So from searching this board I see recommendations for a few spots and to basically stay away from Jaco but I was wondering if someone more familiar with the country had recommendations for an area to go to that fit our interests. We are thinking about going in September.

We would want to be on a nice beach (that has some ok snorkeling) with access to wildlife and waterfalls that don't have too crazy of a hike. My wife will basically go nuts to see monkeys and any other furry wildlife (something like Proyecto Asis mentioned in another thread). She also loves waterfalls and volcanoes but I dont see that there are any active volcanoes there anymore. I would be interested in one of the river rapid trips, but nothing too crazy so I could convince her to go too lol.

We would be staying about 6-7 days so maybe look at La Fortuna for a few days for some wildlife and waterfall activity and head west towards the Westin area for a few days of beach time?

Also, I've never driven a manual car/truck and have little experience with rough roads so I'm not sure if I should rent a car or not.

Go to Quepos and hit Manuel Antinio national park. You get the wildlife fix and then some of the nicest beaches you'll ever see.

I agree with previous post.

I ended up renting a car at the end of our trip to Manuel Antonio and found my fears of driving there were unfounded. Not many dirt roads between there and San Jose - it's an American style "small" highway. Gave us a lot more flexibility which was great. If you're in Manuel Antonio though you don't need transportation as the buses and taxis are easy and cheap.

We ended up renting a house for a week a few months before we had our 2nd kid. So my wife was pregnant but was able to hike some of the park areas with wildlife and waterfalls.


Make sure to go to the Rainmaker reserve. Could be a bit of a hike but it was one of the best parts of the entire trip - we had the rental car on our last day so we self guided and was cheap:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g644051-d2025754-Reviews-Rainmaker_Park-Parrita_Province_of_Puntarenas.html?m=19904

And I suppose I should mention anything cool volcano related, waterfalls, and wildlife are probably top priorities and more important than beach quality.

Check out my write up on this post

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/2763381/replies/46683832#46683832

tv1113 said:

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And I suppose I should mention anything cool volcano related, waterfalls, and wildlife are probably top priorities and more important than beach quality.

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We did a week in La Fortuna last year and really enjoyed it. Lots of Eco Tourism stuff to see animals. We stayed at Nayara, and it was awesome. They offered several private tours as well, which I thought was worth the little extra money. I haven't been to the beach area, but I think your plan of going between the two sounds reasonable.

WestTexasAg14 said:

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Go to Quepos and hit Manuel Antinio national park. You get the wildlife fix and then some of the nicest beaches you'll ever see.

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Did exactly that in 2005. Great trip. Beer was 90 cents/6 pack back then.

I'd go back tomorrow. Go drink an Imperial for me.

If you go to the park, spend $30 and hire a guide. He will point out a bunch of wildlife you likely wouldn't see. Most take spotting scopes with them so you can get a good look. We saw a couple sloths, monkeys, birds and lots of interesting insects. Outside of the monkeys, there's no way I would've found those animals myself.

There are a few beaches in Quepos...Playa Espadilla is the common, public beach that's right in front of all the bars. You can walk to a bar, pay $1.50 for a beer, once you're done go back and they'll give you $.60 back.

However the beaches in the park (Playa Espadilla Sur, Playa Manuel Antonio) are absolutely immaculate. You can't drink in the park though, so it's pretty nice to just go relax away from the busier beaches.

I can't agree enough with the Quepos/Manuel Antonio suggestions. By far one of my favorite places on earth. There are some incredible (and secluded) beaches inside the Manuel Antonio park. If you want to go rafting or stuff like that, there are plenty of excursion operating around, too.

Last time I went, I flew into San Jose, then caught a small plane to Quepos. It was more expensive of course, but saved a lot of time. And it was pretty cool flying in such a tiny plane. It's easy to catch a cab or shuttle at the "airport" in Quepos, and they can take you anywhere in Quepos or Manuel Antonio.

Does anyone have experiences/opinions on the Costa Ballena?