Hi Eric!

Great question! The exact route you take will be determined by your entry point into Costa Rica. Do you plan to enter the country at Costa Rica’s north side, via the border at Sixaola? Or do you plan to enter the country at Costa Rica’s south side, via the border at Paso Canoas?

If you plan to enter via Sixaola, you’ll travel throughout the Caribbean, the Central Valley (unless you opt to veer north and travel through the Northern Zone), and Guanacaste before ending in Tamarindo. If you plan to enter via Paso Canoas, you’ll travel through the Southern Pacific, the Central Pacific, part of the Nicoya Peninsula, and Guanacaste before arriving at Tamarindo.

Assuming you plan to enter via Sixaola, we can offer a few discounts for things to do in Caribbean towns. Please see the links below for more information.

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca Tour Discounts: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/destinations/puerto-viejo-de-talamanca-tours/
Cahuita Tour Discounts: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/destinations/cahuita-tours/

If you plan to enter via Paso Canoas, you’ll travel right past Manuel Antonio, which offers several things to do.
Manuel Antonio Tour Discounts: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/destinations/manuel-antonio-tours/

La Fortuna (Arenal) and Monteverde are two of Costa Rica’s top destinations. Both are worth a visit and offer many nature and adventure experiences (see the links below for activity inspiration), however, neither destination normally falls along routes between Panama and Tamarindo (both would require a detour). An exception to this would be if you entered the country via Sixaola and opted to travel through the Northern Zone (skipping the Central Valley) en route to Guanacaste. This would cause you to travel through La Fortuna (Arenal). If you wish to visit Monteverde, you could detour off Highway 1 just north of Puntarenas, then backtrack the same way for continued travel to Tamarindo.

La Fortuna (Arenal) Tour Discounts: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/destinations/la-fortuna-tours/
Monteverde Tour Discounts: https://puravidaeh.ca/product-category/destinations/monteverde-tours/

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

• This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by ,Nikki.

Hi Kim!

Thanks so much for your inquiry! We do! We’re still in the process of moving discounts over from our old website to this new one, so not all discounts are currently visible on this site. However, we can offer discounts off most tours provided by the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, including the Night/Twilight Walk. The current rate for this tour is $49/adult, however our discounted rate is $45/adult.

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

• This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by ,Nikki.

Hi Yvette!

Thanks so much for reaching out! 🙂

Your plan to spend 10 days in Costa Rica and visit La Fortuna (Arenal), Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio (ideally in that order) is one of the most common Costa Rica trip itineraries we see. It’s certainly a possible vacation plan, and believe it or not, it’s also one of the easiest trips to coordinate.

I’ll start by sending you a link to a related blog post we wrote that should offer you some initial help:

Costa Rica Itinerary: 10 Days In Costa Rica; Sample Itineraries; How Many Places To Visit; How Many Activities To Do; And More! https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-itinerary-10-days-in-costa-rica/

In the blog post linked to above, pay special attention to the section titled “suggested itinerary / itineraries for a 10-day trip to costa rica”; it offers sample itineraries according to whether you a) wish to spend the first night nearby the airport, b) wish to spend the last night nearby the airport, c) wish to spend both the first night and the last night nearby the airport, or d) don’t wish to spend the first night or the last night nearby the airport. Since you mentioned you have 4 nights booked in the La Fortuna (Arenal) area, your itinerary for the first half of your trip may already be set. In this case, our sample itineraries can help you schedule your time at the other two destinations you plan to visit.

Once you’ve settled on whether itinerary a), b), c), or d) would work best for you, you can begin filling in your days with day tours. We can certainly help with this. Once you’ve browsed through our discount database (http://puravidaeh.ca/discount-database/), feel free to comment in our forum again to let us know which specific tours/activities/experiences you would like to experience. To do so, simply reply to our comment on this page (https://puravidaeh.ca/costa-rica-help/topic/advice-pls-re-imminant-trip-planning-arrive-in-costa-rica-on-18th-september/) and write either the name of the exact tours or the link/URL to the tours on our website that you are interested in. Once we know which specific day tours you wish to participate in, we can offer recommendations as to how to best schedule them across the various days you’ll have at each destination.

Note: Our system is only able to process orders for tour discounts up to 7 days prior to the requested tour date. This means that if you would like to access any of the discounts we offer for Costa Rica day tours starting September 18th, the latest we will be able to process your requests will be September 11th.

One quick note about transportation: unfortunately Monteverde does not have a domestic airport, so flying to/from that destination isn’t an option. There are several other ways to get around Costa Rica, however. For more information on this, you may be interested in our related blog posts:

Costa Rica Transportation: 12 Ways To Get Around Costa Rica: https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-transportation/

Best Ways To Travel From La Fortuna to Monteverde (And Vice Versa): https://costaricatravelblog.com/travel-from-arenal-la-fortuna-to-monteverde/

Until soon! 🙂

Nikki

Hi Jill!

Great question! We only book Costa Rica day tours, but you can save money on Costa Rica hotels and transfer services using our free discount codes for those items. You can find the free discount codes for Costa Rica hotels and transfer services on our blog here: https://costaricatravelblog.com/free-costa-rica-discount-codes/

To confirm, we don’t handle bookings for Costa Rica hotels or transfer services; you give the codes directly to Costa Rican car rental agencies, shuttle service companies, and hotels (not to us) in order to save money off your direct reservations with them (no contact/reservation through us is necessary). Also to confirm, we’re not financially compensated by Costa Rican hotels, shuttle service providers, and/or car rental agencies for the free discount codes we offer (i.e., we don’t receive any kickback if you decide to use them); they’re simply free gifts we provide to travelers to help reduce the cost of experiencing Costa Rica. Use as few or as many discount codes as you want!

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

Hi Karen!

Congrats on choosing Costa Rica for your upcoming family trip! 🙂

Thanks so much for inquiring about our Costa Rica car rental discount code! We’ve moved this around a bit in the past, but you can currently find it (as well as discount codes for other Costa Rica items) on our blog here: https://costaricatravelblog.com/free-costa-rica-discount-codes/

On our blog post linked to above, you can find free discount codes for Costa Rica car rentals, shuttle services, and hotels. To confirm, these are codes you give directly to Costa Rican car rental agencies, shuttle service companies, and hotels (not to us) in order to save money off your direct reservations with them (no contact/reservations through us is necessary). Also to confirm, we are not financially compensated by Costa Rican hotels, shuttle service providers, and/or car rental agencies for the free discount codes we offer. We dedicate part of our time to negotiating car rental, shuttle service, and hotel discount codes for the sole purpose of helping travelers save money on Costa Rica vacations. Use as few or as many discount codes as you want!

Should you wish to save money on Costa Rica day tours too (i.e., activities and excursions), don’t forget to browse through our discount database (https://puravidaeh.ca/discount-database/) to find tons of savings for these items as well.

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

Hi Jeff!

Thanks for double-checking. 🙂

Yes! Here’s a list of possible pick-up and/or drop-off locations with Exploradores Outdoors’ Pacuare River Rafting Tour:

– San Jose
– La Fortuna
– Cahuita
– Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
– Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui
– Turrialba
– Siquirres (Siquirres is where rafting on the Pacuare River takes place; if you plan to drive yourself to the river, the start/end location would be Siquirres)

Destinations that are passed along the way while traveling between destinations listed above (including, but not limited to, Limon, Siquirres, and Guapiles) also qualify for Exploradores Outdoors’ transportation.

Just in case you haven’t already seen these, if you want to learn more about the Pacuare River Rafting Tour, or white-water rafting in general in Costa Rica, the following are links to related articles on our blog:

The Pacuare River Rafting Tour: https://costaricatravelblog.com/pacuare-river-rafting-tour/

Your Costa Rica Rafting Tour Questions Answered: https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-rafting-tour-questions/

Don’t hesitate to let us know if you’re looking for additional discounts or have other questions.

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

Hi Rita!

This is a tough question to answer! Costa Rica has more than 150 Pacific and Caribbean beaches to choose from, many of them within close proximity to a national park. So, there are plenty of options!

I’ll start by sending you links to a few articles we wrote on our blog that detail several beach options. They may help you narrow down the best beach for you according to a variety of factors:

Best Beaches In Costa Rica: Central Pacific Beaches: https://costaricatravelblog.com/central-pacific-beaches/

Best Beaches In Costa Rica: Nicoya Peninsula Beaches: https://costaricatravelblog.com/nicoya-peninsula-beaches/

Best Beaches In Costa Rica: Northern Pacific / Guanacaste Beaches: https://costaricatravelblog.com/northern-pacific-guanacaste-beaches/

My instinct is to recommend the Central Pacific to you. You’ll find several nice beaches there (within close proximity to one another and connected by a paved highway that’s easy to travel), as well as a few national parks, including the popular Manuel Antonio National Park (great for wildlife spotting and beautiful beaches), the Carara National Park (great for bird-watching), and the Marino Ballena National Park, a protected marine area that’s great for spotting marine life (it also has a series of beaches). The downside to choosing this region, however, is that it tends to receive more rain than beaches along the Northern Pacific (Guanacaste) and Nicoya Peninsula.

This being said, rainfall is common in many areas of the country in October, as that month is part of the green/wet season, so it is possible you will run into rain no matter where you go. One area that tends to be an exception to this rule is the southern Caribbean (around Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca); it tends to have more favorable weather around September and October.

As a side note, regardless of which region of Costa Rica you choose to visit, I’d stick to a relatively popular beach destination. October is considered the low season, when there are less travelers in the country, and even popular beaches don’t feel too busy at that time of year. If you choose a remote beach in a small beach community instead, you may find the place rather deserted. Some businesses in non-popular areas of Costa Rica close up shop between September and November each year because visitor count is low (and rainfall amounts can be high). So, in order to surround yourself with ample dining, shopping, and tour options during your October visit, I’d stick to a beach area that remains popular year-round.

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki

Hi Amy!

Great question! We’re happy to process any order changes you need.

The quickest way you can inform us of change requests is to simply “reply” to any of the emails you already received from us (such as the order confirmation email or the discount voucher email we sent you, for example). Simply let us know in your email which change(s) you need to make, and we’ll get to work on them for you. Once the tour operator approves the new reservation detail with us, we’ll email you a new discount voucher (a.k.a., a confirmation) that displays the updated information.

Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions!

Pura vida! 🙂

Nikki