Costa Rica in 7 days

by crv.staff
05.08.09
12:58 PM UTC

Filed in Costa Rica

Author: Eileen Thornton

We first visited this country 14 years ago, loved it then and love it now. Costa Rica is one of the places almost everyone wants to go to, and should.

Getting there from Jacksonville is quite easy. Some airlines go from Jax to Atlanta to San Jose delta.com, cheaper one from Ft. Lauderdale spiritair.com, and the last flight we took was with jetblue.com out of Orlando. You can also fly into Liberia. We always choose San Jose and from Orlando it’s just a 3 hour flight.

Let’s take a whirlwind trip around the Pacific side of Costa Rica, visiting some of my favorite places. We arrive in San Jose about 12:30pm. After customs we’re ready to get a shuttle to our hotel, Holiday Inn Express gardencourtairporthotel.com. It’s the most convenient and very nice. After a bite to eat at the Denny’s right there, we’ll get our rental car which we reserved before leaving home. We usually use Thrifty car rental, but there are several right there. At night we can go downtown to a restaurant, my favorite is the Holiday Inn-Aurola aurolahotels.com, their restaurant is on the 17th floor with glass all around so you get a beautiful view of the city and mountains. Take a taxi and, to be safe, do not walk around by yourself at night. After dinner it’s time for some casino fun back at the hotel in the Fiesta casino. Told you the hotel was convenient.

Early rise today, you won’t mind, it gets daylight very early here. We’re heading for Arenal Volcano, Driving in Costa Rica isn’t too bad, the roads aren’t the greatest and some drivers are very impatient so drive defensively. On the way to Arenal a stop in Sarchie is welcome. Here you wil find beautiful hand painted items. Most of the smaller items can be found throughout Costa Rica, but this is where they paint them and you can watch the locals painting. Hand made furniture is made here as well. If you choose a large item it can be shipped back to the states, I have done this with no problems.

Arenal volcano is active and on a clear night you can watch the lava flowing down the sides. A rumble can also be heard at night. There are many hotels to stay at here, all different price ranges and amenities Arenal.net. This is a very beautiful part of Costa Rica, because of the cooler temperatures and the rainfall the flowers are in abundance. I can never decide whether I like it here or at the ocean better.

In the morning we rise to the sound of monkeys in the mountains around us. They sound like gorillas but are really small. Leaving the volcano, we drive around Lake Arenal. This is a very large manmade lake, famous for bass fishing and wind sailing on one side of the lake. We’re heading to the ocean over some mountains which is a nice drive, a little rough and winding, but nice.

Tonight we’re staying in Jaco (pronounced Haco), A tourist town with lots of resturants, shops and surfers. Because of the long ride from Arenal we’ll stay here 2 nights. My favorite place to stay here is La Cocal hotel, hotelcocalandcasino.com, it is in the middle of town, right on the ocean, reasonable, 2 pools, a Tucan in a cage and an on site casino.

The beaches on the Pacific side of Costa Rica are beautiful, clear water and palm trees and the sand is black (really dark brown) Not a lot of shells to be found but sand dollars are plentiful.

After a nice rest and plenty of shopping for souvenirs, we’re off to Quepos and the national park Manuel Antonio. A beautiful drive down the coast through farms and small towns, lots of cows here mostly brahmas. You really don’t want to eat a Costa Rican steak, very tough, so only order an imported one.

Quepos is a quaint, quiet town famous for the deep sea fishing. If you are lucky enough to catch a marlin of sailfish, you will have to release it after pictures. Costa Rica is very eco friendly. You can take a lunch or dinner cruise on a sail boat (very nice). Just past Quepos, up the mountain, is Manuel Antonio national park manuelantoniopark.com, It is well worth the $10.00 it costs to enter. The beaches here are beautiful! Some have waves and some just like a bay, all have white sand and clear blue water. Following the many paths there you can see mangroves, monkeys, sloths, birds, and very old trees. Very educational and enjoyable (if you like walking) Be sure to bring your swimsuit.

Just outside the park are numerous hotels, some are quite expensive, so research them carefully.

Well, it’s back to San Jose for our last night in Costa Rica. Rest up this evening and get an early flight home.

Have a good flight and see you next time.

Rating 4.00 out of 5