Manuel Antonio: worth it or not worth it?

Manuel Antonio National Park is famous for its beauty and its great beaches.  From Bejuco we drove for about an hour to get here....you pass Parrita and Quepos then you get to Manuel Antonio's entrance.  We did not know but from the entrance you need to hike like 45 minutes in order to get to the beach.  Needless to say that a 45 minute walk with three little kids in the summer in Puntarenas was well almost a suicide mission.  And to top it all of we forgot our water bottles in the car, and somehow thought carrying a bunch of stuff to make our stay at the beach more comfortable would be a good idea!

Take your water.  And carry the minimum possible.  In our opinion Manuel Antonio is not a place for families with little kids.  The place is beautiful, but you will be too tired to enjoy it!  And then after a hot day at the beach you need to walk back!  There are no restaurants, and nowhere to buy drinks.  They also do not allow umbrellas at the beach because it is a National Park and ohhh yes did I mention that there is a crocodile who loves to take swims at the beaches there?  Yes you heard well crocodile!

Ocotal an Playas del Coco....

We left playa Bejuco in Puntarenas early in the morning, car full to the brim.  We first passed by Automercado Los Suenos to get some basics, just in case there is no supermarket close to the house we are staying in.  After a bit of shopping we got in the car and headed towards Liberia.  We estimated the trip to be just about 4 hours, but we got a few delays on the road and it took us like 5.  The road to Liberia right now (March 21013) is on construction, and the road full of trucks.  This mix made the trip a bit longer than expected.

We were on our way to Playa Ocotal Guanacaste.  When we arrived we were surprised to see in Liberia a city that offers: a great hospital called Cima, an airport, many hotels and restaurants including yeah our beloved Mc.Donald's and Burgerking.  On the other hand as we drove towards Playas del Coco and Ocotal we were kind of disappointed and missed Puntarenas.  The reason is that we really like the "green" side of Costa Rica, but Guanacaste the province were Playa Ocotal is, is quite dry, it is still beautiful, don't get me wrong, but you feel more like as if you are in Africa.

So much so that you see fires burning all along the hills.  It takes time to get used to the dry panorama of Guanacaste, it is an acquired taste.  To make things worse we needed to pass through Playas del Coco, to get to Ocotal, and there was a problem in that area with the municipality and trash collection. And well the problem was that they don't collect it on a regular basis, and so there are bags of trash galore!  We were in this area in January,  February and March 2014 and lets just say trash was a problem every time we were there.  It not only looks bad, it smells terrible and it brings bugs and animals....more bugs and animals.  The trash problem was so bad it was enough to ruin someones vacation, specially if you are coming for only a few days or weeks.

So for the negatives in the Guanacaste area I would say it was:  trash, too many fires burning hills and fields, abandoned construction sites, and huge gigantic bugs and poisonous snakes.  Guanacaste is wild and so you find huge spiders, scorpions, gigantic ants and snakes.  Although some will say that it is part of being in touch with nature, well lets just say I think it is important to mention.  Specially if you are travelling with small children like we were.

Having said that... once we got settled and we had time to investigate our surroundings, we realized Ocotal is actually quite nice!

What car to get...

Because we were staying for the unusual time frame of seven months, my husband and I knew we needed a car.  The question was what to do, do we ship one of our cars and then sell it?  Or do we rent a car for seven months....oooof pricey?!  Or do we buy a used car there,and then sell it when we leave?  I tell you it was a really hard decision to make.  It was specially hard because we are five, and three of our family members require car seats.  Not many cars can fit three car seats in the back.  So we did our research as with everything else.

To rent a car for seven months runs between $7,000 and $12,000.  That is including tax and insurance, and of course it is for a fairly large car such as Rav 4, Mitsubishi Montero, Toyota Prado and a few large sedans.   There are many very good sites in which you can calculate what you will spend for the amount of time you are staying.  If you can afford it, renting a car is the best choice.

To bring one of our cars was a real big hassle.  To ship it would be between $3000 and $4,000 and then when the car enters Costa Rica it has to pay tons of tax, then you still need insurance and in the end you need to sell it and sell it fast.  The catch is there is tons of competition in the Costa Rican used car market, so selling can take a long time.  And the other side of that coin is that, you can buy a car that is at a fair price when you buy second hand, and that makes it attractive to buy.  Last but not least, the cherry on the cake was that at our return, we would have no car and would be left scrambling to get a new one.

The third choice buying a car in Costa Rica was a fairly good choice.   But my father said many cars are sold in bad shape, and it is hard to foresee what kind of mechanical problems you will have. With three kids in the car,  the windy roads and dangerous road conditions, and with the off the beaten track locations were we were heading to, we needed the safest car we could get.  That would be a
hard thing to guarantee if we bought a used car.  My dad also said in Costa Rica parts are expensive and that taking the car to service comes with high price tag.

So after doing the math and weighing pros and cons we decided to rent.  We found a great Rav 4 for a fairly good price.  It included the carseats , so that was a real advantage.  Thinking about carrying our carseats in addition to all the luggage was not pretty.  In the end my niece heard I was renting and thought it would be a good deal both for me and for her if we rented her car.  So after some negotiating we rented her Toyota Landcruiser (old style but 2012) for 7 months, with insurance and service included for the same we would have rented a Rav 4.  We think it was a good deal for both, although the Old Style landcruiser is not a family friendly car.  But it has braved the toughest roads in costa Rica like a champion.  And an added bonus is that the car is diesel and so it has kept our transportation expenses fairly low

Also, we knew we would be traveling from beach to beach, in some real isolated locations so we needd a very safe and tough car.  In general main roads are in very good shape, but the smaller secondary roads that take you to the different beaches are not.  As a general rule I would say that it is our experience that most roads that take you to the beach are in fact dirt roads.  Roads that are narrow and generally not smooth,  full of holes, and badly light.

 If you can I would say renting a car would be your best bet.  CostaRica is small and it is fun to drive around discovering places.  Ideally get a 4x4 but they are very expensive to rent specially after the taxes and insurance charges are added on top of the base price.  But if you can not afford it, my husband and I both agree any car will do.  Just be careful where you go into, and try to travel in dry season if possible.  If you are traveling on rainy season you must have a 4x4.


The Toyota Landcruiser we rented from my niece is like a tractor.  It has no luxuries, and it is not family friendly, but it goes everywhere with no problem.  We have gone all the way to Drake Bay and back, and that is an adventure all in itself!  We went through rivers, hills and a National Park- the car was worth it!  There is no place that has been on our way that has remained undiscovered!

One great option we noticed many people chose was to buy a kind of a golf cart.  They are easy to maneuver, the fit four to five people, they are electric and you can get in wet, sandy and not worry about a thing.  Honestly it was a lot of fun, and a very clever way to get around short distances.  They go for about $2000.  If we moved here we would get one for sure!

....lets continue Around Costa Rica in 7 months!

Playa Bejuco Costa Rica's best kept secret

I could write about Playa Bejuco or I could let you see for yourself just how "picture perfect" this beach is.  I will try a middle term.  Bejuco is everything  you dreamed of when you first thought about coming to a tropical country like Costa Rica.  It is not crowded and you can take early morning walks on the beach.  As you let the waves gently massage your feet you will be delighted as groups of small fish swim around you.  It also has the best sunsets you will ever see, a feast to the eyes every day at around 5:30 you can be sure to have a date with the sun as he lowers himself on the horizon bathing the sky with beautiful colors, you will be grateful to be there, grateful to be alive!

You can go for gorgeous walks on what seems like an endless beach and you can be sure you'll find: beautiful shells, sea stars, sea snails, luscious palm trees lining the beach....the works.  Early morning at about 6:30 at low tide you can see the sky reflected on the sand, on shallow puddles of water that are left behind by the sea.  This beach is quite clean, and you can see many types of birds soaring in the sky above you.  Eagles, pelicans, and even scarlet macaws fly close by to the beach.  There is everything you need in a town close by called Parrita.  Parrita has banks, supermarket, pharmacy, doctors and church.  It is not to hot, or too humid. 

 It is very close to San Jose just about three hours.  And it has some of the most beautiful national parks in the country.  There is Carara, Rainmaker, Manuel Antonio and the list goes on and on.

For some negatives: Bejuco is known as a dangerous beach, but with some caution and common sense you can greatly enjoy it.  Also there are no hotels where you can stay.  But there are great furnished rentals in Costa del Sol, and Hotels in the nearby town of Esterillos.  

Our favourite restaurant in the area was the one in the picture below - Bowie's.  At Bowie's you will find great service and the best casado, ceviche, patacones and fruit juices.  And of course close by in the town of Jaco  you also have the delicious Tsunami Sushi.  Tsunami Sushi was recomended to us by our good friend Peter and expat that lives in Costa Del Sol that knows all the secrets on the area.  And this sushi restaurant is by far the best Sushi we ever had and that includes Vancouver, Jerusalem, Istambul, and San Diego!

What is all he fuss about Montezuma?

So after San Jose we were off to Montezuma.  We took the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera and then we drove from there.  The ferry is very slow and so it is a long ride!  From San Jose to Montezuma prepare for a trip of about five hours.  The ferry is hot, but you can chose to sit inside which is air conditioned or all the way on the top which is more breezy.

Montezuma is a small town, it is cute and the people very friendly but it is hardly worth the effort it takes to get there.  It is very expensive and the actual Montezuma beach is very dirty.  It's full of horse poop and dog poop, and actual garbage that washes of from the ocean.  The weather is extremely hot and humid, to the point where you are always uncomfortable.  Oh yes and did I mention the bugs.  Bring plenty of repellent and prepare to check your shoes and clothes for scorpions before you wear them!  Or get stung!  
Like a few people I know, who put on their boxer shorts and 
screamed in pain.  Oh....and riders beware, horseback riding does not come easy, ticks and their evil twins Coloradillas abound, we chose not to go horseback riding after a few locals warned us of this fact of life in the area.

There are great restaurants though which almost make the trip worth it.  There is also an amazing abundance of animal life and an exuberance in plant life that makes you sigh in wonder, but having said this these things are common in pretty much all of Costa Rica.

There are fantastic places to stay but prepare to pay big bucks!  Is it worth it?  Not in my opinion, it is to expensive and honestly you do not get anything that you can not find in other beaches in Costa Rica.

The highlight for us was the Tortuga Lora babies...yes hundreds of tiny little cute sea turtles hatching and going to the sea for the first time!  That my friends was an amazing experience!  Make sure you check for the season for this, what I was told was that it runs from about October to February.

To San Jose or not to San Jose

Some people will probably get annoyed with this post, but honesty I promised and so honest I will be.  I would not waste my time in San Jose.  It is a city that does not have much to offer to the tourist.  We did stay a month and a half there, but that is because my parents live there.   If that was not the case, I would not have spend more than a day in San Jose.

Why? You may ask.  Well, for starters the city is congested, trafic is a nightmare.  If you do not pay attention at what time you go for a drive, you could be stuck in traffic for a very very long time.   Also in my opinion San Jose has lost the charm that comes with smaller cities.  In San Jose people live behind bars, and the criminals are all running around free, mugging people.  The level of security homes have, has reached the ridiculous.   Most  homes have bars in every window, barb wire in the fenced yards and an alarm.   The usual defense for this sad reality goes like this:  but it is no more dangerous than other cities.  But that is not true.  It is much more dangerous than other cities, depending where you come from.  Maybe no more than some other Central American, or South American cities, but that does not make it normal or right.

Now if you must stay in San Jose there are a few places you might want to visit or take advantage of.
There are a couple of nice malls were you can find anything you need, and I mean pretty much anything.  There are also a few very good restaurants to eat in.  If you want to see  some museums there is one I would recommend and then there is the Teatro Nacional.  I would not go anywhere else. Downtown is dirty and runned down, and full of criminals, specially if you go for a walk on Avenida Central.

San Jose is nice to use as base camp if you want to see the Poas and Irazu volcanoes, which are totally worth it.  But perhaps my advise to you would be to stay in Heredia, or Escazu or on the hotels on the outskirts of the city and go from there.

Did you say hardships?

Ok so you worry about repellent, if not mosquitoes and their evil twins Purrujas will eat you alive.  Put it on early morning and at sunset.

And yes please take sunscreen seriously or else you will fry and I mean you will get close to getting blisters on your skin, the sun burns so hot in Costa Rica.  And stay away from the sun if possible from 9:00 a.m to about 3:00 pm.  Yes you read right if not you will get the bad sun as they call it here.  Yes it sounds like a bit much but you will thank me later.  And if you must be at the beach, or pool at those times slap sunscreen protection 50 or up and hopefully a hat an one of those nice protective beach shirts...like surfer shirts.

Know that if you need a bank account, and by that I mean a normal simple, savings/ checking account it will be pretty close to impossible to get one.  We  finally got one, only because I am Costa Rican and after jumping through thousands of hoops.   With hard work and after wasting tons of time you might get one,  but I would not hold my breath if I were you!  For a short vacation, credit cards are great, but if you are planning to live here, or like us be here for a few months this is a huge problem you will need to solve.

Supermarket is as expensive as in Canada or the USA.  And I am not kidding you.  If you have kids it will be specially expensive with the diapers etc.  We spend like $1000 a month for a family of five, it is brutal!  I will tell you more in a future post.

Restaurants are super expensive as well.  We are horrified.  A family of five, but that includes three little kids seven years and under spends an average of $50 to $60 every time we go out, no matter how hard I try to make it a smaller bill.

Vacation rentals frequently post pictures of their golden days.  We have had many disappointments since we arrived to our different rental  homes.  They charge as if they are five stars, but you find three stars...this again is our experience with vacation home rentals.  So ask many questions before you commit to a month somewhere.

The most popular beaches were our greatest disappointments.  Investigate a lot before you commit to a place.  Some were very dirty, others too crowded, and yet others had just too many construction sites that had been abandoned around them.

Most beaches are extremely dangerous.  Drownings are common and a big problem here.  Rip currents are the biggest enemy, they are pretty much everywhere and they are unpredictable.  Even good swimmers drown.  Take this seriously.  In future posts I will talk about every beach we visited.  Hopefully that will help you.