As usual, when planning a trip, I go to various websites looking for tips, reviews, discounted accommodation, activities, and currency exchange rates. You may want to note that Costa Rica uses colones as its medium of exchange, but also accepts US dollars in most places. Generally speaking, 1,000 colones is equal to two US dollars, so when calculating colones simply move the decimal (to the left) three places and multiply by two to get the US dollar equivalent.
So, with the help of my son Omar, who would also be accompanying me on this trip to Costa Rica, we began our investigation by checking Frommers.com, TripAdvisor.com, Hostels.com, GoVisitCostaRica.com, Google Maps, and other websites to familiarize ourselves with a little with that part of the world.
There were no flights available to the San Jose airport, so we decided to fly Delta to the Liberia airport (LIR). Liberia is located in the province of Guanacaste, which is located in the northeastern part of Costa Rica. This is not a bad option for those who want to get to know the country in the most profitable way, which is by bus. We took a taxi from the airport and checked into Hotel Boyeros in downtown Liberia. The taxi charge was $15.00 for me and my son. However, there is an even cheaper way to get to the center of Liberia. You can take a taxi to the main road for around $4.00 and take the local bus for just 50 cents. So we returned to the airport on the day of our departure.
Los Boyeros was a nice hotel with a 24-hour restaurant and two swimming pools (one for adults and one for children with a small waterfall). They also had double beds, cable TV, and hot water. The staff don’t speak much English, so brush up on your Spanish before your trip. Many small hotels and hostels do not have hot water, so always check your room and turn on the water before payment is made, especially if you are traveling without making advance reservations like we did. They are also conveniently located on the bus line and around the corner from the bus station.
The cost of the room was $60.00 a night, which was above our hotel’s budget of $40.00 a night, but the hot water and nice pool made up for it. We spent the day in the pool, adjusting and planning our next move. We didn’t eat at their restaurant, but instead walked across the street to a food court that housed Burger King and a few other fast food restaurants. It was full of locals and some tourists. After eating we stock up on water and return to the hotel. My son Omar fell and I stayed awake and they invited me to a Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight on HBO. Pacquiao was victorious, but I still think Floyd Mayweather would win if they ever meet.
We got up early around 4:30 am to make our six and a half hour drive to Manuel Antonio National Park, which was one of the places featured on many websites and was a “must see” place. I paid $12.00 for us to go to Barranca, which was about an hour and a half away. For $1.00, we took the local bus to the Puntarenas bus station. You need to buy a bus ticket at the booth around the corner where the buses line up. The bus to Manuel Antonio was $15.00 and it was another two hour trip. We were really able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country while traveling down the road in this comfortable bus.
We arrived around 11:00 am in Quepos and decided to find a hotel there instead of traveling to Manuel Antonio, which was only a 30-minute drive away. We walked about two blocks and found the Park Hotel or Hotel Parque which was located on the second floor above the Drage Pharmacy. It was very quaint, it only had cold water and no air conditioning, but it did have cable tv and a ceiling fan and it was only $20.00 for the room we chose with twin beds. We checked in, dropped off our bags, and hurried back to the bus station to continue our journey to Manuel Antonio National Park. There is a $10.00 entrance fee for adults and it was free for my son who is 11 years old. You have to walk a kilometer and a half on a gravel and dirt road before reaching the beach. We didn’t see any wildlife on the trail as it was promoted in their literature and on some websites. The hike was a bit strenuous in the heat and with our backpacks, but the beach was beautiful and the water was fine.
In fact, my recommendation would be to pass by the National Park and go to the other side of the road and enjoy the beach right there. There are noticeably more rocks and stones along the shoreline and you can’t help but walk on them as you enter the ocean, but the $10.00 National Park fee could be used for a meal or two. After a while the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. My son was not discouraged and kept swimming. After his hands and feet looked like raisins, we headed back down the road and decided to eat at Chicken on the Run, which is located on the main road and right across from the beach, before heading back to the hotel. We shared a whole rotisserie chicken, rice and beans, plantains, and a two liter bottle of soda, which is about $16.00 for everything. Keep in mind, though, that the chicken and other animals you eat were likely raised in the same water you’re trying to avoid when you bought bottled water during your stay. Just as you experience sickness, cramps, and vomiting in Mexico and are warned “don’t drink the water,” the same warning should also apply when visiting Costa Rica.
We scheduled the Mangrove Safari Tour for the next day and then took the local bus back to Quepos for $1.00 and were safely in our room around 7:00 pm After our cold showers, Omar watched the Disney Channel in Spanish, while I went to the Bogarts restaurant just below and to the right, to use the Internet to plan our next moves. I checked the bus schedules at http://www.thebusschedule.com/ to make sure we are on schedule.
The next morning we got up early and left the hotel. We took our bags with us to the tour pick up location in Manuel Antonio because we were going to catch a bus to San Jose right after the safari tour. We could have been picked up from the hotel, but when I signed up for the tour the day before, I didn’t know the exact name or location of the hotel, so to avoid any confusion, I said we would only go to the ticket office location. . Little did I know that the mini tour bus would end up taking us back to Quepos to a restaurant less than half a block from the hotel for lunch, which was included in the $65.00 per head ticket price for the tour. The food was good and included rice and beans, salad and a choice of fish or chicken. Tour drivers seemed confused and not very organized. They said it was a four hour tour, but it ended up being about 2 hours. We finally arrived at Isla Damas to board the boat about 2 hours after we were picked up. The river area was desolate to say the least.
We saw monkeys along the bush area near the dock. We also saw some birds in that immediate area, but further into the trip we saw fewer and fewer. There is no alligator as promised upon registration. We saw a snake coiled up that seemed to be sleeping on a tree branch. A lady on the tour, from San Francisco, CA, said that she had done the tour about 20 years ago and that the same area was full of colorful birds swooping in every direction. The tour guide who looked to be in his twenties couldn’t give a reason. My suggestion is to skip this tour or find a company that offers it for around $40.00. That what is seems to be worth. You can also travel to Damascus and you may only be able to see the monkeys hanging around the pier area. If there is a next time, we would probably opt for a trip to a zoo or a reserve like Africa Mia which is in the El Salto area of Liberia. You can check their website to reserve a place.
We hurried back from the tour and around 5:00 pm we boarded the bus to San Jose. We got there around 8:30pm and were lucky enough to get help from two young ladies who were on the bus and gave us information about crime in the bus station area. They translated our selected hostel to the taxi driver, who spoke very little English.
We checked into Vesuvio for $40.00 a night. It was a great place to stay with hot water, cable tv, air conditioning, and free breakfast. Eduardo and Mauricio spoke excellent English and were very informative and hospitable. Vesuvio can be contacted by visiting their website at http://www.hotelvesuvio.com/.
After a quick breakfast of toast and fruit, we took a super quick 30 minute tour of the downtown district of San Jose. Our bus to Liberia left at 7:00 am and arrived in Liberia around 11:00 am, which gave us a three-hour cushion before our flight back to the US. We used the time by heading to the supermarket local to buy some coffee for gifts. We boarded the local bus and got off at the airport entrance road, then took a taxi to the entrance area. Keep in mind that a departure tax is collected before you leave, so don’t spend every dollar you have in Costa Rica or you may have an extended stay. The fee is approximately $26.00 per person.
We returned to Atlanta after four hours, went through customs and baggage check, and finally reached our vehicle. My son and I had accomplished a lot in just four days and three nights. We spend less than $500.00 on ground transportation, food, hotels, gifts and entertainment. When my son looked at me and said “thank you for taking me to Costa Rica”, simple words alone could not express my gratitude to the Creator. My feeling could justifiably be described as “Very, Very Good”!
Safe journey!
A. Omar Muhammad can be contacted at [email protected]
