Prolonged stay in rainforest, surf camp questions

hi there,

ive picked up a frommers guide to costa rica, and am planning to backpack around for a couple months in the rainy season (sept-dec 1st) 2 months.
im doing alot of research, but as always i wanted to consult the wisdom of the thorntree boards before making and commitments.

my main 2 goals in costa rica: 1) learn to surf 2.) stay in the rainforest for a prolonged period with access to/or directly with the indiginous people.

so my questions are:

1.) any recommendations on WHICH surf camp to go with? there are quite a few.

2.) BIGGIE: where should i go to stay in the rainforest (i heard talamanca) for a few weeks possibly. there are tons of ecolodges (and most are not cheap), but id love an authentic experience either way. can anyone recommend any ecolodges (OR even living with some indians?) that are cheap but still provide a great experience? i dont mind roughing it if its authentic and removed from tourists.

im completely open geographically, i havent settled on flying into san jose or guanacaste yet.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME!!!!

tyler

Hi Tyler,

First off, drop the Frommer's book. It does not have backpacker minded recommendations. Stick with Moon Books or Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.

Secondly, with 2 months - you have plenty of time to see Costa Rica and even the neighboring countries (Nicaragua and Panama).

1. Surf Camp. I can't recommend a specific camp in CR - though other posters hopefully will. In Tamarindo, you can rent a board for $10-$20 per day. Head up north to Nicaragua for cheaper rates and fewer gringos. Surfari Charters is a surf camp in Popoya, Nicaragua (about $1000 per week I think). Or stay in/near San Juan Del Sur for budget accomodations and surfing ($5 per night rooms)

2. Osa Penninsula/Drake Bay is the best rainforest experience. You can hike/camp into the National Park's campsites (with dorm bed lodge) for somewhere remote.

Again, with 2 months - you'll have loads of time to cover every inch of Costa Rica, and even the neighboring countries. No need to make reservations now (except over Thanksgiving and CHristmas holidays).

Have a great trip!

Cheers,
Kay

Dump the Frommers, your going to developing country for adventure, not Spain for a nice beach.

Moon is the bible down there, and Chris Baker the author has been covering CR since before Frommers even covered Latin America. He isalo the author of the National Geographic Explorer.

There is no off the beaten path info in a Frommers....Moon will list the gatekeepers home phone to get access to a particular park.

Since you going in the off season, and height of rainy season, you may want to get to Corcovado first, as the park is all but closed and mostly not accessible, after Oct 15th, depending on the rains (17 feet in 2005). You also may want research doing some work for a various orgs in marine and wildlife biology with long term living. Why your choosing rainy season to be in the rainforest is kind of odd, as it it will he damn dreary and wet in the canopy...

Surf Lessons can be had in a dozen beach venues, surprised your Frommers does not mention this, as Tamarindo is the surf mecca, as well as Jaco and Dominical, as well Mal Pais, Nosora, Montezuma and 1/2 dozen others...

You may wish to look at the Caribe side, both Tortuguero and the Manzanillo-Gonduca refuges, with rare freshwater dolphins, lagoons, and rivers as well as reefs.

Campming in CR is difficult enough due to the weather, and no way to secure your campsite, and theft is common if not normal.

thanks for the replies and info.

ill go grab that moon guide asap!

ty

A friend's cousin has started up a surf camp in Nicaragua - rustic, in a small fishing village, very poor and a real and apparently beautiful look at Nicaragua. It's called Montys Beach Lodge (www.montysbeachlodge.com). It's a bit of a volunteer/vacation set up as I understand, i.e. the group and those who stay there can work with the locals a little or a lot -e.g. starting up a medical clinics, lunch program, etc. Check it out and let us know what you think! I'm definitely going to when I go next July so would love to hear about it if anyone goes.