Headed to Costa Rica (San Jose and Quepos) with the wife for some R&R, next week. Any advice, things to do, stay away from, etc.

Will appreciate any input!

Get to Manuel Antonio as it opens.
Stop off and watch the crocs at the Tarcoles bridge
Skip Jaco
Eat at Bowie Point on the way down.
Nauyaca falls is worth the drive
Matapalo is my favorite beach in the world.

Finally, try the travel board. There are several great threads on this.

DO NOT watch Aggie football while you're there. Enjoy yourself

If you're up for an excursion (several hours away, but day trip) head to Arenal Volcano and do a mixed ZipLine/Repel/Tarzan Rope/rafting type day.

Safe, and crazy fun

Rule 1 on the wife, rook.

True story about the Tarcoles River Bridge. In the summer of 2014, my wife and I were driving around with a tour guide we hired for the day. When we got to the bridge, the guy told us about a Nicaraguan who was drunk and depressed because he lost his job so he decided to take a swim. His friends tried to stop him, but he jumped in and was devoured by the crocodiles. The tour guide went on to say that later a woman downstream found the Nicaraguan's head.

That night when we got back to the resort, I told my wife that I bet that was a story that the tour guide just made up to impress the tourists - who would be dumb enough to jump into a river where you can clearly see dozens of crocs?. But google came through again:

Costa Rica crocodiles tore this man apart

Edit for typo 2014, lol

How can it be a true story if 2024 hasn't happened yet?

They used to sell dead chickens for $1.00 that you could feed to the crocs on the bridge, but that was put to a stop before we ever went there.

Be careful on excursions. They are fine but do NOT follow Google Maps religiously. From Arenal to Jaco, we ended up high in the mountains on dangerous roads that fell 1000 feet on either side! Try to follow the interstates when possible.

We enjoyed eating at El Avion restaurant near Quepos. It has an american cargo plane built into it, but also a great view. The cargo plane was apparantly imported from Nicaragua, after being left behind by Oliver North during the Iran-Contra affair. Something like that.

https://www.elavion.net/

Agree with hitting the park early. we got there when it closed.

There was also a "secret beach" near Quepos, you have to park, walk down a path, then it opens up into a cool beach area. In searching, I believe Playa Biesanz rings a bell. But a google search brings up several. In the summer there was maybe one vendor there with beer, food and such, in a make-shift tiki hut. Pretty cool.

I advise going to the Travel board with this inquiry.

Wife and I went to the Tenorio Volcano when we were there. Was beautiful.

Ayahuasca retreat.
Rhythmia

Shagga said:

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True story about the Tarcoles River Bridge. In the summer of 2024, my wife and I were driving around with a tour guide we hired for the day. When we got to the bridge, the guy told us about a Nicaraguan who was drunk and depressed because he lost his job so he decided to take a swim. His friends tried to stop him, but he jumped in and was devoured by the crocodiles. The tour guide went on to say that later a woman downstream found the Nicaraguan's head.

That night when we got back to the resort, I told my wife that I bet that was a story that the tour guide just made up to impress the tourists - who would be dumb enough to jump into a river where you can clearly see dozens of crocs?. But google came through again:

Costa Rica crocodiles tore this man apart

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I narrowly avoided being part of a mass casualty event in somewhat similar fashion.

I was on a trip to Ixtapa with some buddies back in younger and dumber days. We'd flown in to Mexico City and a buddy who was working down there picked us up in a suburban with a couple of cases of Carta Blanca.

After a long trip and getting held up at gunpoint which we had to bribe our way out of, we get to the place we were staying at around 130a. Everyone was too keyed up to sleep so we decided to take the tram from our cliffside condo down to the beach for a swim. There was a boardwalk at the bottom of the tram that runs next to a river that feeds into the ocean.

Bear in mind that none of us have ever been to this place, so we didn't know the lay of the land.

About half way down the boardwalk, someone in the group says "let's just jump over the railing here and let the river take us out to the ocean."

We had two guys starting to go over, and one perched on top about to dive in, when the rest of us talked them out of it, mostly because it might take longer. So we walked to the beach instead, swam and bodysurfed, and headed back up without incident.

The next morning we came down for breakfast and noticed in the light of day, for the first time, that the place we were all about to go over the railing was the place where they fed chickens to the crocodiles for the amusement of visitors, so there were always a bunch hanging out around there. Some 12+ footers.

That story would have made CNN for sure.

PURA VIDA!!!!

Nauyaca falls is awesome! We did the horseback riding tour up to the falls. Half way up you get a costa rican breakfast. We swam in the lagoon at the bottom of the falls, rode half way back and stopped for a costa rican lunch. A really fun day.

Several of the beaches are great. Just be careful. Riptides and petty theft.

If you are going to Quepos the only answer is fishing.

Haven't been in years but the views from the bar/restaurant were unbelievable. Always vowed to stay here but haven't made it yet.

https://hotelvillacaletas.com/

Need more info on how many days at each, whether you will have your own car, and what activities you generally like to give much insight.

I've been to San Jose several times. Never found anything there worth staying any longer than necessary. One benefit is launching to la fortuna, which is not close enough for a day trip IMO.

Expect everything especially driving to take 2x as long as you think. This is not the place to visit if you're in a rush or trying to bounce between multiple locations quickly.

Tolucaag, hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your post. My wife and I just started thinking about a trip to Costa Rica in late January. We went a few years ago, flew into San Jose, rented a car and drove to most of the must-see spots, stayed in VRBO homes on Pacific side and Arenal, and Monteverde, which we loved. I typically don't like staying in "resorts" as they can be too uppity and overpriced, but we are thinking about it for this trip. I think this time will fly into Liberia and try to pick out two resorts to stay at for 3-4 days each. We like activities, snorkeling, possibly a day of fishing, watching turtles, four wheeling, short hikes, etc. Pretty adventurous and like outdoorsy stuff. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'll also check out older Costa Rica posts for ideas. Thx!

I have not stayed at the Wyndham Conchal, but it looks like it fits your description for the resort. It is an hour or so from the Liberia airport and the beach is amazing there.

I did this trip with the family a couple of months ago. I've traveled a lot in South America and was expecting food prices to be on par with Colombia, Argentina etc., but the food costs were more like here. Manual Antonio beach in the park is awesome. If you have a car and don't mind a drive I'd recommend checking out La Langosta Feliz in Savegre. It was the best meal I had in Costa Rica. The beach at Uvita is pretty cool too.

Agzonfire said:

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DO NOT watch Aggie football while you're there. Enjoy yourself

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I was there during the NCAA tourney in 2016 against N Iowa watching from a sports bar during the drubbing. I gave up on it and ended up at another bar down the street and the game was on in a small tv in the corner and I could see the ongoing misery. A few min later I looked up and you know the rest

Waterfall repelling and whitewater rafting in the Quepos area are awesome.

KALALL said:

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I did this trip with the family a couple of months ago. I've traveled a lot in South America and was expecting food prices to be on par with Colombia, Argentina etc., but the food costs were more like here. Manual Antonio beach in the park is awesome. If you have a car and don't mind a drive I'd recommend checking out La Langosta Feliz in Savegre. It was the best meal I had in Costa Rica. The beach at Uvita is pretty cool too.

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I can't say I've traveled a lot in South America. I'm assuming Colombia and Argentina are cheaper?

Congrats on your upcoming trip

Lake08 said:

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Congrats on your upcoming trip

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And congrats in advance on the sex.

Isn't that the reason for all travel?