Going to Costa Rica for 9-10 days. Leaving on Tuesday and still don't have a good idea of what to do.
Any suggestions? Not looking to wreck myself hopping from one place to the next every day.
>>1119390
http://www.slothsanctuary.com/
>>1119398
Not big on tours, but that actually seems pretty cool. Might check it out.
>>1119411
Yeah, tours is tours, but shit -- it's sloths, and sloths are bros.
Poke around a little, there may be a less packaged alternative.
>Not big on tours
You'll get more useful answers if you let us know what sort of stuff you ARE into.
>>1119415
I'm pretty familiar with /trv/. The reason I didn't give too much info is that I'm really open to just about anything, within reason. I'll only be there for a week and a half and don't have much time, so I just want to see some cool ideas and be able to pick and choose.
I'm also interested in what people in Costa Rica are like. Colombians were very friendly - is the dynamic the same in CR as well? Any rainy season tips? I lived in India and know what the monsoon and shit is like. Is the rainy season in CR similar, wherein you just have one or two strong rains every day?
Things I'm NOT interested in:
>sex tourism
>le crazy drugs
>partying (although I am fine with bars and awesome clubs)
Otherwise, I have an open mind. The only reason I'm even going to CR is because the ticket was cheap, so this is more of a spontaneous thing than anything.
24-hour-ish bump
>>1119420
i can pretty much tell you everything there is to now about CR. lived there for about 6 years.
>interested in what people in Costa Rica are like
generally they are very friendly people. if you ever have a problem ask anybody for help and 10 people will come
>Any rainy season tips
it depends on where you are but normally it starts raining between 1 and 2pm. stops at around 4 or 5pm.
So start your trips in the morning if youre visiting during rainy season since its allreday getting dark at 6pm and most national parks close at 4pm anyways.
places you should def visit:
Centre:
La Fortuna/ Arenal (the volcano is right next to the town), Rio Celeste (about 1 1/12 hours by car from la fortuna)
pacific coast:
Tamarindo/ Playa Conchal, Playa Manuel Antonio
caribien coast:
puerto viejo
>NOT interested in le crazy drugs
weeds pretty awesome tho. just dont get ripped of
in case you have further questions, im gonna leave this thread open for a couple of hours
>>1119725
Thanks for the advice! My favorite part of traveling is usually meeting people, which is why I've enjoyed places with vibrant cultures so much (like Colombia). I was hoping Costa Rica would be similar, with friendly and nice people. Wasn't sure if CR being such a big tourism hotspot might have changed that dynamic.
How can you navigate national parks and do enough to be happy if they close at 4pm? Can you camp overnight in cabins or rented tents? I'm taking a budget flight with only a small carry-on, so I can't bring my own tent.
What would region or part of the country would you recommend for a trip as short as mine? Which coast should I stick to? I was thinking the Caribbean Coast sounded more chill.
Nothing against weed, DESU. I just never have had a good experience with marijuana. I always get really paranoid and have fucked up, existential crises, like a bad LSD trip except less extreme.
>>1119768
answering you in a couple of hours.
bumping this thread in the mean time
>>1119768
>>1119868
>Wasn't sure if CR being such a big tourism hotspot might have changed that dynamic.
desu, in some places it really has during the last ten years. Ive known the country even before i moved there and still visit once a year.
Overall people are still the same down to earth folks they've always been. Only during high and peak season things change a little due to the increased tourism as you said.
But since you're traveling during the rainy/ low season no place will really be crowded with tourists. I also always experienced everything to be more relaxed during that time.
>How can you navigate national parks and do enough to be happy?
If you stay in any Park for 3+ hours you should have seen the most important parts of it. So just visit in the morning at around 10
>Can you camp overnight in cabins?
yes i always used to rent a room in a so called "cabina". prices range from 10 to 20$ per night normally
>What would region or part of the country would you recommend
desu id recommend you the pacific coast and the centre of the country. try to visit the places I've mentioned before.
if you stick to those you'll be fine and you can easily see all of those in 10 days if you have your own car.
in case you travel low budged and thus have less time due to taking the bus, cancel manuel antonio and puerto viejo
>I always get really paranoid.
I know that feel. only happened to me when i mixed it with tobacco tho. or when i smoked way to much at once
>Pic related, a photo of rio celeste i took when i went to CR in march.
its really a must see imo
>>1120011
depends on what you're looking for.
hookers are easy to find. they're mostly dominican tho
then there are the easy ones, the gold diggers (obv looking for some rich gringo) and the prudes (very religious cunts)
on a hotness scale id only rate em a 6-7/10 tho columbians are way more beautiful.
Hottest bitches are the mixed ones tho. half european half costa rican is the best. fucking goddesses imo
>>1120034
OP here.
I didn't ask that question. I have a girlfriend and don't want to turn this thread into le sex tourism discussion. If I want to fuck girls, I will, don't need to ask about one thing that's practically the same everywhere.
Will ask more questions later. At work, so I can't type too much.
Headed to CR June. 5th-June13th. This is my first time visiting another country. What should I expect?
>Pic related
>>1119398
>http://www.slothsanctuary.com/
nigga you tryin to make me go to costa rica?
>>1121103
The Power of Sloth compels you!
>>1121102
as far as i can tell you're gonna be near tamarindo.
its a nice town desu. they have a decent night club, lots of people form around the world live there and playa conchal (beautiful beach) is only a 15 min drive
>went there in april
Hi! im interested in going there too. my plan is, to stay for 1-2 weeks. i would like to see the rainforrest and both coasts. i thought about hireing a local guide for the trip from coast to coast and through the rainforrest. is it even possible to hire somebody? is it a good idea? how would i find somebody and how much would it cost me if he guides us for 1-2 weeks? ty!
Jumping in this thread....
I'm going to CR in early/mid November for my brother's wedding. He's getting married in Manuel Antonio so we'll be spending Thursday thru Saturday there. (Wife and two kids will be there as well)
We're only staying til Monday so I figured maybe we'll go up and spend Sunday around Alajuela. Check out the volcano or Zoo Ave or both.
Mainly, I'm wondering if I should rent a car. I've heard some nightmare stories about the roads and bridges there, and I guess they don't use the traditional address system I'm used to. I plan on getting a SIM card at the airport when I arrive, so hopefully staying connected won't be an issue. Will I lose service completely in some areas?
Any other suggestions on what to do on Sunday?
>>1121260
hey, tico-fag from earlier in this thread.
So basically id recomend you to stay the whole two weeks if thats possible. the country has a lot to offer and if you dont want to miss out on anything you need time.
hireing a guide is possible in the national parks. they cost you around 10$ (p.P) and will show you the most important parts of the park as well as give you more insight in the rainforest-world.
i have never met a person who hired somebody for the entire trip. the only thing i know of is people traveling around the country in big groups of 30 or so. there, a guide is allways present and he chooses everything you guys do.
from personal experience i do not recommend you that kind of trip, just rent a car and explore the country by yourself, hire a guide when in the park and ask locals (maybe at the hotel-desk) where to eat and what else to do
hope i could help you
>>1121489
alright so youre only staying for 5 days?
desu that is not alot of time to do anything since you stay most of the time in manuel antonio (beautiful beach btw, the national park is phenomenal)
if you have only one or two days to do anything around San Jose id recommend you to check out the Poás Vulcano. its about an hour away from there. dont visit any zoos. any national park has more to offer and they want to shut down all zoos anyway soon.
dude no worries about the roads. its been ten years since the infrastructure was shitty. tourism brought a lot of money in and they do spend most of it wisely (surprising for latin america)
so yes, def rent a car!
youll have service pretty much everywhere and the adress system is alright. since the towns are small. just type the name into google and search for your hotel or whatever when youre there. "waze" or however you call it is also a great option.
yes, get the sim card. preferablly "Claro". they have the best signal imo
sunday you could maybe visit San Jose, aka Chepe, Centro.
Maybe go to the diefferent museums. El museo de oro is pretty good, as well as the national theater
hope i could help you
OP here.
Just as an update, I wound up hopping over the border to Nicaragua to save some cash. I'm a student and a bit of a poorfag, but I'm loving it so far. Going to climb some volcano tomorrow and then hopping off to San Juan del Sur and then back over to Arenal, San Jose, and home. Pretty typical trip but I'm short on time. Nicaragua is beautiful, though, and costs a fraction of CR to get around, sleep,eat, and drink.
>>1121808
Thank you! I went ahead and booked a mini 4WD SUV
