Costa Rica trip planned in 1992
27th San Jose You take a morning flight from Saint Louis to Miami. Breakfast will be served on the flight. You may have lunch at the airport in Miami Florida. The afternoon flight will get you to San Jose just after dinner. Customs will take only about thirty minutes, and you can get a taxi to your hotel (you have suite at the Don Carlos, which in the past served as the presidential mansion).
28th San Jose and surrounding area In the morning after breakfast at the Don Carlos you may take a tour or rent a car and visit Cartago and Orosi valley. You could take a bus from San Jose to Cartago and walk around Cartago. In these areas you can see some old ruins of the colonial past. There are some special parks and gardens as well. Come back to San Jose and see the Holiday Festival. For dinner perhaps you’ll enjoy a special feast at the Gran Hotel Costa Rica.
29th San Jose Get up very early in the morning (4:00am?) and drive up to the top of Irazu Volcano. With an early start you can hope for clear weather and a view of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the spectacular crater and most of Costa Rica. You can be back in San Jose by the early afternoon and take a refreshing nap. You may also want to walk around and enjoy the carnival. In the evening you may go to the National Theater and enjoy a play or concert. It’s your third and final night in the beautiful old Don Carlos hotel.
30th Pan de Azucar After breakfast in the hotel you drive out to the Northwest coast (about a five hour drive) where you stop at Playa Pan de Azucar (Sugar Beach) near Guanacaste on the Nicoya Peninsla. Probably almost no one will be there, so you should have the beach and your hotel all to yourselves. You’ll stay at the Playa Pan de Azucar, where all your meals will be provided.
31st Pan de Azucar Enjoy a Thursday (or Friday if it’s 1993) at the beach. This is New Year’s Eve. Relax and enjoy swimming or snorkling.
1st Monteverde Cloud Forest After breakfast you drive to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. In less than three hours of driving you can be at the park. This park has special birds and many other special animals and plants. You will stay at the Pensión el Questzal, right next to the park (food is provided).
2nd Monteverde Cloud Forest This Saturday you walk through the park and enjoy the charms of a tropical forest. Have another night at the Pensión el Questzal and look for birds.
3rd San Jose Drive back to San Jose in the morning (less than four hours of driving). Turn in your rental car and enjoy San Jose’s museums in the afternoon. The Gold Museum has special 1
1/2 hour tours in English and Spanish. There is also a Jade museum. These museums show some Indian artifacts and jewelry. Tonight you stay in a Chinese hotel called Hotel Fortuna.4th Manuel Antonio National Park This morning take a taxi to the airport and get a plane to Quepos, a small town near Manuel Antonio National Park. Take a taxi into the park and check in at the Cabinas Los Almendros. Enjoy the afternoon snorkling or walking in the jungle.
5th San Jose In the morning ride horses along the beach and the jungle. Perhaps go for one more snorkling swim or one last hike into the forest. Then take taxi back to Quepos and get a late afternoon flight to San Jose. Enjoy dinner in San Jose and spend another night at the Hotel Fortuna.
6th Limón If the train has been repaired (the railroad was wiped out in 1991 and presently no trains are running) you can take the long, slow train down to the Atlantic coast (eight hours). The train is very scenic. In the coastal city of Limón you will have dinner and stay at the very fancy Hotel Matama where you can hear the sounds of the jungle right outside your windows.
7th Cahuita After breakfast at your hotel you can go to the bus station and take the 10:00am bus to Cauita (one hour on the bus). In Cahuita you should check in at the Cabinas Atlantida and then head out to the beach for some snorkling. There is a forest in the National Park on the way to the beach.
8th Cahuita This day you may want to head South to an Indian area where you can see traditional crafts. Or you may just want to relax and spend another day in the Cahuita National Park. Perhaps you can find the sunken Spanish galleon out on a coral reef.
9th Home In the morning you take the bus back to San Jose from Cahuita (less than four hours on the bus). In San Jose you take a taxi to the airport and get your evening flight to America. You can sleep on the flight. You’ll be back home in Saint Louis before breakfast time.
This vacation is planned for two persons during the Winter vacation from December 27th to January 9th. The cost would be between $2000 and $2500 for absolutely everything mentioned above and other things such as souvenirs. A couple hundred dollars could be subtracted if one got a good deal on airline tickets or took busses instead of renting a car. A couple hundred dollars could be added by taking a trip up to the northeast coast from Limón instead of taking the trip to Playa Pan de Azucar.
27th San Jose rest from airplane ride
28th San Jose rent car, see Cartago, Orosi Valley,
29th San Jose drive up Irazu Volcano
30th Pan de Azucar (about five hours to drive there) enjoy beach
31st Pan de Azucar swim. enjoy beach.
1st Monteverde Cloud Forest (2
2nd Monteverde Cloud Forest another day in the jungle
3rd San Jose (3
1/2 hour drive) enjoy gold and jade museums. turn in car?4th Manuel Antonio National Park (Fly to Quepos) snorkling beach and jungle
5th San Jose horse riding (fly back to San Jose for dinner)
6th Limon day on jungle train from San Jose (10 to 6)
7th Cahuita (1 hour bus) trail to beach is nice, snorkling.
8th Cahuita day to relax.
9th return back to San Jose (3
1/2 hour bus ride) fly back tonight on 6:00 pm?Round Trip Tickets for two from Saint Louis or Chicago to San Juan
$950
Nights of 27th, 28th, and 29th in suit at Hotel Don Carlos. (page 42)
$150
Two breakfasts and snacks at Don Carlos on 28th and 29th
$10
Lunches and Dinners and Snacks including special dinner at Gran Hotel Costa Rica
$45
Rent car for 29th to Monday the 4th rent car from Avis
$230
National Theater Tickets
$15
Nights of 30th, 31st at Hotel Sugar Beach at Playa Pan de Azucar, Guanacaste (76)
Snorkling and swimming
$100
Five meals at Playa Pan de Azucar
$50
Nights of 1st, 2nd at Pensión el Questzal. (65)
(Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde, cloud forest and jungle life)
$100 (includes food)
Gas for Car
$25
Night of 3rd at Hotel Fortuna in San Jose (40)
$25
Taxi, Air Fair, Taxi, and National Park Admission (San Jose to Manuel Antonio)
$40
Horse riding along beach and jungle in Manuel Antonio National Park
$80
Night of 4th at Cabinas Los Almendros, Manuel Antonio National Park, Quepos (93) enjoy beach and jungle.
$30
Taxi, Air Fair, Taxi, (Manuel Antonio to San Jose)
$35
Night of 5th at Hotel Fortuna in San Jose (40)
$25
Six meals for two on 3rd, 4th, and 5th
$55
6th 10am to 6 pm Jungle Train to Limon
$5
Night of 6th at Hotel Matama in Limón. (101)
$75
Food on 6th (including dinner in Hotel Matama) and breakfast on 7th
$30
Bus to Cahuita
$5
Night of 7th and 8th in Cabinas Atlantida at Cahuita (105)
$40
Dinner on 8th at Restaurante Tipico Cahuita
$20
Food in Cahuita and on way to airport
$10
Bus to San Jose and on to Airport
$15
Airport Departure Tax
$15