Frommers ShortCuts - The Central Pacific Coast, Costa Rica

Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201/748-6011, fax 201/748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Frommers is a trademark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ISBN 9781118189153 (ebk); ISBN 9781118189146 (ebk); ISBN 9781118189139 (ebk)

For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877/762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317/572-3993 or fax 317/572-4002.

About the Author

Eliot Greenspan is a poet, journalist, musician, and travel writer who took his backpack and typewriter the length of Mesoamerica before settling in Costa Rica in 1992. Since then, he has worked steadily as a travel writer, food critic, freelance journalist, and translator, and continued his travels in the region. He is the author of Frommers Belize, Frommers Ecuador, Frommers Guatemala, Costa Rica for Dummies, and Costa Rica Day By Day, as well as the chapter on Venezuela in Frommers South America.

Frommers Star Ratings, Icons & Abbreviations

Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listing in this guide has been ranked for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating system. In country, state, and regional guides, we also rate towns and regions to help you narrow down your choices and budget your time accordingly. Hotels and restaurants are rated on a scale of zero (recommended) to three stars (exceptional). Attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns, and regions are rated according to the following scale: zero stars (recommended), one star (highly recommended), two stars (very highly recommended), and three stars (must-see).

In addition to the star-rating system, we also use seven feature icons that point you to the great deals, in-the-know advice, and unique experiences that separate travelers from tourists. Throughout the book, look for:

special finds those places only insiders know about

fun facts details that make travelers more informed and their trips more fun

kids best bets for kids and advice for the whole family

special moments those experiences that memories are made of

overrated places or experiences not worth your time or money

insider tips great ways to save time and money

great values where to get the best deals

The following abbreviations are used for credit cards:

AE

American Express

DISC

Discover

V

Visa

DC

MC

MasterCard

Travel Resources at Frommers.com

Frommers travel resources dont end with this guide. Frommers website, www.frommers.com, has travel information on more than 4,000 destinations. We update features regularly, giving you access to the most current trip-planning information and the best airfare, lodging, and car-rental bargains. You can also listen to podcasts, connect with other Frommers.com members through our active-reader forums, share your travel photos, read blogs from guidebook editors and fellow travelers, and much more.

The Best of Costa Rica

With more than two million visitors each year, Costa Rica is currentlyand consistentlyone of the hottest vacation and adventure-travel destinations in Latin America. Despite its popularity and mass appeal, Costa Rica remains a place rich in natural wonders and biodiversity, where you can still find yourself far from the maddening crowds. The country boasts a wealth of unsullied beaches that stretch for miles, small lodgings that havent attracted hordes of tourists, jungle rivers for rafting and kayaking, and spectacular cloud forests and rainforests with ample opportunities for bird-watching and hiking. In addition to the countrys trademark eco- and adventure-tourism offerings, you will also find luxury resorts and golf courses, plush spas, and some truly spectacular boutique hotels and lodges.

Having lived in Costa Rica for more than 20 years, I continue to explore and discover new spots, adventures, restaurants, and lodgingsand my best of experiences keep on coming. In this chapter, Ive selected the very best of what this unique country has to offer. This chapter is meant to give you an overview of the highlights so that you can start planning your own adventure.

The best of Natural Costa Rica

Rincn de la Vieja National Park (northeast of Liberia, in Guanacaste): This is an area of rugged beauty and high volcanic activity. The Rincn de la Vieja Volcano rises to 1,848m (6,061 ft.), but the thermal activity is spread out along its flanks, where numerous geysers, vents, and fumaroles let off its heat and steam. This is a great place to hire a guide and a horse for a day, with waterfalls and mud baths, hot springs, and cool jungle swimming holes to explore. Youll pass through pastureland, scrub savanna, and moist secondary forest; the bird-watching is excellent.

The Ro Sarapiqu Region (north of San Jos btw. Guanacaste in the west and the Caribbean coast in the east): This region is a prime place for an ecolodge experience. Protected tropical forests climb from the Caribbean coastal lowlands up into the central mountains, affording you a glimpse of a plethora of life zones and ecosystems. Braulio Carrillo National Park borders several other private reserves here, and a variety of ecolodges will suit any budget.

Arenal Volcano/Tabacn Hot Springs (near La Fortuna, northwest of San Jos): When the skies are clear and the lava is flowing, Arenal Volcano offers a thrilling light show accompanied by an earthshaking rumble that defies description. You can even see the show while soaking in a natural hot spring and having a drink at the swim-up bar at Tabacn Grand Spa Thermal Resort (www.tabacon.com; 877/277-8291 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2519-1999 in Costa Rica). If the rushing torrent of volcano-heated spring water isnt therapeutic enough, you can get an incredibly inexpensive massage here.