jojofullsd asked 8 years ago
Hi there,
First off I want to say thanks for providing insightful information on your website. it’s been very beneficial.
So my girlfriend, my parents, and I will be in CR in a few short days and we essentially have the 1st half of the trip planned. We are spending the first 5 days in Arenal/La Fortuna and Monteverde, but have no plans for the back end of our trip.
For a few months we’ve been planning on checking out the handful of beaches in Guanacaste, but now i’m getting second thoughts. During this time of the year do you still suggest visiting Tamarindo/Nosara/Play Langosta or should we take our travel south to Jaco and MA? We will be in Monteverde and can either drive south or west (we plan to rent a car through Adobe). We’re looking to relax, eat, drink and dont expect there to be sunshine 24/7. Or should we head to Caribbean and escape the rain?
With it being green/rainy season, do you suggest we book hotels prior to arriving or the day of. Nobody has really touched that subject. We’ve booked our hotels in Arenal and Monteverde in advance, but haven’t booked any tours yet.
By waiting until we arrive, will we be saving $ or actually spending more?
Any info would be great!
Joe
Jenn and Matt Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi jojofullsd,
The weather in Guanacaste (e.g. Tamarindo & Nosara) is similar this time of year to the weather on the central Pacific coast (e.g. Jaco & Manuel Antonio). That means days with off and off rain or days with sun in the mornings and rain in the afternoon. Occasionally you’ll get a day or two without much more than a drizzle but in general it is pretty rainy. One thing that I will mention is that we have heard that the roads near Nosara are in pretty rough shape right now due to mud and ruts. In general the road conditions near Tamarindo, Jaco, or Manuel Antonio will be much better since they are all paved. Jumping over to the Caribbean side might give you better weather but it is a long drive. If you are up for it though, it is beautiful!
For hotels, you can probably get away with booking once you are here but to save time you might want to book the next destination before you leave the previous one. We mentioned it in another thread but when we travel the country we like to use booking.com. They often have good deals at the last minute, most of the CR hotels are on there, and they only show you what’s available for the nights you are looking at. This will save you from having to tour a couple of different places once you get to a town.
Hope you have a great time!