We're Going to Costa Rica!
Raja Ampat, Indonesia // tahoefabulous.com
Greyson and I have taken a lot of really awesome road trips over the past five years. These trips have been amazing, but they've been largely mountain bike focused (with a little hiking and climbing thrown in), and I've been craving something different. Like the amazing SCUBA trip to Raja Ampat, Indonesia we did with his family a few years ago.We've been saving up our vacation days and racking up credit card miles for awhile now, and we just booked our plane tickets to Costa Rica! We're not going until November, but I'm excited to use the next 6 months to plan an incredible trip. Right now, we don't have anything booked, and we only have the vaguest ideas of what we want to do. I'm hoping that we get some recommendations! Here's the facts:
We'll be there for 9 days at the end of the rainy season, flying in to and out of San Jose.
We want to do the mountains, the beach, some river rafting, SCUBA-ing, and potentially an overnight to Panama, if we can squeeze it in.
We don't want to be traveling the whole time - we want to spend at least a few days in each place.
I've been to the Pacific side of Costa Rica before, so we want to go to the Caribbean side.
We're not renting a car, so travel by bus it is!
Raja Ampat, Indonesia // tahoefabulous.com
So what I'm thinking is, first, take a shuttle from San Jose to Arenal/La Fortuna area and spend a few days there, doing hiking and hot springs. Second, a one or two day river rafting trip on the Pacuare River, using the river raft company to travel from the mountains to the coast. Third, spend some time in Cahuita or Puerto Viejo for beach time, SCUBA, and a short trip into Panama before heading back to San Jose to head home.People who have done Costa Rica before, does this seem reasonable for 9 days? Also, does anyone have any recommendations, specifically for places to stay in Arenal, Pacuare river raft companies, and if Cahuita or Puerto Viejo is better for a beach town base?I'm so excited!