SOME RECENT TOUR IDEAS FROM OUR GUESTS:

Periodically we will post here some guest ideas for tours they want to do - perhaps you'll find some ideas here. The first trip is a family vacation of 6 people. The second is a couple looking for retirement property "anywhere in Costa Rica". The third is a couple who want to be taken on a "grand tour" to see as much as possible in 10 days.

"Taking the family on a road less traveled"

GUEST TOUR IDEA #1: THE FAMILY REUNION
"We are travelling to Costa Rica in December and plan to fly into San Jose and want to go to Arenal and Monterverde Cloud Forest and then go to Manuel Antonio and then back to the Airport in San Jose to fly home. We are interested in any recommended sights in between.

We are planning to travel for 8-9 days and are a group of 6 (4 adults and 2 children) and are interested in a private driver for all or most of the trip. Do you have any suggestions as the best way to do this and the approximate cost.

FAMILY TOUR RECOMMENDATION #1:
It would be nice to know some objectives you (particularly the kids) may have for the trip? Such as:
- rural Costa Rica
- animals in the wild
- birding
- turtles/whales/ocean
- a Costa Rican school
- or you'd like to just take it easy?
Please Note: it takes "about a day" to get anywhere in Costa Rica - our roads are pretty scenic and no highways to speak of. You need at least 2 nights in each location (better 3) for your 8 or 9 day trip.

2 nights in near airport in the central valley/active volcano/zip line/coffee tour
2 nights in Arenal/active volcano/hot springs/bird migration route
2 nights in Monteverde/cloud forest/frog farm/forest canopy - hanging bridges
3 nights in Manuel Antonio/beach . . . suggested alternate location Nosara/beach
1 night near airport for exit night - possible souvenir shopping.

Finally, it would help if you suggest hotel price ranges you'd be comfortable with - we can then suggest well run places to stay.

SEND an inquiry with your ideas or preferences to: InsightCostaRica for a quote or additional information.



GUEST TOUR IDEA #2:PROPERTY VIEWING TOUR
I'm interested in buying real estate in costa rica but before I do I would like to see the area.

"View from the slopes of Poas Volcano"

I'm not sure what activities we would like. I was thinking about white water rafting, a volcano tour, a zip line tour, deep sea fishing, and a nice beach to surf.

In between activities we would like to meet with realtors in the area to dicsuss purchasing a home on about 20 acres.Do you have any ideas for a trip like this? There would be 5 adults and we would like to come around the end of March. Please include any hotel recommendations you may have

PROPERTY VIEWING TOUR: RECOMMENDATION #2
Yes we can do such a trip - we can meet up with your realtors at whatever appointments you set. However travel takes awhile here so if you can let us know your intended locations we can suggest the best way to build the itinerary.

Places in Costa Rica are ALL further apart than they seem - a function of the quality of the roads and the speed of cement trucks. Here are a few examples from Alajuela/near the airport:
Cahuita 4 Hours
Cartago 1 HR 10 Min
Golfito 9 Hours
Jaco 2 Hours
Limon 4 HR 30 Min
Monteverde 3 HR 30 Min
Nosara/Samara (via Tempisque) 6 Hours
Playas de Cocos 4 Hours
Puntarenas 1HR 30 Min
Quepos/ManuelAntonio 3 HR 30 Min
Tamarindo 4 to 5 Hours
Volcan Irazu 2 HR 30 Min
Volcan Poas 1 Hour

For your trip, I'd suggest a quadrant
(1) the Central Valley,
(2) the Caribbean,
(3) the Northern Pacific and
(4) the Southern Pacific
It is possible you don't want to see the unique culture of the Caribbean or the perfect climate of the central valley? But I'll proceed with an outline.

• Day 1 Central Valley - arrival hotel - Alajuela, close to airport. Most arrivals are late
• Day 2 Central Valley - Poas Volcano tour (must be early), a zip line tour at Las Colinas de Poas. View Central Valley properties after 2pm (it gets dark at 6pm and nobody shows property then)
• Day 3 Transfer to Cahuita, Caribbean coast. Suggested hotel might be El Encanto. One of the nicest places on the coast.
• Day 4 Possible indigenous visit BriBri. View properties Cahuita, Puerto Viejo etc
• Day 5 Transfer to Tamarindo - this is a VERY long trip of 9 to 10 hours. You may want to break this into two days? If not suggested hotel might be Villa Alegre. One of the nicest places in Tamarindo and central to lots of places on the Guanacaste coast
• Day 6 Fishing for Dorado, Yellowfin and Sailfish. May have time for property viewing
• Day 7 You really need to stay another night as places you get on your search list are likely longer distances
• Day 7 or Day 8 Transfer to Manuel Antonio. Suggested hotel might be Mango Moon. An excellent and scenic base in Manuel Antonio. On arrival afternoon you may have a couple of hours for walking in town or in the national park
• Day 8 or 9 Property viewing. Possible late flight or return to Alajuela/airport area. We suggest the highly rated Pura Vida Hotel. Just 4KM from the airport (full disclosure: it is also our hotel :-)) and take an early flight the next day.

SEND an inquiry with your ideas or preferences to: InsightCostaRica for a quote or additional information.

GUEST TOUR IDEA #3: THE GRAND TOUR IN 10 DAYS
"I am interested in having InsightCostaRica plan a custom tour for my husband and I. We are planning to visit Costa Rica in June for 10 days. My husband has one requirement which is comfortable lodging (3 or 4 stars). We want a relaxing but active vacation where we can experience all the cool things Costa Rica has to offer without the hassles of driving or arranging every day of the vacation. We love to hike.

"Leave the fording to us"

We have been doing our research and are interested in the following if at all possible:

- the turtles in Tortugero and the experience of a wetland marshy forest - the turtles may not be nesting in June BUT we DO highly recommend an overnight boat ride to Tortuguero any time of the year
- a beautiful beach - we like Nosara a lot - not tooo many tourists and Playa Pelada is our favorite beach
- must do a volcano - locally Poas and Irazu are great day trips but MOST people want Arenal for the lava and rocks (on a clear night)
- an authentic experience of a cloud forest - we like Monteverde (Selvatura canopy walk, Childrens Rain Forest)
- ancient archaelogical site - there are some ancient ruins near Turialba, a thrice fell down church at Cartago and an old ruin in the hills nearbye - you could do this as a day trip to Irazu volcano

THE GRAND TOUR (in 10 days): RECOMMENDATION #3:
Based on time available you won't be able to make it BOTH to Tortuguero and Corcovado. June is not the best month for turtle watching so we suggest Puerto Jimenez in the south instead. This is our favorite one horse town with no horse :-).

Please Note: it takes "about a day" to get anywhere in Costa Rica - our roads are pretty scenic and no highways to speak of. As such we do recommend at least 2 nights in each location (better 3).
So here's one vesrion of your itinerary:

* Day 1 Central Valley - arrival hotel - Alajuela, close to airport. Most arrivals are late. We also run the Pura Vida Hotel - a good option :-)
* Day 2 Central Valley - Irazu Volcano tour (must leave early) - first stop Irazu volcano, then over to the ruins near Turialba, a delightful lunch at Carchi lake, the excellent gardens at Lankester if time. Stay at central valley hotel
* Day 3 Transfer to Monteverde - we exchange a lot of guests with Arco Iris and El Sol. Get there in time for a canopy walk at Selvatura and night visit to the frog farm
* Day 4 Monteverde - early cloud forest walk (you pick which forest - but DO get a guide who lives there),
* Day 5 Transfer to Nosara or maybe Tamarindo for a more touristy place. In Nosara we like the Harbor Reef - we enjoy the Villa Alegre in Tamarindo.
* Day 6 Nosara - a day on the beach doing diddly
* Day 7 Transfer to Uvita on south pacific coast - stay at Cristal Ballena - you could try going the whole way to Puerto Jimenez? But I'd suggest stopping off to at least see some of the coastal locations such as Tarcoles (crocodile watching), Carara (scarlet macaws), Mauel Antonio (park beaches) etc.
* Day 8 Transfer to Puerto Jimenez - sunset Kayak tour in the Golfo Dulce (excellent!)
* Day 9 Puerto Jimenez - day trip into the rain forest - one of the greatest biodiversities left on the planet
* Day 10 Transfer to Alajuela - airport area and take an early flight the next day (did I just run out of days? You may want to cut a day out above - you decide which?)

The prices are $150/a day for the van and English speaking driver/guide including drivers lodging. This rate is a minimum of 4 days and is double occupancy - add $10 for each additional passenger per day.

SEND an inquiry with your ideas or preferences to: InsightCostaRica for a quote or additional information.