August Honeymoon in Costa Rica

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsCentral AmericaCosta Rica
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
2.7k
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
kelmac1262
kelmac1262

Hi Lonely Planet!

My fiance and I are considering spending our honeymoon in Costa Rica this coming August. We'll have 7-8 days and a budget of about $3,000. We'd like to get a few beach days on the Pacific side and then a few adventure days in the rain/cloud forest (ziplining, waterfalls, hot springs, etc). We're thinking we'd like to do all-inclusives to avoid some decision-making stress, though we'd consider smaller inns with great personality/service if they came with really high recommendations and honeymoon quality aesthetics.

Do you have ideas about where to stay? Where to fly into? I know it's technically rainy season then so how much rain should we expect? What is the temperature variance between the beach and the rain forest?

Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance!

View last reply
Report
1
anonymous
anonymous

My wife and I have stayed at the Doubletree Resort by Hilton in Puntarenas. It is all-inclusive, and you will probably pay around $100 per person per night, which means you will end up paying around $1400 for a seven-night stay. You can also try Villas Sol in Guanacaste which is around 1200 for seven nights, all inclusive; Occidental Grand Papgayo is a 5-star resort, and the price for that will be around $2000 for seven nights.
All of these hotels have someone on the premises who can help you book any type of tour you want. You can go on the respective website and call for more information.
As far as rain is concerned, you should be okay during August since it is much drier in the northern Pacific section of the country. It may not rain every day that you are in the country, but you should expect some rain, especially between 1 and 5 pm. You will get the strongest rain showers during that time. The rainiest months of the year are traditionally October and November.
Having said that, even if you get rain during your stay, you can plan for warm and sunny mornings.

Edited by: sdim1

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
solohobo
solohobo

#1 post above is poor advice. Thats the last places or hotels to stay at.

You surely do NOT want to stay in Punterenas of the Doubletree, promise you that. I also would avoid All Inclusive in CR, play that game in Mexico/Aruba/Dominican, CR is about charming family owned lodging, handbuilt, not sterile and behind gates and isolated from the culture.

There are many nice boutique lodges and Inns, intimate, charming and rustic. I suggest you look at this website below.

Also, consider just going to Osa Corcovado, and the Luna Lodge, its pretty much the end all in luxury and jungle, remote, private and off the hook cool.

[http://www.distinctivehotels.com/]

[http://www.lunalodge.com/index-en.html]

This is a great option too...

[http://www.lacarolinalodge.com/]

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
zora410
zora410

First off, GREAT choice in picking CR as the destination for your honeymoon. And, congrats!

I definitely agree that all inclusive is NOT the way to go in CR. For the most part CR is a safe place, just always practice basic safety awareness that you would do for traveling anywhere. Honestly, you can really get by in CR on your budget and have an AWESOME honeymoon. The people are amazing.

It is typically cheapest to fly into San Jose and go from there. I wouldn't spend anytime in San Jose if I were you, unless it works out in your travels. I recommend zip lining in Monteverde, Arenal Volcano (hiking, hot springs) there is zip lining there as well, one of the other National Parks (Manual Antonio) and Playa Tamarindo (surf, sun, sand, massages). If you wanted to really stay close to the beach staying in Playa Tamarindo would be neat and there are a lot of day trips that you can take from there such as zip lining, visiting local national parks, visiting a local volcano, or even going to Nicaragua.

I have heard from other travelers that the east coast is less favorable than the west.
Hope that helps.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
kelmac1262
kelmac1262

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. It's great to hear such wonderful feedback about CR. Paul and I will digest this over the weekend and let you know if we have further questions. The Costa Rica Trip Guide and Distinctive Hotels sites are already proving quite informative.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
5
solohobo
solohobo

Keep in mind August is rainy season, so be prepared for afternoon rains, rarely more than that, but a few days can occur too. I always go in rainy season and August as everything is lush and the canopy in full bloom. Also the rains cool off the heat, and the jungle comes alive afterwards, a sight to see and hear.

Caribe side is very nice, just more a rustic and less developed area, thats afro caribe in nature, there is plenty to see and do on the Pacific side anyway.

Tamarindo, Papagayo and Manual Antonio are the most touristy beach areas, avoid Jaco period.

I love the Captian Suizo in Tamarindo, cant go wrong there, south end of beach away from town a but a short walk for social/nightlife.

Both these trip reports are from August trips, 2009, and 2010.

Mal Pais/Santa Teresa is a nice beach area too...

2009 Caribe to Corocvado via 4x4
SJ to Arenal/Celeste/Cano Negro/Mal Pais via 4x4

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner