A family of mask makers at Boruca village

A bridge we avoided at Coco Guanacaste

An orchid jungle open to the public

We always enjoy the GPS giggles here
ALERT ROAD SINKING AHEAD

Our GPS's can be prescient

SOME HOTELS, FRIENDS & LOCATIONS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS

When your plans call for travel to different points of the Costa Rican compass, may we recommend some places you will enjoy? We have good friends with really nice hotels that we stay at when we travel - like Monteverde, Arenal, Tamarindo, Uvita and Tortuguero to name a few.

Every one of these places is a delight, the owners are also the on site managers like ourselves and are experts in their area. Click on this link for the places we like to stay when we travel in Costa Rica

SHOULD I RENT A CAR OR FIND A DRIVER/GUIDE?

This is the most common question.

The best place to start your tour of the natural wonders of Costa Rica is right here at the Pura Vida Hotel. Pura Vida is just 4 KM from the main International airport at San Jose (SJO). It is in the central valley but without the convolutions of the nearby capital of San Jose. This makes it the ideal location to take any number of day trips to San Jose, to places like Irazu and Poas volcanoes, to shopping in Sarchi or maybe a visit to Tortuguero National Park.

There are as many ways to explore Costa Rica. Whatever you experience, it is guaranteed to be more fascinating than sitting prone at some SuperMegoResort with thousands of others sucking on straws in some lime green liquid listening to a Norwegian techno rendition of Richard Clayderman doing "My Way".

That BTW is preferable to being invited to a 2 hour Katy Perry concert e.g. "Be your teenage dream tonight,tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight".

CAR RENTAL BENEFITS

Car rentals are not cheap in Costa Rica - but with our roads, the costs of taxis at your destination locations, the amount of time it takes to get anywhere AND the beauty of our country, car rentals are the way to go. Most people discover the money they saved on a shuttle to the beach destination was eaten up in taxi rides or just made the trip a little less interesting as they could not visit certain very interesting places. We sincerely hope you will make us your base to explore the many wonders of this country.

DRIVER/GUIDE?

Some people however will not drive in a country without good signs and little respect for rules of the road - then you should hire a driver/guide for a transfer or for a tour once at your destination.

For 2 or 3 people it will be economical to take a private bus service to your destination with someone like Interbus (who we also recommend as reliable). With 4 or more people the private driver guide will be the same price or cheaper. You also get your own personal naturalist English-speaking guide to take you into local places only he knows. Just be aware you'll probably eat into any car rental cost savings with taxis and you'll miss out on some places difficult to get to at your destination.

THERE ARE SOME NICE DAY TRIPS FROM THE PURA VIDA

Rent a car for a few days or just order up your personal naturalist driver/guide for the day and you can make your own day trips. Our day trips web page has a long list of things to do in this area.

SHOULD TOURISM BE ORGANIZED?

You can take an organized tour with a professional and experienced guide in a bus or a boat or on foot or in a plane to almost anywhere at reasonable prices.  Organized tours last from 1 day up to a week and can be arranged with as little as a few hours notice. But for the "good guides" book ahead. Of course so-called guides who can't speak English and drive beaters can be found in minutes. You do have choices eh?

Let us know if you need a little help with getting yourself organized or you have questions about certain destinations you are considering. You will find a whole bunch of ideas on our travel blog - for example here's a list of some of our guests fave places to visit in Costa Rica (compiled by guests).

MORE QUESTIONS/QUESTIONS?

Email away . . . we'll try! We try to get out once a month somewhere in Costa Rica and learn what there is to see and do first hand. So we may have been on that trail you are thinking is impassable?

UM ER PURA VIDA . . . WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE FRIGGIN GPS?

Yes, yes we do own a GPS but do not particularly like 'em - we just get lost and stop a minute or two to ask directions or get acquainted with the neighborhood. Truth is many guests with them come back saying they could not have made it without one. Although they often marvel at how you do any of this in a country with no road names.

It is actually part of the joy of Costa Rica to get lost occasionally and meet the locals. If you decide not to rent a GPS we have the most excellent Toucan map for sale in the hotel. That and a cheesy compass gets you anywhere.