The Osa and Matapalo are incredible.
Watching a good friend play music at Martina’s in the middle of the Jungle was an evening I will never forget.
We have been to Costa Rica at least a dozen times since the '80s and always find something to do. There is more than beaches and sun in Guanacaste. Guanacaste is a large state with varied terrain. We have climbed Miravalles and Rincon de la Vieja (however la Vieja is probably off limits now due to recent activity), ziplined in several places with very long runs, visited Granada, Nicaragua and boated on Lake Nicaragua, taken boat trips to hard to access beaches for barbecues, snorkeled, scuba dived, fished - anyway you get the idea. In Guanacaste,we usually rent a house at or near Playa Hermosa. It is close to the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia which is the airport we use when we are going to Guanacaste and also to Arenal. Haven’t flown into San Jose in years. Last year we found our all time favorite restaurant - La Farola in Playas del Coco. It is a Spanish restaurant owned by Spaniards who moved there from Leon, Spain. It is a higher end restaurant. Essential ingredients are imported from Spain and they have a great and appropriate wine list.
If you also stay in the Arenal area in Alajuela province and are in good physical condition you can speelunker at Venado Caves. One of our favorite activities is white water rafting. There are trips from Guanacaste and the Arenal area. Most operators won’t take me because of my age but GoTours arranged for a great rafting trip on the Rio Sarapiqui, Class III/IV rapids - no class V for me. That adventure was taken while we were in the Arenal area as was a very pleasant boat trip into the Caño Negro where you can actually see more wildlife. Mountain climbing and rappelling down waterfalls are also available. For relaxation there are some great natural hot springs.
We have used GoTours for some activities both in Guanacaste and Arenal http://gotourscostarica.com/ Great guys, fair prices, very flexible. Can put together bespoke too if you wish. For some activities it is best to use a tour operator. A lot of attractions in Costa Rica are privately owned and managed which is the Costa Rican way of helping to preserve their natural beauty. Tour operators have access and know these places quite well.
If you have a couple of weeks, I would recommend spending a week in the Arenal area. We always rent this house http://www.redsunsetcr.com/ reasonably priced, beautiful views, a typical rough road up to the house but well worth it. A home cooked breakfast is part of the rate and the owner will cook dinner for you if you wish. Last year we had him cook a Mediterranean dinner. Everything was homemade and outstanding. Price $15 per head. We had him stock the refrigerator with Imperial and Bavaria (local beers) before we arrived.
I have seen some comments that you don’t need four wheel drive. That might be so but we always rent four wheel drive and if you are going in the rainy season it would be foolhardy not to. Some roads in and around the beach are not paved and the peace of mind you get from having four wheel drive available is worth it. We have had to ford washed out roads and some rather tricky wet mountain and beach roads over the years. The extra road clearance is also a plus because many roads aren’t paved and they can have large rocks or holes that need to be negotiated. We rent from https://vamosrentacar.com and have had excellent experiences. You will likely communicate with Tiziana and she is great about answering your questions and prompt to reply. We do not buy the additional insurance because I use my AMEX card and their flat rate Premium Auto Rental coverage - $24.95 per rental (not per day). Costa Rica is a covered country.
As you can tell, we love visiting the country and find no shortage of new things to do every time we go. Last thing I will say before I shut up. There is no shortage of adventures to be had in Costa Rica. Go, explore, enjoy!
Great post, Michael.
I’ve had more than one encounter with theiving monkeys. None of them were good, usually bad.
I am a driving guy myself and if you are, you will probably want to fly to Daniel Oduber International in Liberia and drive down from there. The trip will take less time than leaving from San Jose and the road will be better although that is a relative term. If you are going to fly, you will take Nature Air from SJO to Nosara. They have two flights a day unless that has changed. Hard to imagine but one of those flights make a stop before getting to Nosara and the nonstop which is an early afternoon flight is the least expensive at ~$140 RT. That rate is approximate for the highest class flight giving you the biggest luggage allowance. Lower fares with lower baggage allowances are available. Baggage allowance depends on the fare class purchased ranging from about 15# - 40#. I am not completely sure but I don’t think Sansa flys to Nosara anymore.
Not just monkeys but iguanas too. They can get pretty aggressive begging for food.
Was definitely a funny thing for us that morning. Mostly, we only saw moneys from a distance. No big deal.
Monkeys in our hotel, the white faced, were not afraid to get a little aggressive if they thought food was involved. Cornered my wife and tried to get into our room. I laughed, she did not.
Here’s some friendly monkeys at breakfest.
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