Many friends visited Costa Rica a long time ago (15 to 30 years). From their description, they would hardly recognize what they described as a laid-back and off the beaten track destination. For Costa Rica is now clearly targeting upper mid-range and high-end tourism, especially from the United States and Europe. Costa Rica is safe and really expensive, especially for accommodation and for all the activities the country is known for.
Even in the high season (true, August is not the peak season, but it is a busy time), only few places require reservations way ahead (like Manuel Antonio National Park). Planning a few weeks ahead of time is by far enough, and many activities can be booked on short notice.
How much time will you need to discover Costa Rica? Of course it depends how much time you have at hand, but everything below 2 weeks will not enable you to even cover the “highlights”, and even with 3,5 weeks, we had some tough choices to make, not speaking about trying to go off the beaten tracks (which we didn’t, given it was the first long trip with the 3 kids, aged 7 / 5,5 / 5,5 at the time of trave)l. When planning, keep in mind that though distances are relatively small, travel time is significant, and road conditions can be challenging (you will need a 4WD). I was surprised when I read that an average of 35 (in the highlands) to max. 40 km/h (on the coasts) is the norm, but this is definitely what you should plan. Beware of driving in the great area of San Jose on Friday afternoons, where traffic jams would remind you of the worst traffic jams at rush hour you experienced.
Last but not least: is it advisable to travel during the summer (July and August), as it is somehow in the rainy season. The answer is definitely yes: of course it will rain almost every day, but it is mostly at the end of the afternoon, and only for a short period (but then, it rains real hard). Beware that from 20th of August, you really enter the heart of the rainy season, and the weather changes significantly. The last days, towards August 25th– 29th, it was cloudy almost all day long and downpours were much more frequent and partly much heavier.
On a side note: many people we met raved about the website “www.ToutCostaRica.com”, a website in French about traveling in Costa Rica. We hadn’t heard about it, but it seems to be a great source of information, and their premium offer seems to be both attractive and really interesting, with many hidden secrets and discounts on activities. Well, too bad for us!
