Costa Rican Honeymoon advice

[Carolyn]

I know that's why where going to Xtapa or Nuevo Vallarta. I wish we were going to Costa Rica. I just can't handle the traveling time. Let us know what place you are picking.

[Hoosierfan]

Hi ladies,

 

So glad I found this thread! My FI are planning to honeymoon in Costa Rica for about 2 weeks after our wedding. We plan to fly into San Jose, explore and move around and end up flying out of Liberia back home. Any input/advice would be great!

[KLila]

I am very familiar with the Liberia area. My bf lives near there. I love it there. YOu will have an amazing time you must must must go to the hot springs at the base of the Arenal Volcano... I can send you photos and lodging info if needed.....

 

Also you must zipline off the back of the volcano... wowzer

[nylalany]

To hijack this thread - any last minute recs for hotels near SJO? I've read tripadvisor but am still unsure of what best fits the bill for me for my last night.

[soxgirl]

My FI and I spent three weeks in Costa Rica two years ago. We flew into San Jose, rented a car and drove to Arenal and Monteverde and then spent two weeks surfing on the Nicoya Pennisula driving from Playa Grande to Mal Pai. It was amazing!

 

I would say Tamarindo is the most crowded. It was a great place for beginners, but if you're looking for more secluded areas with bigger surf go to Playa Granda or Avellanas. I would recommend renting a car. The roads are not the best to drive on, but if you get an SUV you'll be fine. There are signs all over the place pointing to the next town.

 

Happy to help, PM if you want more information.

 

Suzanne

[Hoosierfan]

This is a huge help. We are planning to do a similar trip, so that's for validating that our plan is reasonable (2 weeks from San Jose to the coast). I may PM you for ideas around must-do's/must-see's!

[ol001sk]

If you want the Tamarindo area check out Cala Luna, I have never been but heard great things about it. I have looked into it for our honeymoon, but I am going to go down the cost to Dominical or OSA. If you want true surfing, soxgirl is right.

I used to go to Tamarindo growing up and loved it but it is a lot more crowed now. But I believe Cala Luna is a little outside of the area. I would fly into Liberia directly (no need to go through SJO) and drive or be drived to Tamarindo area.

[classadiva]

I would highly recommend that you look at the reviews for hotels at Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor. We were just in Costa Rica this past April and stayed at La Mansion Inn....OMG...IMHO..THE best hotel in Manual Antonio. I thought that we were inside of an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Because we were there during the off season, we got a great rate ...really inexpensive for what you get...and ....we were upgraded to the Presidential Suite!!! This is where people like President Clinton stay when in town. Just an amazing place.

 

Here is a link:

 

La Mansion Inn (Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

 

 

In fact, it was the 2009 winner for Best Romance/Luxury Hotel in the area. When we went earlier this year..it was ranked #1....now I see it is at #10...the Trip Advisor ratings are always up and down. By the way, Mango Moon which was mentioned above is also highly rated. From the link I posted, you can get to links to all of the other hotels in Manual Antonio.

[classadiva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoosierfan This is a huge help. We are planning to do a similar trip, so that's for validating that our plan is reasonable (2 weeks from San Jose to the coast). I may PM you for ideas around must-do's/must-see's!

2 weeks is very reasonable. We did 9 days and stayed in San Jose 1 night, Arenal 3 nights, Manual Antonio 3 nights and back to San Jose 1 night. I used an on-line travel service called Latin Destinations: Latin America Vacations, Central America Vacations, South America Vacations, Mexico Trips that was AMAZING!! They handled everything...all of our transfers....and there were several including a flight from Arenal to Quepos/Manual Antonio. Our drivers were always early on right on time. They booked the rooms...basically...it was effortless. You can customize the trip you want for VERY reasonable prices. As I said above, we stayed in THE most fabulous hotel in Manual Antonio in my opinion and the best hotel in San Jose..... all for less than $3,300 for both of us for 9 days transfers included.

[mexbride83]

The Falls Resort in Manuel Antonio! One of my favorite hotels that I have ever stayed at. It is currently ranked #3 on TripAdvisor, and it is very deserving. Like most people commenting on here, we went during low season and got an incredible rate. The service was so wonderful, we actually stay in touch with the bartender to this day! And I dream about the breakfasts that the cook made for us every morning (included).

 

Also, if you end up going to Manuel Antonio then you MUST go to Kapi Kapi (Kapi Kapi, Manuel Antonio National Park - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor) for dinner one night! My fiance and I were in MA for 5 nights and we ate at Kapi Kapi 2 of them, despite all the amazing restaurants that are there. It has been almost a year since our trip, yet we still talk about how incredible that food was on a regular basis. We are total "foodies", love to go out and try all the top restaurants in our city and wherever we travel, and few have compared to Kapi Kapi!