Now, this was a wise decision... I travelled some of Asia and a lot of Australia as well as Costa Rica and have to say that I really liked Costa Rica! In fact, soon I hope to be heading back down South America way because of my trip here over Christmas, New Years of 2007/2008.
I just typed up this information for someone else who had asked me about going to Costa Rica so thought I would pass it on to you as well....
My friends and me were there over Christmas of last year and really loved it. We were there for three weeks and arranged quite a few things in the first days we were there at an agent called Ecole Travel. They were very helpful and have great priced fun tours using local providers which we found very cool and definitely more in the spirit of travelling. These are the main areas we visited (if you want to get a more detailed idea, I kept a diary on this site while we were there which you can read freely if you like-that gives a very good idea I would think);
San Jose (nice but just another city really). Then we went to Tortuguero (where the turtles lay their eggs...although in December there are none) which was great just because it was in the middle of nowhere and we were at a resort with absolutely noone there but us. In the middle of the rainforest and the best thing was getting there which was in a boat over a canal on what was about a 4 hour trip. Very fun and a good guide/boatsman who pointed out wildlife the whole way up. A lot of nature up in this area (north east). After that we went down to the south east, the Caribbean coast, to Puerto Viejo. This was very relaxed and had a definite surf mentality to it. Kind of like Byron Bay in some ways. A lot more going on than in Tortuguero and some nice restaurants and plenty of hostels and accommodation as well. After this we headed back through San Jose to the north center (monteverde, la fortuna). Both were nice but I slightly preferred Monteverde for the atmosphere. La Fortuna the city was nothing special although the volcano erupting and the bars situated in the middle of hot springs were great fun!
After this we headed over to the pacific coast, more specifically to montezuma. This was fantastic and the place we actually had probably the best, most fun time. One main bar that everyone goes to....a lot of backpackers and other travellers, a fairly nice beach with nice waves for body surfing and a very good vibe! After this we headed down south to Rio Sjerpe which again seemed more like the middle of nowhere. Some wonderful nature (we spotted whales among others) and very relaxing. That is the outline of our trip in general. It worked out beautifully for us and we didn't feel we had missed anything although we skipped a couple of really touristy areas due to the Christmas holidays which are quite a busy time when most Costa Ricans actually leave the cities and head there themselves.
Accommodation was quite easy to find everywhere. We had the most trouble with this in San Jose so it is quite a good idea to book a night or two ahead of time just so you know you have somewhere when you arrive. We travelled by public bus the whole time which is really cheap although can get rather stuffy after about 6 hours or so. But you tend to forget the rides I think....just be careful with your luggage and never lose sight of it; but I think that is a global tip! Heard some stories of people having their backpacks stolen from right under them though....always good to be extra alert!
Moneywise, there are no ATM's in Montezuma, besides that most reasonably big travel destinations have one so with a bit of planning you are ok there.
Hmm, will leave it at that for now. If anything good pops into mind, I will be sure to let you know.
Cheers and happy travels!
