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Anybody been to Costa Rica?

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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
So I'm going to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in a few weeks, and I'm super excited. Two weeks of the trip I will be traveling with a volunteer organization doing lots of spays/neuters of pet and stray dogs as well as working on general livestock care (but should be doing lots of non-vet fun stuff too), and the first week I'll be touring Costa Rica with a couple of friends...just wondering if anyone on here has been there, and if they have any recommendations on things to do, places to go (be it towns, parks, or a really good restaurant/bar/hotel/club/whatever), etc? So far, I'll be hitting Manuel Antonio (beach+rainforest national park,and yes, I'm sold on the large monkey population there) and Monteverde (very famous cloud forest). I'm an outdoorsy and active person, love trying new things and new experiences, speak Spanish well (and am traveling with a fluent speaker), and as I went to Mongolia last summer I'm not afraid to travel the non-resort way in foreign countries.
May 16 2011 11:35PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
cool story
May 16 2011 11:37PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
I feel like this should be said as "cool story, hansel". Yes, I'm a Zoolander fan.
And thanks
May 16 2011 11:38PM
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theJones
Posts: 676 - Karma: 158
my whole family went there over march break, but i wasn't invited I know nothing about the area and am of no help to you.

that is all, have a fun trip
May 16 2011 11:42PM
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Panda_with_Guns
Posts: 3040 - Karma: 1,620
GO TO MONTE VERDE. DO THE ZIPLINE THERE. LISTEN TO ME. but pretty much anywhere you go there you should have a good time. also the beaches are great as long as you wear plenty of sunscreen. locals=usually friendly
May 16 2011 11:46PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
face it, you only made the thread to talk about yourself. dont pretend to have interest in others.
May 16 2011 11:47PM
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Bar_Down
Posts: 5896 - Karma: 395
i lol'd
May 16 2011 11:48PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
Isn't that the point of asking advice? I made a thread to ask for advice, giving back story so that those reading can see what I have thought of already and can contribute better to MY trip based on what they have done. As with any advice-seeking, the seeker is looking to others' experiences in order to better their own. Naturally it involves talking about yourself, silly.
May 16 2011 11:50PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
And mental note on the zipline...thank you!
May 16 2011 11:50PM
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Panda_with_Guns
Posts: 3040 - Karma: 1,620
also the beach your going to is the tits. the zipline is indescribeable. your like litterally 300 feet above the forest going lik 60 mph. sick shit. the howler monkeys might wake you in the morning but its worth it. REALLY worth it.
May 16 2011 11:57PM
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SeanTom
Posts: 7936 - Karma: 1,747
i went there last fall. /story
May 16 2011 11:58PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
Sweet! Sounds like I picked two good places to check out, thanks for the input!
May 17 2011 12:57PM
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beardstatus
Posts: 800 - Karma: 19
Monteverde was kinda fucking boring except for ziplining. If you wanna party and surf hit up Tamarindo. It's kind of American-ized as it has Pizza Hut and Subway but it was really sick there
May 17 2011 1:01PM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Monteverde, Quepos, and Manuel Antonio are both pretty sick. You should also go check out the Arenal Volcano too. When I was there a few years ago you could see it spurting out lava at night which was pretty cool. Umm, if you want to surf, I've been to both Playa Grande and Tamarindo and they were both fun. San Jose is pretty much a shit hole, so I would stay out of the city and most in the outer towns and rainforest areas. Oh, and don't mind the taxi drivers, they're all insane and you'll probably think you're going to die multiple times per trip, but you'll probably be ok.
May 17 2011 1:05PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
Manuel Antonio is a a good surf spot. I lived in Tamarindo for a couple months last spring teaching surfing that place is a pretty cool little town as well. Good surfing (a lot of beaches are close), decent clubbing (ladies night and/or salsa dancing pretty much every night at SOME bar), and one of most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. VERY touristy though...as in you don't need to speak any Spanish to get by if you're on vacation.

Monteverde is fuckin sick. Nuff said.
May 17 2011 1:12PM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
I lived in costa rica for 3 weeks one winter. Your going there during the summer?? Have fun swimming to the grocery store!



The country is amazing. I stayed in Matapolo which is on the pacific side in the southern half of costa rica. The farthest I went north was San jose. I recommend going to quepos, San Isidro. You have to try the iguana in San Isidro, and se veche as well.

In matapolo there is a pack of 30+ monkeys, buy a bushel of bananas for like 2.00 USD and hang it in a tree somewhere. The monkeys will come.

My personal opinion is to stay far far away from the resorts and tourist attractions. Meet people in a small village, let them know your not just a tourist and make your own adventures.
I did do a zip line, the volcano zip line is by far the best from what I hear.


If you surf hit up the Pavones, actually hit up Pavones even if you don't surf. It like the longest left in the world or close to it.
May 17 2011 1:24PM
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rigzz
Posts: 1768 - Karma: 147
My aunt has a baller beach house in costa rica. /claim
May 17 2011 1:30PM
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tripnip
Posts: 1882 - Karma: 482
bump I'm going there next week
May 17 2011 1:34PM
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$line$
Posts: 67 - Karma: 10
If you want to surf, definetely go to Playa Negra!  So layed back, not that many tourist, and just a sick little surf town with super consistent waves.  I just got back from there and all I can think about is how much a want to move there.  Such a good vibe and best waves.
May 17 2011 2:40PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
I lived in Dominical (like 1/2hr south of Manuel Antonio) for 3 1/2 months this past winter. Keep your shit locked and safe, more likely than not you will get robber. It's pretty nice there to visit. I'm not going back for years though, I like Panama way more.
May 17 2011 2:47PM
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flaming_bases
Posts: 114 - Karma: 11
be careful of the population of poisonous snakes and shit, my mom got chased by one, luckily our tour guide stomped the fuck out of it. If you are goingto be exploring the wilderness (witch you should, just dolt let he howler-monkeys scare you, theyre gonna convince you that they have a human baby and they're ripping its limbs off, i was like 12 and i literally started crying) make sure you wear thick rubber boots that go up high, it will protect you from the plethora of venemous snakes. Dont buy into the stupid fucking hiking sneakers.
May 17 2011 3:04PM
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Stope.Neeze
Posts: 594 - Karma: 148

been to costa rica its sick

May 17 2011 4:55PM
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AWALLRUS.
Posts: 5762 - Karma: 223
my uncle went to costa rica a couple years ago.

he got a virus that made him not want to eat much and put on weight when he did.

he also went rafting
May 17 2011 5:06PM
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Panda_with_Guns
Posts: 3040 - Karma: 1,620
unless you stayed in probably the best hotel in the country on the mountain side. you literally got a shuttle bus to go to the different parts on the property of it
May 17 2011 5:39PM
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t*money
Posts: 24 - Karma: 10
Definitely check out the beach town Tamarindo.  The surfing is great and the town is fun
May 20 2011 5:13PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
Thanks for the advice everyone!
May 24 2011 10:07AM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
have fun traveling through shit hole countries while "helping" a place that will never get better.
May 24 2011 10:12AM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
I would say most people would agree that Costa Rica is NOT a shithole. It's one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse places in the world, not too mention great for surfing and other outdoor activities. But some people prefer only traveling to safe and industrialized places, or even just stay in their fancy hotel, and don't like doing good things. That's ok too.
May 24 2011 10:17AM
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Skittle.
Posts: 2537 - Karma: 718
went there a few years ago. go zip-lining and find some natural hot springs
May 24 2011 10:25AM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
Haha truth.
May 24 2011 10:31AM
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FROSTWEAR
Posts: 132 - Karma: 11
hit up san jose for sure, it is super awesome. theres some pretty nice cafes and such, and a lot of people speak english, if that's an issue. also, if you're going to be in Nicaragua, stop by san juan del sur, grenada, or leon. all super cool places.
May 24 2011 10:37AM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
This. There is an open air pizza place there, pretty sure its one of the only places to get legit pizza in that area. And its AMAZING!


If you are in the area of Matapalo there is a little local burger place called Tico Gringo. They watch football every sunday and the old man that owns it is absolutely hilarious.
May 24 2011 12:06PM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Seriously? Sure, San Jose is a dirty shit hole, but outside the big city Costa Rica is absolutely beautiful, and the people are all really nice and always curious about America haha.
May 24 2011 12:11PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
LOL maybe if you're staying in Los Suenos.
May 24 2011 12:13PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
Bad experience? I've always heard that people in CR/Nic for the most part are really friendly and interested/curious as well (which is pretty much always my experience in my foreign travels), and that other then the usual pick-pocketing and stealing and such that happens everywhere anyway there wasn't a lot of tourist-related crime. I mean, I feel like there can be good and bad people/experiences anywhere, and if you are looking to avoid the bad then just stay in your house.
May 24 2011 12:23PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
In my 3.5 months there I met a lot of great people don't get me wrong. But I couldn't walk from my house down to the beach without getting harassed, whistled, or hissed at. I saw a lot of good people get robbed. There's garbage everywhere, and hookers. People like to think CR's beautiful and pristine, lots of places are but only the remote beaches. I think I stayed there too long, the first three weeks were great. But it's not the place for me. I really like Panama though.
May 24 2011 12:42PM
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vandersteeze
Posts: 2650 - Karma: 1,511
I rallied quads in the Playa Tamarindo area
May 24 2011 12:46PM
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Token
Posts: 41 - Karma: 10
This.

And go to the Tabacon hot springs by arenal if you can. its probably kinda pricey but its a pretty amazing place.
May 24 2011 1:03PM
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caliskigirl
Posts: 393 - Karma: 67
Fair enough, and sounds like I picked the perfect amount of time to be there. I would love to see Panama too at some point too.
May 24 2011 1:04PM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I almost stayed at the Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort or whatever it's called. It looked amazing. I ended up actually staying at the base of the Arenal Volcano though in like a private cabin type thing. Pretty awesome either way. But yeah, the hot springs looked really nice.
May 24 2011 1:18PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
Yeah, the people of CR, even in those really nice areas, those that aren't making money off tourists legally are making money off tourists illegally :P
May 24 2011 1:28PM
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