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When is the best time for my Costa Rica Vacations?

This is a very common question when someone is trying to put together a travel package to Costa Rica. We can’t answer this question. It is a hard one!!!!!!!

It depends on many things:

Budget: peak season is the most expensive season in Costa Rica. In addition, you must book at least 60 days in advance in order to confirm all your hotels. Obviously, green season is the cheapest one. Some people don’t like it, because during green season, rainy season starts in Costa Rica. If you are short of money, wait until green season. If you are not allergic to the rain, green season is a good choice!!!!!!
My wanted hotels: during high season and peak season you have to book at least 60 days before arrival in order to get the hotels you are looking for. High season starts after November 15^th , and some hotels are already booked since July and August.
Destination you want to visit within Costa Rica: there are some regions in Costa Rica (Caribbean area mainly), that the best time to visit them is during the rainy season. On the other hand, there are some hotels (South Pacific Area mainly) that shut down operations during September and October for maintenance purposes.

The best time to visit Costa Rica is all year round. It depends on what you are looking for.

Family Vacations

Budget Travel

Costa Rica is a great destination for family vacations. Here, you will find accommodations, tours and everything you need for your family. Boat tours are a great experience for the family. The most popular are: Cano Negro Boat Tour from the Fortuna – Arenal area and the boat tour to the mangroves in the Manuel Antonio National Park area. Other amazing options are the Catamaran Tours. We highly recommend the catamaran tour in Manuel Antonio and the one in Tamarindo. Both of them offer great spots for snorkeling. The food is a plus!!!!!!!!! On the other hand, if you are in Monteverde, the hanging bridges and the butterflies’ farm show you the beauty of nature. Combine these activities with a typical lunch at the onsite restaurant. If you are traveling with your family, we recommend you to visit some of the following destinations: Arenal, Monteverde, Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio. Transportation shouldn’t be a problem. A rented car for the most adventurous or private guided transportation service for those who don’t want to drive in unknown places. With this option you can have an experienced driver with you at all the times, at the same time he is your guide and you can have a more pleasant ride from one to another destination. Budget Travel Do you want to travel to Costa Rica but budget is a major issue?????? Don’t worry. There are many ways to solve this “problem”: Buy a Costa Rica Travel Package for the green season. You can find hot deals, 30% – 45% off the cost of the high season. Save some money eating at Sodas, which are smaller restaurants. They have a narrowed menu and you have to wait a little bit more for the food. If money is an issue, never eat at the hotel´s restaurant. The prices at Sodas vary between $7.00 - $11.00 per meal, per person, depending on the destination you are. Costa Rica has a lot of 3 Stars hotels countrywide, which offer a clean and nice room to sleep. Their rates are $65.00 - $75.00, taxes and breakfast included based on double occupancy. Book this kind of hotels. Book shuttle – shared transportation instead of private transportation. Try to book your whole Costa Rica Travel Package before arriving to Costa Rica: tours, hotels, transportation. In that way, you will know the total cost. Sometimes people book tours once they arrive to Costa Rica. It is not the best way to do it. We, the travel agents have special rates agreements with some tour operators, so that we can offer you rates below the market. Try to book tours that include lunch/dinner. There are several Costa Rica one day tours with a meal included. These are some suggestions that may be useful if you trying to save money for your upcoming Costa Rica Vacations

Costa Rica All Inclusive Vacations

Costa Rica is not like Cancun, Mexico or Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where you can find several All Inclusive Resorts. If you are looking for that kind of vacation, definitely Costa Rica is not your best option. This small country has a lot to offer to its visitors: wild rivers, active volcanoes, cloud forest, rain forest, beautiful beaches plus a wide variety of flora and fauna. Here at night, you can have an amazing and relaxing tour at the hot springs with a great view to the Arenal Volcano and the next morning you drive about 3 ½ hours to reach the North Pacific Coast or drive 4 ½ hours to get to the rustic Caribbean Area of Costa Rica. The All Inclusive Resorts are a good choice as the last destination within Costa Rica. Most of the people visit Arenal, Monteverde and then choose between the Central Pacific Area and the North Pacific Area. The most important All Inclusive Resorts of Costa Rica are located at the North Pacific Area beaches. Most of them belong to a Chain Hotels Company: Hilton, Occidental, Barcelo and Westin.

Costa Rica Customized Vacations

You can find several Costa Rica Travel Packages surfing the web. Most of them have been created based on the Costa Rica Travel Agents experience, but it doesn’t mean these packages may work for you!!!!! Every visitor has different needs, budget, interests and available travel dates. Believe it or not, travel date is an important issue when planning an itinerary. Depending on the season, you can have a better rate or a special offer. One more thing regarding the travel date is the availability with the most requested hotels, especially on peak season (Eastern Week and from December 22nd thru Jan 3rd). Our sales representatives are very creative people when designing Costa Rica Tour Packages, but they need a lot of information from you. At Trips 2 Costa Rica, we highly recommend our clients to fill out our Custom Vacations Form in order to know you better and send the Costa Rica Vacation Package that best fits your needs. You can be sure this is the best way to create unforgettable Costa Rica Vacations!!!!!!

ATV Tour, a dangerous tour?

Some people think that an ATV tour is dangerous and it is not for the family. This is in fact quite the opposite. Like any other tour, you have to listen to the safety speech and follow the tour guide instructions at all the times. It can turn dangerous if you don’t follow the company safety regulations. Please, be aware this is not an ATV race, this is an adventure tour to enjoy the flora and fauna while passing by small local towns. All the guides are very experienced and they know when you can drive a little bit faster, slow down or just stop your ATV. This tour is recommended for people from 16 years up to 100 years!!!!!!!! Younger than 16 must share the ATV with an adult. You don’t need prior experience in order to drive an ATV. We highly recommend Fourtrax Adventures for your ATV Tours while in Costa Rica. This company offer ATV tours in 3 different areas of Costa Rica: Manuel Antonio, Arenal and Tamarindo.

Keep on Mind

Please don’t carry so much cash. Major credit cards are accepted countrywide. Use your credit cards. Don’t walk around showing your expensive devices such as laptops, iPhone, cell phones, Tablets and cameras. Try to carry them in your bags or purses. Do not show them all you have!!!!!! Always leave your passport in your hotel safety box. Carry with you a copy. Don’t take anything valuable to the beach. Leave them in the car or in the hotel. In case you want to take some devices to the beach, never leave them unattended. Don’t leave valuables belongings unattended in your car. If you get a flat tire, be aware of some “friendly” people that will show up offering help. Usually 2 or 3 people get close to you, just to divert your attention and try to take your belongings. If someone hits your car slightly into the back bumper, don’t stop and drive on to a safe place. Make sure the other car is not following you. Otherwise request help at any restaurant, gas station, nearby hotels or call 911. If you get into a threatened situation, don’t resist. Try to get help and call 911. Do not walk alone late at night. It turns you into an easy victim.

Santa Rosa´s Battle

In the 19th century, Central America was beset by political problems. An American guy, William Walker was looking for recognition and power. He moved to Nicaragua with the idea of “conquer” Central America. He wanted to establish English-speaking slavery states in Latin America. His main goal was to become Nicaraguan president in order to start his evil plan. He believed in the doctrine of manifest destiny, and established himself as the guy who could help Nicaragua to be a better country, but his real intentions were to control Central America as a solo country, a manifesto he named, "Five or None." As soon as Walker started enlisted people to his “army”, the Costa Rica´s President in that time, Juan Rafael Mora Porras, saw Walker´s intentions. On February 27th 1856, Costa Rica declared war on Nicaragua and called all Costa Ricans to join forces and fight for their freedom. The Costa Rican Army started the march on March 4th from San José to the Nicaraguan border, led by the president. On March 12th, they arrived to Liberia, where another group of soldiers under the leadership of Jose Maria Cañas joined the march. William Walker got news about what was happening in Costa Rica, and then he decided to enlist more people to his army. The filibusters group was supported by French and German troops, under the leadership of colonel Schlessinger, which entered Costa Rica through the road that joined Nicaragua with Liberia. After hours and hours, the filibusters passed by the Hacienda Santa Rosa, they were very exhausted. In the mean time, the Costa Rican army kept walking on the way to Nicaragua. On March 20th, the Costa Ricans arrived to Hacienda Santa Rosa and the battle began. Civilians from every corner of the country and armed with rifles, sabres, and bayonets, began the attack, surrounded the filibusters, who were taken by surprise after having stationed themselves in the Santa Rosa Casona and its corrals. Everything happened very fast, the German company left the field, while the French also escaped from the area they had attempted to occupy. After 14 minutes fighting, the Costa Ricans won the battle.

Chocolate History

Many years before the Europeans arrived in the Americas, the region’s indigenous people used money that literally was growing on trees. The tiny brown seeds that came to be known as cacao beans held real value, and the Incas, the Aztecs and Costa Rica’s Chorotega people all used it as currency. For them, it was worth as much as gold. The Aztecs conquered the Toltecs on 1325 and they discovered a beverage the Toltecs were drinking. It came from the cacao beans and by the time it was named “cacahuatl” or “sun beans”. The beans became so valuable and were used for both medicinal and aphrodisiac purposes. The Aztecs and Mayans started adding allspice, vanilla or honey to the beverage. It was enjoyed mostly by the high class and was an expensive drink. By the Time Columbus arrives, he was offered cacao beans in exchange for goods. He returns to Spain with some cacao beans, the Queen and the King were not pleased with the cocoa drink, thus they didn’t see how important it could become. After Columbus, Hernan Cortes comes to the Americas and conquered the Aztecs, he returns to Europe with some cocoa beans and some equipment to produce the beverage. At the beginning, it wasn’t accepted because of the bitter taste. Then, they added sugar cane and some spices such as vanilla and cinnamon to the beverage. The Royals and Nobles started accepting the drink. The Spanish began to cultivate cacao in other areas close to the equator. The cacao exports became very important and first processing plant was established in Spain in 1580. In the early 1600s, the chocolate spread across Europe, being always an exclusive drink for the high class. In the 1700s and the 1800s with some new machines available to process the beans, the companies started to produce cocoa products. Some huge chocolate companies were born and the chocolate boom started.

Rafting Vacations

Many years ago, the rains created wonderful rivers and stunning landscapes along their causes. These rivers have served as a means of offering tourists a unique experience that combines adventure with nature. The white water rafting has become an activity to present the natural beauty of Costa Rica from a different perspective. Currently, this activity can be practiced from several tourist areas of Costa Rica, not only from San Jose as it was in the beginning. The strategic location of our country, has helped some rivers have sufficient water flow throughout the year and allow the proper practice of this wonderful activity during the year. Since rivers Class 1 to Class 5 rivers rise in the mountains of this small country, allowing tourists to choose the degree of difficulty want to face. The popularity of white water rafting in Costa Rica has been a considerable increase in recent years, including have already held several world championships in Rio Pacuare, considered among the five best rivers in the world for this sport. Many companies have been born with the intention of offering this activity, however not all accounts certified guides and proper equipment. In two trips Costa Rica have invested time in studying and knowing the best operators in this activity to offer our clients an unforgettable experience. All tours include white water rafting necessary equipment, specialized guides and transportation from - to hotels. Some of the areas from which you can take this activity are San Jose, Turrialba, Puerto Viejo, Arenal, Sarapiqui, Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo and Papagayo, please contact our travel agents to add this activity to your travel package.

Canopy Tour

Costa Rica is worldwide recognized for its nature. The Canopy tour / ziplining gives you the chance of accessing gorgeous natural places while boosting your adrenaline. Canopy/ziplining activities are available throughout Costa Rica in nearly every tourist destination year-round. Some of them offer more enjoyable experiences than others, given location, the length and height of the cables, number of cables and duration of the tour. This activity has become one of the country’s most popular and widespread tours and offers visitors an exhilarating opportunity to soar through the nature high above the floor. Imagine yourself flying through the treetops hundreds of meters in the air with a chance to spot some of the country's diverse flora and fauna. Explore green landscapes, rain forest, dry forest and cloud forest while jumping from one platform to another platform. This tour can be taken for the whole family (minimum age: 6 years old on most destinations) and weight restrictions may apply.

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