numo asked 8 years ago
Hello,
Your site is great, thank you for all the useful information!
We are traveling to Costa Rica for a month in January with our son who will be 8/9 months. We’re looking for a fairly relaxing holiday that will give us a chance to rest while still taking in a diverse section of the country. We are thinking of spending 2 days in San Jose, 2 weeks in the Santa Teresa/Malpais area (and do day trips north towards Samara and south towards Montezuma), 5 days in Montreverde/Arenal and the remaining week on either the pacific coast (2 days Manuel Antonio, 5 days Uvita area) or on the Caribbean coast (south or Puerto Viejo). I have a few questions. First, does this seem like a good itinerary? Would you break down the time differently? Should we go to the south pacific coast or the caribbean? I’ve heard that the Caribbean might be a bit dangerous. Is there anywhere we are missing that you would recommend? And finally, do you think we need to rent a 4×4 for the entire trip? It’s a big expense, more than our flights cost! Thank you so much!
Jenn and Matt Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi Numo,
You might want to break up the Santa Teresa time and add Samara as a separate destination since it is difficult to travel between the two (a far drive on rough roads). The same is true with Monteverde and La Fortuna (Arenal). Those destinations are several hours apart, so better to make them into their own separate stops. The Caribbean and Southern Pacific coasts both have a lot to offer, we’d have to get into what activities you are most interested in to know which would be better for you. We offer Itinerary Services that can give you some detailed help and make sure you are hitting all the right spots. You can check them out here: https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/itinerary-help/. As for the car, you’d probably want it in most of places you listed but don’t necessarily need it for the Southern Pacific or Caribbean depending on where you are staying and the activities you are doing (some are located off the main roads). The company we get a rental car discount through has offices all around the country so you could consider switching it out for a non-4×4 for parts of the trip at a local office. Hope this answers some of your questions, let us know if you are interested in our services.
