Wife wants to go there in Feb. Apparently there are two or more beaches. She wants one with calm warm water, not the surfer or party beaches and cannot tell from web sites.

Help! Ak air has one ways from ANC to San Jose special for next couple days.

You will have more fun at Insane Jose Costa Rica!

Here sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Normandy w/out much internet and only a 4" iphone but you definitely want the West Coast, I'm trying to recall the name of a national park named after some guy.... Manuel Antonio? Also, inland check out the Serapiqui and Arenal regions and if it gets too hot Monteverde.

Been twice chaperoning kids, a great experience both times.

I would head over to the Pacific side, particularly the Los Suenos area. Fantastic.

las:

GO! GO! Take your wife. Costa Rica is beautiful. The East coast is a rainforest. The West coast is warm and dry all year round. The mountains in between are beautiful.

Costa Rica is free and democratic. The country is very stable because in 1948 the military dictator at that time was actually a good guy. He eliminated the military (Why do we need a military? We have the USA as our ally). All that military spending now goes to provide free medical for everyone. Yes it is socialized medicine and has all the problems associated therewith. But it's better than periodic military coupes, like in most other Central and South American countries.

When the Conquistadors arrived the country was almost uninhabited so the dominant ethnic group is of Spanish heritage. There are only a few native indians living on reservations in the mountains. There are also some Jamaicans. Most of the rural peasants are Spaniards. Everyone in the country is bilingual. Although they mostly speak Spanish at home, English is taught in school starting in the first grade.

Major industries are agriculture (coffee, bananas, etc.), and eco-tourism. There are probably some fresh fruits and vegetables flown in from Costa Rica, to your local grocery store.

All the electric power in the country is provided by one large hydroelectric dam. No coal or diesel fired power plants.

Parque National Tortuguero is on the West coast. It's an adventure just getting to the lodges in the park, which are reached only by boat, but it's well worth the effort. Remember it's a rainforest, so there are two seasons; the rainy season and the rainier season.

We went on a week-long guided bus tour with Caravan tour company. ($1,100/person) It's was great. Accommodations were much better than we could have afforded on our own. That's an efficient way to see much of the country and decide where/what you want to spend more time seeing. We also stayed another ten days after the tour.

There are no names or numbers on the streets or highways. So if you want to rent a car and do some traveling on your own (very safe and feasible) make sure the car has a GPS and get a good road map.

We also visited Parque National Manuel Antonio and stayed in a small hotel on the slopes overlooking the ocean, in Puntarenas. It was not on the tour and it was worth the drive. It's a great place to spend some time just breathing in local flavor. I can still remember the peace of mind while sitting in the shade, on the veranda, sipping a cold drink, and watching the ocean. Stroll on the beach and wriggle your toes in the surf or collect sea shells.


This guy was casually strolling on the on the back lawn of the hotel. He didn't like me getting that close.

Try the Hotel Don Carlos. It's small boutique hotel, near the center of downtown San Jose, with lots of indigenous flavor.

I think many people think that's it's cooler in the winter and therefore the winter is the dominant season for tourism. But since it's so near the Equator, it's always hot there. But people stay away in the summer. That's probably why the airlines offer cheap fares in the summer.

Have a great time and relax.

Pura Vida.

KC

Carribean side= Turquoise water.

Pacific side= Dark blue Pacific water.

Carribean side= less crowded and touristy, better informal snorkeling, reefs, water clarity.

Pacific side= Better fishing, pacific species if diving, colder water and currents if diving.

Playa del Carmen on the Pacific coast.