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Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 29 Opinions
Quepos 6350, Costa Rica
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of people enjoy staying here
29 Opinions
Manuel Antonio Beach (12.08.08)
At the bottom of the waterfall
Three of us ready for the zip line
Chorro Rapid
We are staying at a time share in Quepos for a week so of course we are spending most of our time at Manuel Antonio Park, but we also want to go see some Macaws at Carara and will be spending our last day in San Jose and we're looking for suggestions of great trips, hikes, excursions, etc.
We've been told driving isn't the easiest, so at this point we are thinking we will only rent a car from Quepos to San Jose so if you have any suggestions of places to check out between the two, or any places to visit in San Jose, that would be much appreciated. From the bit of reading I've done it sounds like Carara isnt a place we can kill a whole day - should we stop off at Jaco? How easy/affordable is it to find somebody to drive us to both places.
We're primarily interested in wildlife, birds, beaches, kayaking, hiking (mild to moderately strenuous) - any excursions in Manuel Antonio you'd recommend or recommend we stay away from?
Thanks in advance for the info - we're leaving in a few weeks and getting very excited about finally going on our honeymoon!
Sean
Another question for ya'all - I'd reealy rather not be stuck on a tour bus to get to any destinations like Caracara - is the drive really that bad?
The rumors of driving being treacherous in Costa Rica are grossly exagerated or the people making the comments don't drive much outside their own parking lot. I was in Costa Rica and drove all over Central and Northern Costa Rica including some of the roads to take you out around Jaco. I recommend a 4x4 but only for the extra ground clearence - I never put my vehilce in four wheel drive once.
We've taken a rental car all around the country twice, and while a 4x4 would be preferred it's not necessary. Considerations would be whether you are traveling in dry season or not, and how primary the road is. If it's rainy season then you'll run into a lot more problems with the roads, otherwise you just take your time as occasionally you'll run into an area where part of the road was washed out. The rental agreement we signed included NOT driving on dirt roads, which we ignored but I suppose if you had a problem it could cost more. They recommend a 4x4 if you go to Monteverde. We didn't see anything of interest in Jaco, if you like wildlife then you're probably better off heading to the mountains or south of Quepos (just a guess). Poas would be a nice day trip from San Jose. Have fun!
Driving isnt that hard, as long as you stay out of the cities!
Id recommend a 4x4, as the secondary roads (the ones leading to the parks with all the hiking and stuff) can be very, very rough.
Id definately recommend getting a vehicle. Going on one of those paid for excusions will cost more than a car will for a week...
The Manuel Antonio National Park was closed when we were there (on Monday) so we didn't see as much wild life as we would have seen had it been open.
We did do a free fall segment of the Canyoning/Waterfall Rapelling adventure which was called the Monkey Drop, and on that segment, we did see some spider monkeys.
We fed White-Faced Monkeys left over bananas. They were so cute until they became aggressive when we ran out of bananas. I don't think they would have harmed us, but they did get a little crazy knocking over tables and chair on our porch.
Sailfish are not to be missed by any fisherman! The experience is incredible and remains one of my best memories in Costa Rica (even thought I came for the birds!!).
These big and muscular fishes will give you the fight of your life, as they rush away and jumped many time on your line. They are amazing and beautiful to see, purple, dark brown and gray ballet dancers on the ocean!
Best place we found was on the Pacific side, in the world renoun city of Quepos. We went in the beggining of February, during the best time. Many charters there, we choose Aventura Poseidon for their good prices, info, recommendations and equipment. We weren't let down! We paid 495$ each day, plus the fishing licenses (15$) and tips. It included one of the smaller boat, the Wahoo, 22-24' with outboard engine (very powerfull, we topped every other boat!) and t-top, lunch and drink (a lot of drink, don't worry!), two guides and all the fishing equipment and baits. They take us out on the ocean, about 32 miles (1 hour) at sunrise, we troll for sail fish and if opportunity arise other wonderfull fishes (mahi-mahi, rooster fish, yellow tuna, wahoo, red snapper...) and they bring us back to shore just before sunset.
The promoter was very efficient. We called him the night before and he arrange for a taxi to pick us up at our hotel and bring us to the docks. Always on the radio, he immediately called our boat and work as a translator with the taxi driver. At night, he offered to call a taxi to take us back to the hotel.
A nice point we found: these fisherman are not only very good, experience and proud of their fishes, but also very conscientious. They use circa hooks not to hurt the fish. And once the fishes are by the boat, the only take them out of the water for a few seconds (for the picture of a lifetime).
More pictures of boat, staff and (most of all) sailfishs in the travelogues of my Quepos page. Everything should be included in your deal. You only need maybe sunscreen, hat, shades and camera. We were recommended to take remedy against sea sickness but since it causes drowsiness we didn't took right away... and never needed it later. When we were there the sea was calm and even in our small boat we never came close to being sick.
PS We went back a year later, hired the same team since we were so happy with what we had the first time. Same great experience! See the second year's pictures in my Quepos travelogues.
Can you spot me under this Ceiba Pentranda, a 70 meters high tropical tree considered sacred at the time of pre-Colombian.
The Ceiba symbolizes life, continuity, greatness, buity, strength and union.
It's considered a natural monument dedicated to Margarita Black de Mora for having greatly contributed to the creation of the natural park Manuel Antonio.
All this is written on a plaque under it and it's on the only street climbing the hill.
At least for breakfast there is a wide choice and don't think that fruit with yoghurt is something to add, it's a whole breakfast itself so I had a sort of double breakfast as I ordered after a huevo revuelto, which doesn't come alone...
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Q: Safety In Quepos "Hi folks! We're traveling there soon. Anything we need to be aware of other than the usual picpockets? Any new scams out there?..."
A: "Quepos isn't too bad at all. Just be aware and you will be fine. Mostly crime of opportunity here."
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