two would also be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

I’m afraid of getting turned away

Me and a group of guys (all young males) are visiting Costa Rica in a few days, we'll be staying in jaco. I'm curious about what is there to do? We're definently looking forward to the beach, but honestly aside from some of the stuff we already booked im pretty in the dark about costs. How much does a night out normally cost? Regular food (I believe at the places called sodas right)? Areas to be in, areas to avoid? If im looking for a massage, how much should I be looking to spend? Did you guys use USD or colones? Any tips would help!

Hi everyone. Looking to go to Costa Rica with my girls next year. We don’t want to worry about anything so would like our own private chef and housekeeper. Looking at La Fortuna or Tamarindo. Any suggestions?

Hi,

Planning a bachelor party trip in Jaco and I’m wondering if anyone has any restaurant recommendations? Especially looking for really nice restaurants fit for big celebrations.

Also looking for more casual places as well if there’s something especially amazing.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

So my group leaves for Costa Rica this week! We are very excited, but I wanted to ask a few last-minute questions. To give you an idea of what we have planned, here is a short itinerary:

• Day 1: Arrive in San Jose late > Pick up rental car > Get food near SJO (hotel near SJO)

• Day 2: Wake up early > Drive to La Fortuna > Lunch in town > Drive to hot springs > El Salto in the evening

• Day 3: Wake up early for Fortuna Waterfall > Zipline with Arenal Mundo Aventura > Lunch in town > Hike Parque Arenal

• Day 4: Wake up early and drive to Manuel Antonio > Stop at Crocodile Bridge > Lunch in Jaco > Arrive in Quepos/Relax on the beach

• Day 5: Wake up early > All day at Manuel Antonio > Dinner in town

• Day 6: Drive back to SJO

Now that you have an idea of our itinerary, I'd appreciate recommendations. Does the order make sense? Are there things we should take out? I plan to book all of the park passes tonight.

Here are some of my other questions:

1. I know rain is typical this time of year... but I noticed a forming on the Caribbean side. Will this affect us? In the event of heavy rain, what alternatives do we have for things to do? I'm also concerned about road conditions and flooding.

2. I'd appreciate food recommendations for all of our stops (SJO, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio).

3. I'm assuming cards will be accepted in most places, but how much cash should we bring? Where can we get the best exchange rate?

4. Are there any places we should stop at on our way to La Fortuna? We saw two routes on ; which is more scenic?

5. In La Fortuna, which hot springs would you recommend? I heard there are free and paid ones. We'd prefer the free options but are open to well-priced paid locations.

6. On the drive to Manuel Antonio, any recommendations on where to stop, where to eat, and things to see?

7. At Manuel Antonio Park, are we allowed to bring food in? We plan to spend the whole day there.

I'd appreciate any advice or tips yall may have. Overall, I am very excited for this trip! Thanks in advance! :)

I am looking to take a trip in the next few weeks to CR and want to experience night life, and fishing. I have seen some all-inclusive vacation packages that offer this, but, mostly for bachelor parties and the prices are crazy as they are based on group size. Is there anything for a solo traveler that just wants to do a little fishing and hang out for a few days?

What are the most important vaccines to get when travelling to Costa Rica ? I am from Canada

Our Itinerary: 4 days Puerto Viejo, 1 day white water rafting in Siquerres, 5 days in La Fortuna, 3 days Monterverde, 4 days Uvita

We are a family of Four (with kids age 14 and 16 who love adventure) leaving tomorrow and want to know the best things to do in each location and what to avoid, Thanks

Hello fellow travellers

Im traveling with a family of six (all adults) and need to go from Monte Verde to Manuel Antonio by car. We want to stop for a day and a night on the way. We just want to relax at the beach and a cheap hotel. Do you recommend stopping in puntarenas or Jaco? Thanks in advance.

Hi everybody! My fiance and I are getting married at the end of September 2025, and we were initially thinking of doing Costa Rica for our honeymoon as we absolutely love wildlife and were really excited for the biodiversity of the rainforests. However, whilst researching I realized that September is one of the wettest months in Costa Rica. Is it still worth traveling there at that time, or is it not recommended? Specifically we want to see wildlife, would the rain be a barrier to that? (I did see that the Caribbean side is less wet during that time period and we’d definitely be interested in spending some time there too, but the rainforests are the big draw for us). I also saw that the roads can be treacherous in the wetter months? Any advice would be super appreciated!! Thank you!

Hey all,

We’re nearing the end of our trip in this amazing country - flying back home Thursday 7 pm.

Any great tips on how we should plan our trip back to SJO?

We’re in Puerto Viejo and have been in Cahuita and Puerto Limòn.

We decided to drop Tortugero as it’s a lot of travel with our 15 month old daughter.

We’re thinking about Barbillo national park and braulio Carrillo park. We’re into hiking and not so much beaching.

Thanks.

We will be in CR next month spending several days in Uvita. Was looking at Costa Canyoning for one day and was looking to see if anyone had any feedback. Also any good restaurant recommendations?

Muchas Gracias

Hi there! Looping San Jose to La fortuna to Monteverde to manual Antonio to San Jose.

What are some interesting things to see/experience on the drive between these places? Sights/cafes etc not to miss

Can anyone recommend a nice, safe, affordable hotel in Puntarenas Costa Rica?