July 2010 Costa Rica...Tauck or ABD participants

[Techtravler]

So as some of you have read there is a group of us from the Dis Boards going to Costa Rica in July with Tauck Bridges(Sorry ABD). I figured I would start a new thread about July Costa Rica trips, that can include ABD or Tauck.

I figure a lot of the questions asked will be the same on either group due to some of the similarities of the itineraries.

Of course my first question will probably only apply to Tauck.

Has anyone booked airfare yet on this trip? I know it is early, but I figure if a good deal comes around, why not grab it.

I say this only applies to the Tauck trip, because Tauck Bridges starts by flying into Liberia and flying out of San Jose, ABD flies in and out of San Jose.

TT

 

[kjd469]

Hi Techtraveller....love the way you incorporated this into the ABD boards

Our flight situation is a little complicated due to the fact that we live in Mexico. We can't get direct flights to Liberia from Mexico City, only to San Jose...we were considering doing the direct flight to San Jose, then getting an internal air flight from San Jose to Liberia, but the planes are super-small, and you can only have a maximum of 30lbs. per suitcase...yah right, lol! So...unfortunately for us, it looks like we'll have to fly Mexico City to Houston, then Houston to Liberia, and return we can do the direct...costs right now are super-high...around $1300 per person doing it that way, so I'm hoping they'll drop as time draws slightly nearer.

How is the flight situation looking for you?

Question for anyone who has done Costa Rica in July - how bad is the rain?? I know we are going right during the rainy season, but wondered if it is similar to here in Mexico, where most of the day is sunny, then it rains in the late afternoon and evening. Any insight would be helpful

 

[Bobo912]

Question for anyone who has done Costa Rica in July - how bad is the rain?? I know we are going right during the rainy season, but wondered if it is similar to here in Mexico, where most of the day is sunny, then it rains in the late afternoon and evening. Any insight would be helpful

We were on the ABD trip in July last year and while we were there it rained very little. There were two or three days when there was a short shower in the afternoon (less than an hour), but it was sunny the rest of the day. The wettest day we had was the day we went zip-lining when it drizzled off and on for a couple of hours, but never rained heavily. Once we left the interior of the country and headed to the beach, we didn't see any more rain.

 

[kjd469]

We were on the ABD trip in July last year and while we were there it rained very little. There were two or three days when there was a short shower in the afternoon (less than an hour), but if was sunny the rest of the day. The wettest day we had was the day we went zip-lining when it drizzled off and on for a couple of hours, but never rained heavily. Once we left the interior of the country and headed to the beach, we didn't see any more rain.

oh..that's good to hear!! Thanks

 

[DisFan09]

So as some of you have read their is a group of us from the Dis Boards going to Costa Rica in July with Tauck Bridges(Sorry ABD). I figured I would start a new thread about July Costa Rica trips, that can include ABD or Tauck.

I figure a lot of the questions asked will be the same on either group due to some of the similarities of the itineraries.

Of course my first question will probably only apply to Tauck.

Has anyone booked airfare yet on this trip? I know it is early, but I figure if a good deal comes around, why not grab it.

I say this only applies to the Tauck trip, because Tauck Bridges starts by flying into Liberia and flying out of San Jose, ABD flies in and out of San Jose.

TT

I looked at the Tauck Bridges website last week and really liked their choice of hotels. However, I looked again yesterday and they've changed the hotels! Has anyone else noticed this change??

 

[Techtravler]

I too considered booking San Jose round trip, then would figure out how to get from San Jose to Liberia. Quick glance on sidestep shows $550-650 flying into Liberia and out of San Jose. The difference is between my Home Airport of Jacksonville and and extra 1.5 hr drive to Orlando.

That rate goes down to $275 PP flying in and out of San Jose from Orlando. Also, Jet Blue flies directly to San Jose from Orlando, but it is too far out for pricing from them. April is the latest date I can check, and it shows $280.00 R/T

I was searching for transport options between San Jose and Liberia last week and ran across a shuttle service that would take us from San Jose to Liberia for $180.00 for the 3 of us. I think it was about a 3 hour drive. I am not sure about that yet.

 

[Techtravler]

I looked at the Tauck Bridges website last week and really liked their choice of hotels. However, I looked again yesterday and they've changed the hotels! Has anyone else noticed this change??

The hotels from the 2009 itinerary to the 2010 itinerary did change, maybe that is the difference you read. Also, be sure you are looking at Tauck Bridges and not just Tauck, beacuse I did that a couple of times and thought the whole 2010 itinerary changed until I realized what I was looking at.

I checked out Trip Advisor on each hotel of the 2010 and each had very good reviews. The most questionable hotel was actually the Real Intercontinental in San Jose, not bad, but just a little mixed. This is the same hotel ABD uses

 

[kjd469]

Techtraveller, what is the name of the company that does the shuttles...I had never thought of that option...might be worth looking into for sure!

 

[Techtravler]

Techtraveller, what is the name of the company that does the shuttles...I had never thought of that option...might be worth looking into for sure!

I have not checked these guys out yet, so who knows if it is a good idea or not
http://www.liberiacostaricainfo.com/SJO-Airport-Transportation.html

 

[Phil1019]

HI, I went on the ABD Costa Rica trip this past July.Do not worry about the quality of the Real Intercontinental Hotel in San Jose. It is a beautiful hotel! Very clean, staff very attentive AND you are only there one night with ABD.

 

[Techtravler]

HI, I went on the ABD Costa Rica trip this past July.Do not worry about the quality of the Real Intercontinental Hotel in San Jose. It is a beautiful hotel! Very clean, staff very attentive AND you are only there one night with ABD.

I wasn't really worried about it, Intercontinental is one of my favorite hotel brands to stay at. I thought it was kinda funny that a chain I would not even normally check the review on, had some less then stellar things said about it. I am sure it will be great. With Tauck we are only there 1 night also.

 

[Bobo912]

I wasn't really worried about it, Intercontinental is one of my favorite hotel brands to stay at. I thought it was kinda funny that a chain I would not even normally check the review on, had some less then stellar things said about it. I am sure it will be great. With Tauck we are only there 1 night also.

The ABD trip only stays there one night too. It's a nice hotel.

 

[DisFan09]

The hotels from the 2009 itinerary to the 2010 itinerary did change, maybe that is the difference you read. Also, be sure you are looking at Tauck Bridges and not just Tauck, beacuse I did that a couple of times and thought the whole 2010 itinerary changed until I realized what I was looking at.

I checked out Trip Advisor on each hotel of the 2010 and each had very good reviews. The most questionable hotel was actually the Real Intercontinental in San Jose, not bad, but just a little mixed. This is the same hotel ABD uses

Thanks Techtrvler! I'll have to take another look at the website... we actually prefer Tauck Bridges' itinerary and activities better than AbD's (Sorry AbD!), not to mention Tauck's lower cost and extra day...

 

[kjd469]

Thanks Techtrvler! I'll have to take another look at the website... we actually prefer Tauck Bridges' itinerary and activities better than AbD's (Sorry AbD!), not to mention Tauck's lower cost and extra day...

That's why we went with Tauck as well...and the evening watching the baby turtles make their way out to sea...that will be worth every penny. I'm surprised ABD does not have this activity in their itinerary.

 

[Techtravler]

So is anyone planning on taking an SLR camera on their Costa Rica trip? I usually bring my DSLR and my wife carries her compact. This usually works well. I do not like to carry the SLR everywhere, so I just use it when I can store it somewhere easily. However, on this trip I do not think storing it easily will be that easy.

Since we have a loss of control of our bags on this trip, and I guess on any escorted type tours. Also, I worry about just leaving it on a bus or something. This is usually an advised against no no it many tourist destinations.

I would hate not to have it at all, but do not want it to disappear either.


On the same note, does anyone have one of those waterproof, shockproof Olympus camera. I am thinking about getting one for this trip.

 

[Bobo912]

So is anyone planning on taking an SLR camera on their Costa Rica trip? I usually bring my DSLR and my wife carries her compact. This usually works well. I do not like to carry the SLR everywhere, so I just use it when I can store it somewhere easily. However, on this trip I do not think storing it easily will be that easy.

Since we have a loss of control of our bags on this trip, and I guess on any escorted type tours. Also, I worry about just leaving it on a bus or something. This is usually an advised against no no it many tourist destinations.

I would hate not to have it at all, but do not want it to disappear either.


On the same note, does anyone have one of those waterproof, shockproof Olympus camera. I am thinking about getting one for this trip.

I carried my SLR on both ABD trips that I've taken. The guides always tell us that our belongings are safe on the bus. Either the driver stays with the bus or it is locked at all times. I had a smaller camera along as well that I took along when rafting and zip-lining. I found it more of a pain to lug the larger camera around in Costa Rica than in Alaska, just because it was less comfortable to have it hanging off my body in the warm tempartures and humidity. But I wasn't worried about it being stolen.

 

[Bobo912]

I carried my SLR on both ABD trips that I've taken. The guides always tell us that our belongings are safe on the bus. Either the driver stays with the bus or it is locked at all times. I had a smaller camera along as well that I took along when rafting and zip-lining. I found it more of a pain to lug the larger camera around in Costa Rica than in Alaska, just because it was less comfortable to have it hanging off my body in the warm tempartures and humidity. But I wasn't worried about it being stolen.

I forgot you're going with Tauck and their guides might recommend that you not leave your valuables on the bus. I found the SLR useful on the Alaska trip because I was able to zoom in more on the animals and get better photos. But the only time I carried it on an excursion in Costa Rica was to the butterfly gardens and the pineapple plantation and I didn't really need it in either place.

 

[Bobo912]

cleaning up my duplicate post. I hit submit twice. I hate it when that happens!

 

[Phil1019]

Hi, I went to Costa Rica with ABD this past July 8th.RE: Rain question: It did rain just about every evening around 8 pm for a couple of hours and it showered for about 20 min. the day we went ziplining. The night we went to the Hidalgo hot springs was a glorious evening until about 8 pm . It suddenly began to POUR! A lot of my fellow travelers contined swimming in the hot springs despite the rain and later on in the evening around 9 pm we enjoyed a great feast under a tent. Believe me, the rain did not dampen our spirits. A good time was had by all!

 

[Techtravler]

Did anyone order SIM cards before they went? I know I can use my Iphone there, but hate to pay the horrible AT&T roaming fees.
I have an unlocked Quad Band QSM phone that I use when I travel outside of the US. Normally you can just by a prepaid SIM card when you get to whatever country your are in, but apparently this is not the case in Costa Rica.

I have read that you can by SIM cards that have better rates then the US. Has anyone done this, if so, who did you buy it from?

It is terrible, but I like to have communications access everywhere I go.